Analysis and suggestions for reducing sexual crimes in the country
While giving a snapshot data provided by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) states that from 1971 (2487) till 2011 (24206), there has been an increase of 873% in registered rapes, the highest increase in cognizable crimes. It is alleged that a large number of rapes go unreported, however the increase tells its own story.
The data is further analysed for four intervening decades.
|
2011 |
2001 |
1991 |
1981 |
1971 |
|
|
No. of Rapes |
24206 |
16075 |
10410 |
5409 |
2487 |
|
Increase in No. of cases |
8131 |
5674 |
5123 |
2420 |
NA |
|
% Increase in no. of |
51% |
55% |
97% |
85% |
NA |
|
Rapists known to victims |
84% |
84% |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Highest no. of rapes in |
UP & MP 22.5% |
UP & MP 30% |
UP & MP 38.5% |
UP & MP 37% |
UP & MP 45% |
|
Rapes in Delhi |
572 |
381 |
214 |
78 |
51 |
|
Rapes in Bombay |
221 |
127 |
114 |
74 |
55 |
The above analysis is important in understanding that this heinous crime has been going up regularly, but has now acquired alarming proportions in terms of absolute numbers. Since MP and UP have the highest population / area in the country they have had highest proportion of rapes in the country. However what is also important is while their absolute number is still going up, rape has become more widespread in the country.
Of course, as one can see while Delhi & Mumbai at one time were almost at same level in % terms, this crime has increased in Delhi. Thus the phrase of ‘Rape Capital’ is not unjustifiably attached to Delhi.
One of the most cited reason given for increase in this crime is that delay in prosecution, however if that is the sole reason, than it would be applicable to almost all types of crimes because same judicial system is applicable to all crimes. It is felt certain other important factors which directly contributed to this crime are discussed below.
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Degradation of female body in print and visual media and on internet.
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Easy access to youth to porn on internet (almost freely available at your fingertips all the time through internet mobiles)
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Bollywood songs which have always been popular among youth becoming more and more vulgar (some even almost inviting listeners to commit a sexual act)
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Easy access and widespread usage of alcohol
-
In current environment of focus on material wealth, there is no environment for youth to emulate heroes with ideals of high thinking, whose focus remains on sense-satisfaction (masti).
-
Several of the youth who migrate from rural / semi-urban areas have been in an environment where mixing of sexes is limited. Such persons when exposed to naked / semi-naked female images whether in print or internet, start considering women only as a sex-object and loose sense of right / wrong. Alcohol and lewd bollywood song, further contribute in titillating such persons.
Thus the current environment has become a precipe for widespread violence and sexual crimes against women.
Suggestions
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Censor Board should look at vulgarity of songs coming out of Bollywood
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Find ways to minimise access to nude / pornographic images on internet.
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Govts. should work to support environment which enhance value education in schools.
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Law has to be strictly enforced.
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Minimise time for prosecution both at trial stage as well as appeal.
-
Persons once convicted of certain heineous crimes should not be allowed to be released on bail during appeals (Reference: Sushil Sharma of infamous Tandoor Murder case).
-
Society to be encouraged to intervene whenever they see anything wrong. (At one time passers by hesitated to take accident victims to hospitals for the fear of getting involved in legal cases, however after courts intervened, the Govt made fresh guidelines making it much easier for passers by to take persons to hospital – this has improved the situation)
1.Solution of any social problem is Focus on the solution in the rich v/s voiceless poor of India. In these present dark days of so-called democracy in India, there is no national leader.
2. Justice Verma Committe’s job is complete as the present Central Government was/is to stop the outrage of peaceful protest as that has been always the policy to appoint commissions and committees foe solving any problem. Focus on the solution should be like that of Pakistan Government. Parliament Acts are not implemented against the interest of the politicians and corrupt officers for whom corruption is no issue in India. So the issue of age has been raised.
Apseri Org
The suggestions given about film songs and representation of women in print and electronic media, incresaing use of alchohol and cahnging gender equations are valid. But more than anything else, we need to devise a system to take strict action aginst those police officers who either do not take action or are negligent in handling evidence in such cases. There should be a special bench in NCW /NHRC to take up these cases as violation of human rights.
The problem today is lack of accessibility to legal and judicial bodies for such victims, so changes in existing institutions to deal with these cases should be made. The Ministry of Women and Child Welfare should have a 24X7X365 day helpline as first point of contact for such victims which should immediately inform teh panel of NGO workers and lawyers play a proactive role and form a body to of specified professionls to help register such cases and help the victims.
Freinds,
I welcome your comments and that focus has to be on law & order. While answer to many issues that we face is dependent on this, however it means that police should be so competent that they can catch the culprits immediately, that our investigative agencies can collect sufficient evidence to convict the culprits (our present conviction rates are around 20% only, i.e. those cases where judgements have come out), lesser said about delays relating to judicial proceedings the better. Even if we have fast courts for trial, and cases are completed within one year, convicted persons can appeal in high court (disposal time around 5 years) and subsequently in supreme court (disposal time around 6-7 years). Thus having fasrt courts only at trial stage is no solution. In Rajasthan we have fast courts but still it takes around 15 years for legal formalities to be completed due to time taken at appeal stage.
In the meantime, should we continue to allow our social environment to be so corrupted that no female person from 2 years to 80 years is safe. This environment has been deteriorating for last several years, as can be seen from the rape data published in the original blog 2487 in 1971 to 24,806 in 2011.
My submission is that solution has to be multiproged covering both law & order as well as enhancing values in our social environment.
subhash mittal
The experience of Rudy Guiliani who as mayor of New York brought down crime dramatically in the 90’s using the ‘zero tolerance’ method could have some pointers to what we have to do in India. Most of the debate so far has been around new laws and what kind of punishment is appropriate for rape. If we have to get a hold of the problem, though, the entire nation, starting with the police, have to adopt the zero tolerance mindset to crimes against women and girls. The police should not be isolated in this exercise: there is a need to educate public servants like bus conductors and private service providers like shop keepers and give them the confidence that such an attitude will not get them into trouble. There is also a dire need to focus on giving hope to millions of youth who have been systematically short changed by our education system: many of them are judged harshly and eliminated from any possibility of holding a paying job or a useful life by the system we have created over the years. Unfortunately, the government thinks allocating budgetary resources for skill development will alone deliver results.
Dear Friends,
Our economy is such that it provides opportunity to corrupt people to become rich overnight. This gives a message to the youth to become rich by hook or by crook urgently. And they act on it. This vitiate the environment to the extent that money becomes their God. In such a situation and a state of mind any thing can happen. We must look at the problem from this point of view also.