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Polity & Governance
Mahesh

13/12/23 08:13 AM IST

Crime against women

In News
  • The crime rate may have declined in 2022 (258.1 per lakh population compared to 268 per lakh population in 2021), but crimes against women rose 4% in 2022 compared to 2021, according to the annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released recently.
Nature of majority of crime
  • The majority of crimes against women were of cruelty by husband or his relatives (31.4%), kidnapping and abduction of women (19.2%), assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (18.7%) and rape (7.1%).
  • Further, 13,479 cases were registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act.
  • Despite high levels of education, male mindsets and societal attitude remain unchanged.
Major findings
  • The NCRB’s report reveals that over 4.45 lakh cases of crimes against women were registered in 2022, equivalent to nearly 51 FIRs (first information report) every hour.
  • The rate of crimes against women per lakh population stood at 66.4 while the filing of charge sheets in such cases was pegged at 75.8.
  • The high crime rate is an indicator of the persistent “lower status and inequality” faced by women and girls.
  • The increase in crimes against women shows the attitude of Indian society towards women: “We claim to be very progressive but we are very primitive.”
  • The rise can also be attributed to the fact that though India has tough laws for protection of women, their implementation remains a challenge.
  • With 14,247 cases in 2022, Delhi recorded the highest rate of crimes against women in the country at 144.4 per lakh, way above the country’s average rate of 66.4.
  • In many other parts of India, the registration of crime is low and the fear of the police high, says Vipul Mudgal of Common Cause India.
Key laws for women safety
  • The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.
  • The implementation faces dual problems of shoddy investigation by police and time taken by courts to deliver justice.
  • When it reaches the courts, at trial courts which are the first step, the cases take four to five years. If there is an appeal, it takes another 10-15 years.
  • Despite fast-track courts for looking into grievous crimes, the fact is they remain as slow as ever. There is no seriousness in dealing with the crime.
  • Women police officers are involved in all crimes against women, their proportion in the force is dismal and the rate of their recruitment is very slow in all States without exception.
  • This also causes disproportionate levels of workload on women police personnel leading to slower rates of charge-sheeting and convictions.
  •  The representation of women in the police force (as of January 1, 2022) remained at 11.7% of the total state police force. This puts undue stress on the limited workforce leading to a high pendency, experts point out.
Source- The Hindu

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