NEW DELHI, Aug 30: Women rights activists and experts have called for strong on-ground implementation of laws after the NCRB report revealed that cases of crime against women increased by 15.3 per cent in 2021 over the previous year.
A total of 4,28,278 cases of crimes against women were registered in 2021 compared to 3,71,503 cases in 2020.
The majority of cases under crime against women under IPC were registered under ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’ (31.8 per cent ) followed by ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ (20.8 per cent), ‘Kidnapping & Abduction of Women’ (17.6 per cent) and ‘Rape’ (7.4 per cent).
Ranjana Kumari, a social activist and director of the Centre for Social Research, said the data validates that crimes against women increased during the pandemic.
“We need a more robust system as the current one collapsed during COVID-19. We need to look at the future and prevent such a situation,” she told PTI.
Yogita Bhayana, a women rights activist who heads People Against Rape in India, said the prime minister spoke about respect for women in his Independence Day address and it is high time that SOPs and systems that have been put in place get implemented well on the ground.
“Action-oriented steps must take place. Even the Nirbhaya case took nine years for justice. A strong message against rape has not been given yet,” Bhayana said.
Also, the NCRB report said 45,026 females committed suicide in 2021 in the country, of whom more than half were housewives.
On suicide cases, Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India, said the high proportion of housewives in this data shows the stress on women due to patriarchal social norms, their status in families, and how the pandemic exacerbated these challenges.
“While the COVID-induced lockdowns protected many from the virus, women stuck in abusive relationships faced the brunt of being locked up at home with their abusers.
“Abusive husbands and family members had more time due to fewer or no work hours to oppress vulnerable family members,” she said.
According to the National Commission for Women, in 2020-21, the organisation received 26,513 domestic-violence complaints from women, an increase of 25.09 percent, compared to the 20,309 complaints registered in 2019-20.
Since the pandemic has only exacerbated existing problems, it would be important to work on empowering women by all means, through education, creating economic opportunities and opposing regressive social norms, Muttreja said.
“We also need to reimagine health systems not only in terms of changing policy but also in terms of expansion of services, especially those relating to mental health,” she said. (PTI)
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