Thursday, 10 Oct, 2024
By: Anshul Vipat
Image source: IANS
The National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) data shows a consistent year-on-year rise in crime cases against women in India
The brutal killing of the 20-year-old woman in Delhi will be inscribed in the history of heinous crimes. The woman was killed in an accident, after her scooty collided with a grey Maruti Suzuki Baleno with five drunk men in it. The woman was dragged around for about 13 kilometers from the Outer Ring Road to the Rohini district, after her legs got caught up in the axle of the car. A video purportedly showing the woman's body without clothes and broken legs has surfaced on social media. Her body was later found on the road in Delhi's Kanjhawala sending shock waves across the country on New Year. All the five persons accused in the case have been arrested and were sent to a 3-day police remand on Monday.
Multiple past instances of such atrocities have repeatedly questioned the safety of women in India. It is also a well-known fact that numerous cases either go unreported or are not registered with the police.
The National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) data shows a consistent year-on-year rise in crime cases against women in India. 2021, for which the government released its data recently, was the worst year ever. The country saw over four lakh cases of rape, rape and murder, dowry torture, kidnapping, forced marriage, trafficking, and online harassment. There is a 15 percent increase from the previous year crimes.
Majority of cases under crime against women were registered under ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’ (31.8 percent) followed by ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ (20.8 percent), ‘Kidnapping & Abduction of Women’ (17.6 percent) and ‘Rape’ (7.4 percent). The crime rate registered per lakh women population is 64.5 percent in 2021 as opposed to 56.5 percent in 2020.”
Delhi worst city for women in India
Delhi, where the incident took place registered a steep 41 percent hike in crimes against women, the highest among Union Territories. The National Capital witnessed 14,277 cases against women in a year. Out of the 19 metropolitan cities, too, Delhi logged the highest number of cases of crimes against women.
Among other states, Uttar Pradesh took the top slot with 56,083 cases registered in 2021. Rajasthan was second, followed by Maharashtra. Nagaland saw the least number of crimes against women, followed by Mizoram and Goa. However, in terms of rate of crime against women, Assam (168.3) was on the top of the list for 2021, followed by Delhi (147), Odisha (137), Haryana (119.7) and Telangana (111.2).
Domestic violence cases, also including abuse caused by economic dependency, have been spiraling year after year. This is how bad it is: one in three women faces physical, emotional or sexual violence from intimate partners. Out of 4.28 lakh crimes against women, 1.36 lakh cases across India were registered under 'cruelty by husband or his relatives' in 2021.
West Bengal reported the highest number of cases of cruelty against women by spouses or their relatives in 2021. West Bengal was followed by Uttar Pradesh where 18,375 such cases were recorded, and Rajasthan where 16,949 cases were registered. Among metropolitan cities, Delhi reported most cases of such violence at 4,674. In Kolkata, the figure stood at 841, much below those of Hyderabad (1,678), Jaipur (1,200) and Lucknow (1,101).
Only one in 10 of the victims of physical, emotional or sexual violence from intimate partners reports the offence, according to multiple analyses. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), which was conducted during the 2019-21 period, one in three women in India – between ages 18 and 45 – experienced spousal abuse.
If anything, the girl's gruesome death should shine a bigger spotlight on the issues of women’s safety. Her death again is pushing the question – how safe are our women?
