Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai and Lucknow have recorded the highest cases under Assault on women and Sexual Harassment, Section 354A of IPC. India does not follow a unique approach to prioritizing carceral measures in response to violence against women.
While 2020 the year which suffered the longest Pandemic Lockdown and severe economic damage, has recorded a total of 9,24,016 cognizable crimes in 19 Metropolitan cities with an increase in cases registered under the IPC sections (Indian Penal Code) by 10.9% with several 6,68,061 when compared to 2019 and decrease in SLL sections (Special and Local Laws) by 0.2% with a total of 2,55,955 over 2019. Thus, showing an increase of 7.6% over 2019(8,59,117).
The NCRB record states that the overall crime committed against women and children have witnessed a dip of 21.1% over 2019 (44,783) under the women’s section and 28.8% over 2019 (21,133) under the children.
The majority of the cases registered under crime against women were “Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty”, “Kidnapping and abduction of women”, “Cruelty by husband or his relatives”, and “rape”.
Cities like Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai and Lucknow have recorded the highest cases under “Assault on women” and “Sexual Harassment, Section 354A of IPC”.
India does not follow any unique approach to prioritizing carceral measures in response to violence against women. As a result of protests against a rise in rape cases, the Bangladesh government approved capital punishment for the crime in 2020.
In the UK, recently, misogyny has been referred to as a hate crime following the rape and killing of a woman by a British police officer. As a response to violence against women, the United States has historically relied heavily on criminal law.
A break from criminal law
Crime law responses to violence against women remain inadequate, leading to new problems unintentionally. In light of this, it makes a solid case to take a break from criminal law.
Despite this, we should not let the state off the hook for not addressing the plight of violence against women. Instead, we need to change our approach.
Firstly, we should note that the violence against women is not due to individual deviance or abnormal behaviour but is how power operates among or within the genders. So, this must be the basis for all government policies addressing violence against women.
To prevent gender stereotypes, governments should ensure that laws and policies do not promote them. To do this, government functionaries, including judges and law enforcement, should be made aware of gender equality.
Next, violence against women is often the result of a crisis of masculinity. It involves addressing the various risk factors associated with high rates of sexual crimes, recognizing how masculinity notions contribute to violence, and engaging men and boys in violence against women-prevention programming.
Lastly, it is impossible to separate violence against women from how society addresses gender and sexuality issues.
A robust public education program focused on comprehensive gender and sexuality education can effectively address information asymmetries and promote autonomy in relationships. Such campaigns are not new to India.
Dip in the rate of female participation at work
FEMALE Labor Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) declines strongly correlate with barriers limiting women’s labour-market options. This barrier includes the lack of safety and mobility options—also the interplay of social norms and identities. India occupies 140th place out of 156 countries in the.
2021 Global Gender Gap Index, down from 98th in 2006 and below the global average of 45%. But still, crime against women is the most prominent barrier to women’s lack of participation and contribution to society.
Increased crime rates are associated with decreased FLFPR. Women and girls face numerous challenges, including violence against them, which hampers their mobility and reduces their likelihood of joining the workforce; as a result,
we need a comprehensive approach that combines government, institutions, communities, and households to address this problem.
