DesiDabba - Boss, Thoda Sa Roomani Ho Jaye

In today’s modern world nothing comes for free or without a fault. Improved technology has no doubt enhanced our lives in ways unimaginable 20 years ago. But with all its good it does bring all its evil side.

Deborah Cameron has written quite an interesting article in today’s Sydney Morning Herald basically outlining the reasons behind the increase in video-taped sexual assaults in Australia.

And as shocking as it may sound, our idiot box could be one of the catalyst that aggravates such dreadful act.

Rape is about power, says Major Joyce Harmer, a retired Salvation Army officer who has spent decades as a confidant of victims. But why a video?

For Lorraine Corne, a Sydney clinical psychologist, the seeds of that answer might be found on our televisions.

"The first thing that occurs to me is that in our society we allow people to be videoed in all sorts of degrading ways," she said.

"For example, in Big Brother, in Internet Porn and in Funniest Home Videos. In all of these there is humiliation. And there are no boundaries."

Videoing and then broadcasting a sexual assault is a step, though not a very big one, from the nothing-left-to-the-imagination bedroom scenes on Big Brother or "turkey slapping", Ms Corne said.

But obviously videoing their act means creating an evidence of their crime.

"There doesn’t seem to be any sense of shame," Ms Corne said. "People like these are not, luckily, the majority of people, but there are certain people in the community who are shameless and have no conscience. Because of that they have no boundaries and are used to using new media to video and text to harass others."

India too has had its fair share of MMS controversies involving some top-notch Bollywood stars but thankfully none as gruesome as the above mentioned crime. But then again, how long will woman stay safe from such lecherous eyes, I guess only time will tell.