CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN:

The Indian Scenario- the drivers, factors and influences

Research paper submitted by:

Akanksha Oza

Aradhya Dubey

Tulja Kedia

TY-E

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ABSTRACT

India has witnessed an increase in the Crimes against women over the past few years.

The aim of this report is an attempt to correlate crime rates to some of the socio

economic variables such as female to male sex ratio, work participation and literacy

among females; analyze the other factors involved in the numerable crimes and

suggest remedies that could be implemented at a National level A research based on

secondary data that mainly consisted of reports and official data was used to study the

trend of crimes against women and their causes. The results indicate that the

assumption economic growth has not translated into the abolishment of traditional

practices and regressive attitudes; there is also a clear link between sex ratio and

violence as a whole. It is concluded that India has witnessed an increase in the Crimes

against women over the past few years evident of the fact that female literacy

probably becomes an effective agency against violence only when literacy spreads

extensively.This ‘crime against woman ‘situation cannot be improved in a short

duration; due to various cultural, economic and social factors. Like the ingrained

patriarchal mind-set, the economic dependency, increasing alcohol consumption,

wave of migrant laborers in big cities, the clash of cultural values due to a media

explosion within 2 decades. It is recommended that Media takes an active step

towards shaping minds and attitudes of the Indian common- man towards violence

against women in the right direction. One of the basic lessons of social science is that

a complex phenomenon such as violence against women rarely, if ever, has a unique

explanation, a single driving causal mechanism. Rather, such phenomena are “over-

determined”, plausibly explainable by a multitude of different hypotheses, which

aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive nor exhaustive.

INTRODUCTION

Over the last Decade, there has been increasing violence that has been targeted

towards women. Rape cases and cases of violence against women have increased over

the years. This indicates that India’s story of economic development has not translated

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into the social sphere and women are still subject to traditional institutions and their

regressive practices.

For instance, the paradox in the state of Haryana is evident of how development can

be a contradiction if it doesn’t change unwarranted cultural beliefs and practice.

Despite constitutional provisions and safeguards to protect the rights of women by

ensuring equality of opportunity and building a gender-just society, the state has the a

growing incidence of rapes/gang rapes, eve-teasing, molestation, abduction, rampant

foeticide, child marriages, honour killings, diktats by khaps, violence against girls in

natal families on the choice of their marriage partners and property issues, etc.

This report addresses the social issue of Crimes against women, the economic and

social impact of such crimes and provides recommendations as to the kind of change

that needs to be brought about. ‘Crime’ according to this report is defined as any act

of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or

psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or

arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

This study restricts itself to a statistical and spatial analysis of national/state/district

level data available on crimes against women compiled by the National Crime

Records Bureau (NCRB). There is also an attempt to correlate crime rates to some of

the socio economic variables such as female to male sex ratio, work participation and

literacy among females.

However, the scope of such an analysis is limited as the crimes against women are

underreported in India. The extent of underreporting varies across time and space. For

example, Rape is grossly unreported while dowry deaths rarely are left unreported.

Therefore such a discrepancy will lead to further problems such as a region with high

unreported data can be classified as one with low crime rate and vice versa.

All literature that was cited to support information presented in both the introductory

and indicator chapters appear in a “References Cited” list at the end of each chapter in

which they were used. The “References Consulted” list that appears at the end of the

compendium includes those sources which were helpful in developing the

compendium, but which were not used directly to support information presented.

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VARIABLES

Rapes

Child Marriage

Literacy Ratio

Sex Ratio

Female Work Participation

Dowry

Importation Of Girls

METHODODOLOGY

This research was conducted through a secondary data; a statistical and spatial

analysis of national/state/district level data available on crimes against women

compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). There was a preliminary

analysis of possible socio-economic correlates of crimes against women, lead by a

close study of the kinds of crimes committed in India. For this purpose, four

indicators were chosen; female literacy (percent), female work participation rate

(percent) and sex ratio (number of females for thousand males) and age factor

( percentage of crimes). The factors, influences and recommendations have been

interpreted through close study and analysis of a series of data available.

RESULTS

Presenting the data, there was no relationship that could be detected between crimes

against women and female literacy rates. The relationship between crimes against

women and sex ratio are very clear and are evident of the fact that lower sex ratio

leads to a greater number of crimes against women. There is a clear indication of a

positive relationship between the incidence of rape, molestation and sexual

harassment with female work participation. The correlations between female work

participation and crime rates indicate that women who go out are more vulnerable to

violence. The influencing factors included education, media and society acceptance,

which showed a close relationship between the number of crimes committed and the

above, mentioned factors.

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IINTERPRETATIONS OF RESULTS

Rapes:

Rajasthan has witnessed 30% increase in rape cases from November 2010 to

November 2012. The cases witnessed in 2012 till November were 1,908, while in the

corresponding period in 2011, it was 1,719 cases. In 2010 there were 1,467 cases

reported from January to November. according to 2011 statistics from India's National

Crime Records Bureau, rape has been the country's most rapidly growing crime since

1971.

Increasing by a staggering 792 per cent in those 40 years, rape dwarfs the rise in other

serious crimes such as murder (106 per cent), armed robbery (27per cent) and

kidnapping (298 per cent).

Child Marriage:

Several studies have shown that child marriage is associated with increased risk of

sexual and/or physical abuse, early pregnancy, and STIs. Girls who marry before the

age of 18 are also less likely to be enrolled in school. Child marriage is documented

as a violation of human rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since a

child is unable to make informed decisions about a life partner and enter into a

marriage with free and full consent. Girls and women who are married before age 18

are also more likely to experience violence and abuse.

Literacy rate:

There seems to exist no correlation among crimes against women and literacy rates as

indicated by the scatter plot. However, states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra,

Gujarat, Nagaland, and Mizoram indicate that female literacy may only be a deterrent

at a higher level. That is, female literacy probably becomes an effective agency

against violence only when literacy spreads extensively.

Literacy rate has been on the rise: After the 2011 census, literacy rate India 2011 was

found to be 74.04%Error: Reference source not found. Literacy rates and Crimes

against women are assumed to share an inverse relationship. However, there is a

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paradox that can be seen; that is with an increase in literacy rates over the years, crime

rate has been increasing as well, therefore implying that Literacy rate and Crimes

against women share a positive correlation. This must mean our economic

development has not been translating into the social sphere. However, even such an

inference has limited scope because an increase in literacy rate can mean that there is

greater rate of awareness and implies a greater reporting than that was possible when

the literacy rates were lower.

There seems to be a problem with the definition of Literacy. In the census

enumeration, ‘A person, who can read and write with understanding in any language,

is treated as literate. The giveaway is that it is not necessary for the literate person to

have received any formal education or to have attained any minimum educational

standard’.Error: Reference source not found Therefore it is evident of the fact that it is

fairly liberal and leaves a lot of room for discrepancies. Moreover, the data on literacy

collected through census enumeration classifies all individuals into only two

categories, i.e. literate and illiterate as it is based on self-declaration of the respondent,

It does not make any distinction between the ‘proximate’ and ‘isolated’ illiterates.

Therefore, the census data thus suffer from obvious limitations, as these are not based

on any objective measure to test the literacy status of the respondents.Error:

Reference source not found

Sex Ratio:

It has been established that young, unmarried, low status males are more prone to

committing violent acts against women. This theory has been backed by the

consistency seen when studied in various countries. In India, a study carried out

between 1980 and 1982 showed a strong correlation between crime rates in individual

states across the country and the sex ratio in those states. The authors concluded that

there was a clear link between sex ratio and violence as a whole, not just violence

against women as might be assumed when there is a shortage of females.Error:

Reference source not found. The United Nations has revealed shocking figures stating

that 1 in 3 women are beaten or raped during their lifetime. Over a billion women

have been subjected to violence on this planet. Even the National Crime Record

Bureau (NCRB) states that one crime is committed against women every three

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minutes, which would mean about 480 women are violated on a daily basis." In

Rajasthan, discrimination against women is so deep-rooted that the child sex ratio is

883 girls for every 1000 boys. On an average there are over five rapes takes place in a

day and over 32 women deal with domestic violence on a daily basis. These are just

the reported cases. There are thousands of crimes that go unreported as there is a

culture of silence and denial as far as crimes against women are concerned. In India's

states where the sex ratio is highly skewed in favour of males, the daily reports of

rape and gang rape are consistent with notions that a surplus of men, devoid of the

feminising influence of sisters, girlfriends and wives, are driven towards committing

violent crimes against women. In fact, it might well be said that to deny the link

between the country's masculinised sex ratio and national average of 22 women raped

each hour is to live in disgraceful disregard for the lifelong suffering the crime inflicts

upon girls and women.

Female Worker Participation:

The correlations between female work participation and crime rates indicate that

women who go out are more vulnerable to violence. Talking about positions in

politics, women are significantly under-represented in these institutions too in India,

accounting for only 10% of the membership of national legislatures in 2009.

Over the period 1985-2007, only 5% of state legislators on average were women.

Women were also significantly disadvantaged in terms of human development. In

2007, India was ranked 114 out of 182 countries on the Gender Development Index of

the UNDP. India had only 933 women for every 1000 men due to pervasive neglect

and high rates of female infanticide; the Economist magazine estimated the number of

“missing women” in India to be greater than 100 million in 2009. Only 54% of

women in India were literate in 2001, compared with 76% of men. However, the

positive aspect of higher work participation rates is that dowry deaths in those

districts are much lower.

Dowry:

In this Act, “dowry” means any property or valuable security given or agreed to be

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given either directly or indirectly— (a) by one party to a marriage to the other party to

the marriage; or (b) by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other person,

to either party to the marriage or to any other person, at or before [or any time after

the marriage]in connection with the marriage of the said parties, but does not include]

dower or mahr in the case of persons to whom the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat)

applies. The payment of a dowry gift, often financial, has a long history in many parts

of the world. In India, the payment of a dowry was prohibited in 1961 under Indian

civil law and subsequently by Sections 304B and 498A of the Indian Penal Code.

These laws were enacted to make it easier for the wife to seek redress from potential

harassment by the husband's family. Dowry laws have come under criticism as they

have been misused by women and their families.

In India, there are civil laws, criminal laws and special legislative acts against the

tradition of dowry. Someone accused of taking dowry is therefore subject to a

multiplicity of legal processes.

The cases of Dowry Deaths have increased by 2.7% during the year 2011 over the

previous year (8,391 cases). 26.9% of the total such cases reported in the country

were reported from Uttar Pradesh (2,322 cases) alone followed by Bihar (1,413 cases)

(16.4%). The highest rate of crime (1.4) was reported from Bihar as compared to the

National average of 0.7.

Importation of Girls

An increase of 122.2% has been observed in Crime Head as 80 cases were reported

during the year 2011 as compared to 36 cases in the previous year (2010). Madhya

Pradesh (45 cases), Bihar (10 cases) and Karnataka (12 cases) have together

contributed more than two-third of total such cases at the National level.

FACTORS AND INFLUENCES

Violence in Gendered Media:

There‘s little to argue on the fact that media texts still silently 'mirror‘ & resonate

'patriarchal dominance‘ that exists within societies, tailored for its

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vast male audiences. “The media promotes a white, upper middle-class, male view of

the world that urges the rest of us to sit passively on our sofas and fantasize about

consumer goods while they handle the important stuff” (Douglas

1994, 11). Women are continually being depicted in popular media as stereotyped,

docile, hapless beings; fighting to co-exist and survive in a 'man‘s world‘. S.K

Srivastava and Sweta Agarwal (2004) raise the question: Do the visual media have

any relation with the crimes being perpetrated on women today? In their paper, they

explain how the images of women are being projected as pitiable, tortured beings

tormented by malevolent atrocities by the visual media, in a country like India where

women are traditionally given high esteem and worshipped as archetype deities.

Rape, murder, dowry deaths, female infanticide it‘s an endless list. It must be said that

most of the violence and crimes perpetrated on women goes

unreported in India, like elsewhere around the world. Such crimes, which do make it

to the news bulletin, depict just a fraction of the reality and are extremely small in

numbers compared to crimes perpetrated on men.

Indian Cinema is littered with imageries of women being projected as fragile beings;

as housewives, mothers, sisters, struggling working-women, prostitutes etc., with

limited freedom and social acceptance, enslaved, tortured

brutally, raped and murdered by villains- it‘s a vicious catacomb. Films like 'Mirch

Masala‘ and 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili‘ show how women were exploited and enslaved

under the Zamindari System and by the social elites.

This calls for a globalized socio-media reform, both intrinsically and extrinsically.

Global media institutions should intrinsically cleanse their own ideologies, policies

and priorities first, so that they can extrinsically trigger a reformation, intrinsically

within societies. Most of the global media organizations are owned & run majorly by

men. Women working in the media do have limited freedom and role to play.

It is absolutely critical that the media breaks free from the patriarchal clutches and

start taking feminist perspectives into serious considerations, so that it can

infuse healthy attitudes towards feminity within the society. Harnessing strong public

opinion, governmental & public policies towards VAW and 'Femicide‘ are

paramount; a task that should be carried out by the media. It‘s a tall, tough ask but a

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concerted start is needed. “The goal is that one day women will be able to walk down

the street, enter their homes, attend college classes, obtain successful careers and go

about their day without fear” (Bull,2007).

Unreported crimes:

In the Indian context, there are multitudes of reasons why the cases go unreported.

The social stigma attached with rape and sexual assault in a patriarchal society is too

big to bear by a girl/woman or her family. Hence silence is more comfortable than

going through the ordeal. 94% of the rapes are committed by someone known to the

victim. So social pressure forces the girl to be silent.

To add to it, if there is less than 30% conviction rates of sexual assault cases, people

will tend to lose faith in the system and not report things at all.

The medical procedures to verify the rape are very old and often add to stigma.

Quoting a report by a Human Rights group in India.

"Rape survivors in India are still being subjected to controversial forensic

examinations including the so-called “finger test”, says Human Rights Watch in a

report published today. The author of the report told RNW that the practice is

unscientific, degrading and leads to rape victims being abeled “loose women”.

The test is used to determine whether a rape survivor is sexually active, or as officials

often state, ‘habituated to sexual intercourse’. It involves a doctor inserting one or

two fingers in a rape victim’s vagina to determine the presence of the hymen and the

‘laxity’ of the vagina. If two fingers can pass, an examiner will often use this as proof

that the woman is sexually active.

The test has been widespread since the mid-20th century. Its use dropped off after

2003 when India’s evidence law was amended to prohibit the cross-examination of

rape victims based on “their general immoral character”. However, according to the

HRW report, the test is still described in some medical jurisprudence textbooks and

used in many cases.

The author of the report, Aruna Kashyap of Human Rights Watch India, told RNW

that the test is often used to label victims as ‘loose women’, which makes it less likely

that their attackers will be prosecuted “It’s humiliating for a woman to be identified

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as being ‘habituated to sex’ as it will be difficult for her to have the police take her

complaint seriously”, she says

A former chief public prosecutor is quoted in the report as saying that “the finger test

is relevant for the defence especially if the [rape victim] is unmarried. If the medical

report says that two fingers have passed, the defence can show that she’s habituated

[to sex]. This shakes the testimony of the victim”.

FACTS IN INDIA

Every 20 minutes a woman is raped in India according to the number of

registered rapes (this figure it much higher as most rapes go undocumented)

India is ranked third in rape after US and South Africa

228,650 of the 256,329 violent crimes recorded in 2011 were against women

Conviction rate for rape cases is 26.6%

Each week countless victims of rape commit suicide because of the way they

are treated following the rape by the police, doctors, their own parents and the

community

While conducting medical examinations, many doctors record unscientific and

degrading findings from the archaic “two-finger test”. A doctor inserts two fingers

into a women’s vagina to determine whether the hymen is broken. The findings

from this test are admissible in court, often blaming women’s behaviour for the

offense.

Victims are often encouraged to marry their rapists

Police and armed forces were the perpetrators in 30 out of 600 media articles

of violence against women between September 2011 to November 2011

Over the past five years, India's leading political parties have offered tickets to

27 candidates accused of rape and a 260 candidates facing charges for crimes

against women (assault, harassment, etc.). Today, two members of parliament and

six members of the various state legislative assemblies are facing rape charges,

while 36 others face charges for lesser crimes against women

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CONCLUSION

Even though India has witnessed commendable economic progress; it has not

translated into the social framework with women being the most vulnerable group to

violence and crimes. The recent rape case in Delhi and the many others that are now

gaining focus are evident of this fact. The conclusion is that even though literacy

seems to become an effective agency against violence only when literacy spreads

extensively, the definition of literacy is conspicuous and moreover literacy should not

only mean standard education but also education with reference to morals, broader

thinking with reference to changing regressive practices and traditional mindsets. This

will further the cause of changing sex ratio and bring about female worker

participation that is necessary in order to be able to create a virtuous cycle of non

violence against women. Media can play an enormous role in educating not only the

youth and coming generations but also the adults. It has the power to mould the

society by affecting the thinking process. But as Narendra Modi said, the media these

days is busy selling beauty products. And other than that, it shows soaps where

women are vamps and trying to harm other women or whatever. I don’t watch much

of TV (actually, stopped somewhere in May 2011) but almost all soaps are kind of

enhancing the negative side of humanity – killing the emotions necessary for people

to coexist. This won’t change unless the viewers want change as the media houses

want profit – at any cost. Still, if they want, they can dedicate some 10 minutes of

prime time for educating people.

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APPENDIX

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REFERENCES

1. World Health Organization Statistics and data:

http://www.who.int/gho/countries/ind/en/

2. The Times of India:

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-06/jaipur/36173782_1_girl-child-

female-feticide-dowry-deaths

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-14/jaipur/37098834_1_pledge-

fight-bhanwari-devi-women

3. V. Rukmini Rao and Lynette Dumble - January 17, 2013:

http://wunrn.com/news/2013/01_13/01_14/011413_male.htm

4. Population reference Bureau:

http://www.prb.org/igwg_media/violenceagainstwomen.pdf

5. National Crime Record Bureau

http://ncrb.nic.in/cii2010/cii-2010/Chapter%205.pdf

6. Ghosh, Biswajit and Choudhari, Tanima (2011): Legal Protection Against

Domestic Violence in India: Scope and Limitations. Journal of Family Violence. Vol.

26. 2011. P. 319-330.

7. Heise, Pitanguy and Germaine (1994) Violence against women: the hidden health

burden. World Bank Discussion Paper. Washington. D.C. The World Bank.

8. Sheela Saravanan (2000): Violence against Women in India. Institute of Social

Studies Trust, 2000. P. 1.

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