Pakistan, July 16 -- On a Saturday evening this month, an 11-year-old girl left her home for a friend's birthday party in a small town in eastern India. She never returned.

She was kidnapped, raped, bundled into a sack and thrown into a pond by a gang of men while still alive, according to a local investigating police officer.

The assault was the latest example of the brutal sexual violence that is endemic across India, with over 80 rapes reported to police every day, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau. Many more assaults go unreported because of victim blaming and shaming, activists say.

Deep-seated patriarchy and misogyny, understaffed police forces and severe judicial delays contribute to many perpetrators beli...