Filmmaker who accused ex-Kerala MLA and director of sexual assault speaks: ‘When survivor remains anonymous, accused gets all the space’

When contacted, Muhammad said he did not want to comment on the allegations as the matter is in court.

“I don’t think that survivors should remain hidden or anonymous anymore. The person who is at the receiving end of the assault should be able to speak, communicate and express. When the survivor remains anonymous, the accused gets all the space to explain their version of events. That situation should change,” Joseph said, giving her consent to The Indian Express to be identified by name and photograph.

Recently, Sister Ranit M J came out in public as the nun who accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal of rape. Ranit had told The Indian Express that she “wants to be heard and to be seen”.

The actor who was assaulted in the moving car had also made public statements revealing her identity. It was her case in 2017 that led to the formation of the Women in Cinema Collective, of which Joseph is a founding member.

Joseph said a campaign under the banner, Zero Tolerance Towards Sexual Violence, is building momentum in Kerala.

“The law (POSH Act) calls for prevention, prohibition and redressal (of sexual assault). First, prevention and prohibition should be addressed. The survivor should be given a conducive atmosphere to lodge a complaint. Then only does redressal come,” Joseph said, adding that there is no point in repeatedly asking survivors to lodge police complaints when the law enforcement system is not equipped to act on the promise of zero tolerance for sexual assault.

“We will not force anyone to come out. But whoever wants to come out and be identified will be given all the support needed to do so,” Joseph said. “It is not just the WCC that is foregrounding the need to come out. A host of other organisations are supporting this process,” she said.

Joseph said that her coming out was important because she felt the accused was speaking his mind about the case in various forums. “I do not understand why I alone should remain in the shadows,” she said.

For Joseph, who has been a filmmaker for decades in Kerala, the film industry is still not gender sensitive. “In the film industry, women filmmakers are considered outsiders who do not fit in,” she said. This, even after the Justice Hema Committee, constituted following the 2017 actor assault case, studied the shortcomings of the film industry in ensuring gender justice. The Hema committee report, which stated that women in the Malayalam film industry face sexual assault and discrimination, was made public in 2024.

Joseph said, “Anonymity is supposed to give protection for the survivor. But under changed circumstances, anonymity can work against the survivor. The survivor is the best person to express the deep anguish of sexual assault that she has undergone.”

She said this was particularly important in cases where there are no witnesses. “You are your own witness,” she said.

Joseph said she did not want to be identified as a victim or survivor but as herself, arguing that remaining anonymous would indirectly kill her individuality. “It is not a generic assault. We are addressing unique situations and unique assaults,” she said.

Joseph expressed hope that the campaign that begins on February 17 would attract the attention of several survivors of sexual assault. “We don’t want to trouble anyone who wants to remain anonymous. But we would encourage women to come out and speak up,” she said.