Excuses, Justifications and Blame in the Offence Narratives of Convicted Rapists in India

Over the past decade the public discourse on rape and violence against women in India has gained momentum yet little empirical research has been conducted with the perpetrators of such crimes. The aim of the current study was to explore perpetrators’ justifications and excuses for committing rape within this particular cultural context. In order to achieve this, offence narrative interviews with sixty convicted male rapists, all serving a prison sentence in Tihar Central Jail, New Delhi were conducted. Content analysis of the narrative interviews revealed that perpetrators utilized a range of excuses and justifications for their actions. This paper will present the main findings and implications of this research for understanding rape in India.