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https://doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2022.43927

June 2022

Women and Crime in India Dr. Mahananda Kanjilal Associate Professor, JCC College, Kolkata,Guest Faculty, University of Calcutta, IGNOU, Vidyasagar University, Resource person and Coordinator of SWAYAM of UGC Abstract: Article 39 of Indian Constitution mentioned about gender equaity. Inspite of that provision, gender discrimination is a common feature in Indian society. Because of widespread gender discrimination women are victims of several crimes in India. The present paper tries to analyse the pattern and trends of various crimes on women in India and also tries to focus on possible reasons. The period of study is 2011 to 2015. Apart from the analysis at national level, the crimes on women at state level and district level has also been taken into consideration. From the state wise analysis it has come out that the highest number of crimes registered in the period under consideration took place in Uttar Pradesh. Other states where the crimes on women are very high are West Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharastra and Andhra Pradesh. The lowest number of crimes on women are found in Arunachal Pradesh and Goa. Relatively lesser number of crimes on women are found in North Eastern states like Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh. The socio economic structure, attitude towards women and literacy levels and male dominated society may be some of the inherent reasons behind huge number of crimes on women in India. Key words: women, crime, constitution, society, I. INTRODUCTION Gender equality is written in Indian Constitution from its inception. Article 39of Indian Constitution it has been mentioned that equality right should be given in terms of livelihood, payment etc. According to Article 14, the state cannot refuse equality to any person. Gender discrimination is a common feature in Indian society. Because of widespread gender discrimination women are victims of several crimes in India. II. OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY The objective of this paper is to analyse the pattern and trends of several types of crimes committed on Indian women. The period of study is 2011 to 2015. The secondary data from the National Crime Bureau is used for the purpose of study. III.

ANALYSIS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

Table I Crime against women during 2011-2015 under India Penal Code (IPC) 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Variation in 2015 from 2014 Rape 24206 24923 33707 36735 34651 -5.7 Kidnappings 35565 38262 51881 57311 59277 3.4 Dowry Deaths 8618 8233 8083 8455 7634 -9.7 Assault on women 42968 45351 70739 82235 82422 0.2 Insult to modesty 8570 9173 12589 9735 8685 -10.8 Cruelty by husband 99135 106527 118866 122877 113403 -7.7 Total 219142 232528 295896 325327 314575 -3.3 Source: NCRB A total of 314575 cases of crime against women were reported in the country in 2015.It shows a 3.3 % decline from 2014. The total number of crimes against women were 325327 in 2014. These crimes have increased in the period 2011 to 2014. From 219142 to 325327.It only declined in 2015. Among all these crimes against women, cruelty by husband and relatives occupy the foremost position. This domestic violence can be physical, emotional, verbal and economic and sexual abuse. In India 70% of women are victims of domestic violence. The India Government enacted Protection of women from domestic violence Act 2005. In spite of that cruelty by husband and relatives on a woman is the greatest occurring crime against women. This crime increased from 99135 in 2011 to 122877 in 2014. It has declined to 113403in 2015. Crime Head

©IJRASET: All Rights are Reserved | SJ Impact Factor 7.538 | ISRA Journal Impact Factor 7.894 |

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International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET) ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.538 Volume 10 Issue VI June 2022- Available at www.ijraset.com This is followed by assault on women which increased from 42968 in 2011 to 82422 in 2015. The following crimes against women are accordingly, kidnappings, rape, insult to modesty and dowry deaths in 2015. Higher rates of increase are found for kidnappings and assault on woman from 2011 to 2015. The variation of crime has been found to be positive only for kidnappings and assault on woman. In other cases variations are negative. Table 2: Proportion of Crime against Women (IPC) in total IPC Crimes Year % of crime on women to total crime 2011 9.4 2012 10.2 2013 11.2 2014 11.4 2015 10.7 Source: NCRB From table 2 it comes out that proportion crimes on women (IPC) has increased from 9.4% in 2011 to 10.7% in 2015. IV.

STATE LEVEL FINDINGS

Table 3: Crime on women in selected states in 2013-2014 State

Rape

Kidnapping

Dowry Deaths

Assault on woman

Insult

Cruelty

Total crime

Andhra P

2013 1635

2014 961

2013 1595

2014 721

2013 492

2014 215

2013 6930

2014 4547

2013 4702

2014 2649

2013 15084

2014 6362

2013 32809

2014 16512

Arunachal P Assam Bihar

75 1973 1128

83 1980 1127

86 4222 4419

91 3895 4735

0 170 1182

1 188 1373

93 2409 331

121 3099 572

3 14 52

3 1 69

29 8636 4533

42 9626 4672

288 17449 13609

351 19139 15383

Chattishgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana

1380 86 732 971

1436 95 841 1174

1881 70 2230 1957

1393 86 2187 1922

109 0 29 263

128 0 23 293

2261 162 1243 1560

2122 202 1352 1688

180 54 77 643

79 57 173 102

1181 40 7812 3617

964 35 5991 3478

7012 440 12283 9089

6255 488 10837 8974

HP Kerala Karnataka

250 1221 1030

283 1347 1324

290 185 1359

227 143 1457

0 21 277

1 28 313

493 4362 3913

538 4367 5263

111 404 137

60 257 170

328 4820 3276

325 4919 3025

1478 11216 12027

1517 11380 13914

MP Maharastra Orissa

4335 3063 1832

5076 3438 1978

2873 1874 2067

5688 2457 2436

776 320 395

733 279 441

8252 8132 4618

9609 10001 5543

736 2632 426

429 1575 379

4988 8542 2792

6451 7696 3114

22061 24895 14173

28678 26693 14606

Punjab Rajasthan Tamil Nadu Uttar P

888 3285 923 3050

981 3759 455 346

987 4047 1517 9737

1176 4421 1502 10626

126 453 118 2335

90 408 95 2469

1045 4829 1271 7303

1113 5999 1102 8605

67 25 313 25

35 18 229 29

1741 15094 2471 8781

1681 15905 2103 10471

4994 27933 7475 32546

5425 31151 6325 38467

WB Delhi India

1685 1636 33707

1466 2096 34530

3830 3609 51881

4976 4034 53112

481 144 7936

501 153 8296

4913 3515 67020

5670 4322 77747

577 916 959

543 1361 8356

18116 3033 118866

23278 3173 119538

29826 12888 309546

38299 15265 337922

Source ; NCRB

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International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET) ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.538 Volume 10 Issue VI June 2022- Available at www.ijraset.com Table 3 shows the composition of crimes against women in some selected states for the year 2013-14. The total number of rape cases in India was 33707 which increased to 34530 in 2014. Highest number of rape cases took place in Madhya Pradesh in both 2013, 2014 and 2015. This is followed by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in 2014 and Maharastra and Rajasthan in 2015. Total kidnappings and abduction was 51881 in 2013 which increased to 57311 in 2014 and 59277 in 2015. This was highest in Uttar Pradesh in 2013, 2014 and 2015. This was followed by the states Bihar and Rajasthan in 2013, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal in 2014 and Bihar and Assam in 2015. Maximum number of kidnappings and abduction of women were registered for marriage (53% in 2015). Dowry death is also a very common crime on Indian women prevailing even in 21st century. It is the murder or suicide of a married woman caused by a dispute over her dowry. The majority of these suicides are done through hanging, poisoning or self- immolation. Bride burning is also very common. The cases of dowry deaths have declined by 9.7% in 2015 in comparison to 2014. In 2014 it was 8455which decreased to 7634 in 2015. Highest number of dowry deaths were found in Uttar Pradesh followed by Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The highest dowry death rates was found in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (2.3%) as compared to the national average of 1.3%. In the case of assault on women the total number increased remarkably from 45351 in 2012 to 70739 in 2013.In 2015 the cases registered was 82422. The rate of increase was 0.2% in 2015 from 2014. In the case of assault on women, Madhya Pradesh was ahead of all other states of India in the year 2013 followed by Maharastra, Uttar Pradesh. In2014 and 2015 this was highest in Maharastra followed by Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The highest rate of assault on women was registered in Delhi (57.8%) in 2015 compared to national average of 13.6%.The number of sexual harassment cases ( Sec354A IPC) registered in Delhi in 2015 was 24041. The numbers were 5925 in Uttar Pradesh and 4751 in Maharastra. The case of insult to modesty of a woman was highest in Andhra Pradesh in all the three years 2013, 2014 and 2015. This was followed by Maharastra and Delhi. The case has decreased by 10.8% in 2015 than 2014. Delhi was found to have the highest rate of insult to woman (16.1%) followed by Andhra Pradesh in comparison to national average of 1.4% in 2015. These cases were found to occur in office premises, places related to work and in public transport. Domestic crime and violence is the most frequent crime against women in India. The cruelty by husbands and relatives decreased by 7.7% in 2015 compared to 2014. It was 122877 in 2014 which decreased to 113403 in 2015. The highest number of such cases occurred in West Bengal followed by Rajasthan in all the three years 2013, 2014 and 2015. 20163 cases were registered in West Bengal in 2015 followed by Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh in 2013, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in 2014 and Rajasthan and Assam in 2015. The highest rate of cruelty by husbands and relatives was found in Assam (71%) in comparison to national average of 18.7%.This crime comes under domestic violence which can be physical, emotional, verbal and economic and sexual abuse. The states where the lowest crimes took place in the period under consideration are Arunachal Pradesh and Goa. V.

DISTRICT LEVEL FINDINGS

Table 4: Districts recorded more than 2000 cases of crime on women in 2015 District Total Crime Mumbai Commissionarate 4803 S 24P in West Bengal 4073 Bengaluru of Karnataka 3079 Cyberabad of Telengana 2994 Murshidabad of West Bengal 2984 South District of Delhi 2712 N 24 P of West Bengal 2690 Barpeta of Assam 2682 Hyderabad of Telengana 2405 Nadia of West Bengal 2331 Outer city of West Bengal 2284 Dhubri of Assam 2021 Source: NCRB Table 4 highlights the number of total crimes more than 2000 recorded in 2015 in districts of some states of India. In this Mumbai Commissionarate was in the top of the list and Dhubri of Assam was in the bottom of the list. Four districts of West Bengal were included in the list. These are South and North 24 Paraganas, Murshidabad and Nadia.

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International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET) ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.538 Volume 10 Issue VI June 2022- Available at www.ijraset.com VI. TOTAL NUMBER OF CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA Taking into account the scenario of total crimes on women in India we find that the number continuously increasing from 219142 in 2011 to 325327 in 2014. In 2015 it decreased to 314575. The rate of decrease is -3.3. But again the number increased to 338954 in 2016, 359849 in 2017and 378277 in 2018. Taking into account the state wise analysis it has come out that the highest number of crimes registered in the period under consideration took place in Uttar Pradesh. Other states where the crimes on women are very high are West Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharastra and Andhra Pradesh. The lowest number of crimes on women are found in Arunachal Pradesh and Goa. Relatively lesser number of crimes on women are found in North Eastern states like Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh. Cruelty by husband and relatives is in the top position among all the crimes on women. This is followed by assault on women, kidnappings, rape, insult to modesty of a woman and dowry deaths. Low level of education and socio economic background is an important factor causing domestic violence. VII. POSSIBLE REASONS AND PREVENTION OF CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN The socio economic structure, attitude towards women and literacy levels and male dominated society may be some of the inherent reasons behind huge number of crimes on women in India. The states with higher levels of crimes on women are found to have relatively lower literacy levels. As found in Uttar Pradesh (69.72%), Rajasthan (67.06%) Andhra Pradesh (67.66%) and Bihar (63.82) in 2011 census. On the other hand Himachal Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Kerala and Goa are found to have higher levels of literacy levels and lesser number of crimes on women. Maharastra and Delhi have higher levels of literacy levels, 82.91% and 86.34% respectively but crime rates are higher in these states. In West Bengal the crimes on women are high with high level of literacy (77.08%). So illiteracy may be one of the important reasons but not the only reason behind crimes on women. In North Eastern states the social structure accepts the domination of women which led to lower crimes on women. Therefore socio economic factors like attitude towards women, gender equality consciousness may help to improve the situation. Strict laws and quick application of these laws will help in bringing down these crimes. But just laws to protect women are not enough. Social media and Government awareness and sensitization programmes may help to bring changes in the attitudes towards women. Emphasis on women education and financial independence along with social and cultural awakening is necessary to stop crimes against women. VIII. CONCLUSION Crimes on women in India have increased in the period under consideration. From the state wise analysis it has come out that the highest number of crimes registered in the period under consideration took place in Uttar Pradesh followed by West Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharastra and Andhra Pradesh. The lowest number of crimes on women are found in Arunachal Pradesh and Goa. Relatively lesser number of crimes on women are found in North Eastern states like Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh.Cruelty by husband and relatives is in the top position among all the crimes on women. In the district level, Mumbai Commissionarate was in the top of the list and Dhubri of Assam was in the bottom of the list. Four districts of West Bengal were included in the list. These are South and North 24 Paraganas, Murshidabad and Nadia. The socio economic structure, attitude towards women and literacy levels and male dominated society may be some of the inherent reasons behind huge number of crimes on women in India. REFERENCES [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Addesh K. Devgan, Crime Against Women and Child, Cyber Tech Publications, New Delhi 2008 Bedabati Mohanty, Violence against women, Kanishka Pu blishers, Distributers, New Delhi, 2005 Directorate of Census Operation, 1991, 2001 2011, Census of India, Literacy tables, New Delhi National Crime research Bureau, Government of India Y Guruppa Naidu, Violence Against Women in India, Serials Publications, New Delhi, 2011

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