Four years ago, in 2012, India experience an appalling one of a kind rape case, where a 23-year-old lost her life in Delhi. Four men raped a girl in India’s capital city which resulted in nationwide protests and a start to the horrific rape culture in India.
Four years on, the question, what is the current status of the rising rape-culture in India and what has the country learned from the heinous incident that resulted in Jyoti Singh’s death.
Source: list91.com
According to the report published on Wall-Street Journal:
1) The number of reported rapes in 2015 was 34,651, up 39% since the year before the famous gang rape. Activists say the growth could actually be a sign of progress as it may mean more women have become emboldened enough to report the crime.
2) Out of every 100,000 females in Delhi, there were 184 cases of sexual assault, physically abuse or dowry demands filed in 2015.
3) India arrested 19,973 persons in 2015 for murdering or harassing women into suicide over dowry demands. That is 18% less than 24,418 persons arrested in 2012.
Source: cnn.com
4) India arrested 101,571 people in 2015 for abusing a woman physically or requesting sexual favors. That is nearly 79% more than 56,827 persons arrested for those crimes in 2012.
5) The number of persons arrested for rape in India rose 35% to 42,036 in 2015 compared to the 31,117 persons arrested in 2012.
The stats clearly show, that India’s obsession with rape and forced sexual assault has only increased with time, not the other way round. Since the 2012 Delhi rape case, some prominent incidents involving sexual assault and rape are: Shakti Mill Gang-Assault (2013), Birbum Gang-Assault Case (2014), Kamduni Gang-Assault and Murder Case (2013), Bantala Assault Case (2013) and the Ajmer Assault Case (2016).
Source: list91.com
Other than these prominent cases which were highlighted, there have been thousands of other cases reported which have not attained media attention or public anger. Indians have tried to simmer down the increase in cases of sexual assault by a number of public service campaigns, but it seems that they are currently of no use.
The frustration level in the Indian society is currently unmatched and has no comparison anywhere else in the world. Working women who travel by public transport are the easiest prey and have developed a phobia for their safety. The common woman in India does not feel safe outside her house at any time of the day. A large population, uncontrolled by a government that is too busy trying to initiate a cold war with Pakistan, is seeing a frustrating outburst internally.
As ambassadors for women empowerment, here’s to hoping that one day women in India feel safe in their surroundings.
Facts/figures source: Wall-Street Journal
