A moving report titled Gender Violence in India by Prajnya, a civil society organization, says that violence against women is on the rise in India. Close to 13.3% of total crimes against women are reported from just one state, Andhra Pradesh. (See the link below)
The report, which uses the statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), tells us that honour killings are often reported as torture or caste violence rather than gender violence because of the existing legal system. The report provides a new set of data to get a complete picture on violence and crimes against women.
The report divides the types of violence against women under six categories: a) pre natal sex selection, b) child marriage and forced marriage, c) honour killings, d) dowry deaths, and e) domestic violence and rape.
The report finds that pre-natal sex selection practices have resulted in at least 10 million missing girls, since ultrasounds and other sex selection tests became available two decades ago, a striking example of modern technology facilitating age-old prejudices. Females (rather than males) are forced into marriage for reasons ranging from maintaining family honour to joining families to expand business interests.
Honour killings or crime is presumed to be committed in India (particularly in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu) to ‘salvage’ the ‘honour’ of a clan, community or family that has somehow been ‘violated’. Usually the violation occurs through the actions of a woman in the community choosing a husband, lover or boyfriend, against her family’s wishes. Breach of caste dynamics also lead to violence.
Since 2006, there has been an increase of 6.2 percent in dowry deaths in the country. Nearly 25.7 percent of total such cases nationwide were reported from Uttar Pradesh (2,076) and Bihar followed with 14.5 percent (1,172).
Indian women are equally vulnerable to domestic violence. A total of 75,930 cases were reported in the country in 2007 with an increase of 20.3% over 2006 and 35.8% over the average of the previous 5 years (2002-2006).
Madhya Pradesh has reported the highest number of rape cases (3,010) accounting for 14.5% of total such cases reported in the country. Nearly 9.5% (1,972) of the total victims of rape were girls under 15 years of age, while 15.2% (3,152) were teenage girls (15-18 years). Nearly two-third were women in the age-group 18-30 years. Rapists were known to the victims in as many as 19,188 (92.5%) cases according to NCRB statistics for 2007. Neighbours figured as the most common of perpetrators: in 36 percent of the cases a neighbour was involved.
Further readings
Gender Violence in India by Prajnya (2009), http://www.prajnya.in/gvr09.pdf
http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=35914915772
http://www.prajnya.in/16days.htm
An anniversary of violence by Kalpana Sharma, The Hindu, 13 December, 2009,
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/12/13/stories/2009121350100300.htm