Police handed over check

Gang rape: Tourist receives €11,000

(Bild: Screenshots/Instagram.com/fernanda.4ever)

After a travel blogger reported a gang rape on social media during her vacation in India, the Spanish-Brazilian tourist has now been awarded compensation by the authorities. A cheque for one million rupees (around 11,000 euros) was presented to the influencer's partner Fernanda in front of reporters.

Several suspects were arrested after the crime last Friday. A court is due to deal with the case this week - which is unusually quick in India in cases of rape. Victims of sexual crimes have a right to financial compensation in India.

India fears damage to tourism
According to "India Today", the court emphasized on Tuesday: "A sexual offence against a foreigner is likely to bring negative publicity to the country and thus affect India's image in the world." There was also a risk that tourism would be damaged.

The couple record their trip around the world on motorcycles on Instagram: 

Rape confirmed in hospital
The couple-Fernanda (28) and Vicente (64)-reported in a now-deleted video on Instagram that they had been beaten and the woman had been raped by seven men. According to the authorities, the incident happened in the state of Jharkhand when the two travelers spent the night in a tent. The police then took them to a hospital, where medical tests confirmed that they had been raped. The two have been traveling the world on their motorcycles for several years, sharing their experiences with their more than 240,000 followers.

Dozens of rapes per day in India
In India - the most populous country in the world with 1.4 billion inhabitants - an average of 86 women and girls are raped every day, according to official figures. In addition, there are other victims who never go to the police. Many Indian women remain silent about such experiences. According to women's rights activists, the problem lies in the patriarchal society. They also accuse the police and the judicial system of not taking victims of sexual violence seriously enough. Many cases remain unresolved for years and convictions are rare.

Only a few cases - such as the current case of the tourist - receive much attention. In 2012, however, the gang rape of a student on a moving bus, who died of her injuries shortly afterwards, made headlines around the world and etched itself into India's collective memory.