Covering the rape case that changed India

New Delhi, India (CNN) -- When I tell people outside India that I live in New Delhi, I'm almost always asked the now inevitable question: "Do you feel safe there?" or worse, "what's with the rape culture in India?"

The December 16, 2012 gang rape of a student inside a moving bus has sadly become India's defining story of the past year.

The horrific details so ingrained in people's memories, Indian cities are now perceived by many around the world as "rape capitals."

However, for anyone who knows India and lives here, these sweeping generalizations are simplistic and unjustified.

The definition of what constitutes rape varies from country to country so there's no internationally accepted method of comparing India's rape statistics with those of other nations.But in a country of 1.2 billion people, where local sexual assault cases which wouldn't merit a mention in the U.S. or Europe now make headlines, you can be excused for thinking India is suffering from a "rape epidemic."

Even Indian women's rights activists will agree, rape is not part of the country's culture; it's certainly not a new phenomenon and it's surely not particular to India.

Heightened awareness

What is new to this country though, and what is significant, is the heightened awareness of sexual violence against women.

The discourse has dominated local newspaper editorials and television talk shows this year.

Women are now feeling more emboldened to ignore the stigma and report not just cases of rape, but even harassment, molestation, stalking and voyeurism.It is this change that makes the December Delhi gang rape a turning point for India and perhaps the victim's lasting legacy.

Indian law prohibits the naming of sexual assault victims, but to her family and millions of Indians, she will be remembered by the name the media gave her: Nirbhaya, or "fearless one."

On December 17, 2012, the day after the attack, I received a text message from students at New Delhi's prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, informing the media of a protest being held at the location where the 23-year-old medical student and her male friend had boarded a bus the previous night.

The white chartered bus that circled the city for almost an hour while the student was repeatedly raped by six men and sexually violated with an iron rod.

I wasn't expecting a large showing, after all, sexual assault is sadly commonplace. Government statistics show a woman is raped every 20 minutes in India.All of these women though, no matter what corner of India they come from, have heard about the Delhi gang rape and the justice the victim eventually got. They say they too have a sense of hope now.

In the headlines this week, the managing editor of one of India's most respected investigative magazines resigned in disgrace after he allegedly assaulted a young female colleague. He acknowledged a "lapse of judgment" but insisted it was not assault. In another case, an intern accusing a Supreme Court judge of sexual harassment. Stories which would have likely gone unnoticed, unreported a year ago.

Something has shifted in India this year. An awakening of sorts.

Nirbhaya's parents take solace in this. They told me they have lost everything, their lives will never be the same but they are proud of the change their daughter helped bring about.

"Let us not forget, it was because of her sacrifice that all these changes have taken place and I believe there will be more positive changes in the future," her father told me, underlining the societal changes emerging out of a personal disaster.