Crimes Against Women Increasing... "Sexual Crimes Likely Underreported Compared to Occurrences"
Less Than 30% Conviction Rate in Rape Cases... Calls for Harsher Punishments Rise
[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] A case in India where a woman from the lowest caste was gang-raped and died has brought renewed attention to the widespread sexual crimes. It has been reported that about 90 cases of sexual assault against women occur daily in India.
According to the Indian daily Times of India on the 8th, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics show that last year, the number of reported sexual assault cases against women to Indian investigative authorities was 32,033. This averages to about 88 cases per day.
Crimes against women in India are increasing. Last year, the total number of crimes against women was 400,000, gradually rising from 359,000 in 2017 to 378,000 in 2018. Sexual crimes accounted for 10% of these.
Experts believe that considering India's conservative culture, there are many more unreported sexual crimes. In India, the blame for sexual crimes often falls on the victims.
Sexual assault cases in India have been a problem for years but have not improved. The 2012 incident where a female college student was gang-raped and mutilated to death on a moving bus in a busy area of New Delhi sparked increased calls to eradicate sexual violence and led to tougher punishments. However, related crimes have hardly decreased.
On the 14th of last month, in the Hapur district of northern Uttar Pradesh, a 19-year-old Dalit girl was gang-raped and assaulted by four upper-caste men and later died on the 29th of the same month while receiving treatment. The victim reportedly suffered torture-level violence, including having her tongue cut and spinal injuries causing paralysis. On the 29th of last month, another Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh was raped and assaulted by two men and died as a result.
Despite these repeated sexual assault cases, the actual conviction rate is less than 30%. According to the NCRB, the conviction rates for rape cases in 2018 and 2019 were 27.2% and 27.8%, respectively.
In response, protests demanding the eradication of sexual assault and strict punishment for perpetrators have continued across India. Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, stated, "We demand Uttar Pradesh to execute the perpetrators as soon as possible."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
