Violence against women in India

Background

Throughout the globe, violence against women has become an increasingly prevalent issue and has begun to be a central topic in politics and policy discussions, as well as dominant within the media. The United Nations define violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. Article 3 of The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against women also states that “women are entitled to the equal enjoyment and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, or any other field. Violence against women can be considered as one of the most relentless human rights violations, as the denial of equality, security, dignity, self-worth, and the right to exercise fundamental freedoms severely infringes upon the notion of basic human rights set out by the United Nations declaration of human rights.

In India, the long withstanding issue of violence against women has taken centre stage, as rates of crimes against women continue to grow at an unprecedented rate over recent years. Although violence against women is definitely widespread throughout the world, the crime rate against women in India is particularly alarming, as according to India’s 2004-2005 national health surveys, a third of women had faced some type of physical violence. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) recognizes the following as crimes against women: (i) Rape, (ii) Kidnapping & abduction for specified purposes, (iii) homicide for dowry, dowry deaths or their attempts, (iv) torture- both mental and physical, (v) assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty, (vi) insult to the modesty of women, (vii) importation of a girl from foreign country (up to 21 years of age). These crimes have been on a steady up rise within the state, as the number of cases in 2008 was 195,856, in 2009 it was 203,804, in 2010 it rose to 213,585, in 2011 the number of cases stood at 228,650, and in 2012 it was 244,270. With this being said, the biggest increase in number of crimes committed against women can be seen through a comparison between the number in 2012 to the number in 2013, which stands at 309,546. In addition to this, some of the latest figures from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) indicate that a crime was recorded against a woman every three minutes in India. Moreover, every hour, at least two women are sexually assaulted and every six hours, a married woman is beaten to death, burnt or driven to commit suicide.

Causal and Risk Factors

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes some risk factors for being a perpetrator of violence against women as low education, exposure to child maltreatment or witnessing violence in the family, harmful use of alcohol, and attitudes accepting violence and gender inequality. While all of these factors appear to play a role in influencing the prevalence of violence against women in India, the latter factor, pertaining to acceptance of violence and gender inequality seem to be significant within Indian society. Violence against women in India is endemic and deeply rooted in societal norms and traditions through male dominance, discriminatory legal practices favoring men, inadequate judicial processes that deny female victims protection and justice.

Male-Dominated Society:

India is considered to be a patriarchal society, where male supremacy reigns and women are deemed to be subordinate, inferior, and substandard. During her life cycle, a woman is typically thought to depend on her father, brother, husband, and finally her sons. In this sense, a male takes a superior role to the woman and therefore assumes power in all spheres of her life as well as holding the idea that all services and duties should serve the sole interests of the male. Indian society is ridden with and defined by cultural definitions of what a woman and man should do, as well as values that automatically give men proprietary rights over women and girls.

Socio-Economic:

While individuals of higher social and/or economic class are still susceptible to committing or being a victim of violence, low education rates, lack of employment, and low nutritional and health status seem to have an impact on the rate of violence. This is due to increased stress and tension in the male-female relationship in poorer households, which essentially gives rise to an increased chance of violence.

Cultural Ideology:

Women in India are vulnerable to exploitation and oppression due to the cultural norms, traditions, and legal and political systems that subordinate women. This is done through the promotion of gender ideology in religious texts, exposure to violence in popular culture including in film, theatre, and television shows that glamorize rape and violence against women as something encouraged and normal.

Rape

Rape is the most common form of violence against women in India. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013 defines rape as a gender specific crime that can be described as both the penile and non-penile of a woman by a man without the consent of a woman. This amendment act also sets out new punishments for all the various types of rape including gang rape and rapes by police officers and relatives, as well as recognizing voyeurism and stalking as crimes against women. Many say that is a result of the horrific and brutal gang rape of Jyoti Singh, a 23-year-old physiology student in Delhi, in December 2012. After the young woman succumbed to her injuries following the vicious gang rape, the nation expressed their anger and sadness at their nation’s stance on rape and the continual subordination and ill treatment of women. The 2015 documentary India's Daughter was based on the 2012 rape of Jyoti Singh. This documentary was directed by Leslee Udwin and was released by BBC’s Storyville series. This documentary sparked controversy around the world as the government banned it in India and ordered for it to be taken down from YouTube. One of the rapists, Mukesh Singh, was interviewed and he explained how the victim is to be blamed for her own rape stating that “a girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy.” Mukesh Singh also believes that women are only useful for “housework and housekeeping.” Singh’s statements caused outrage from women’s groups in India and all around the world. They believe his attitudes to be the standard way men perceive women in India. Udwin herself felt as though her “soul had been dipped in tar” when referring to her interview with Mukesh Singh.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) states that one rape is committed every 29 minutes in India. Moreover, the total number of rapes increased from 24,923 in 2012 to 33,707 in 2013. The city of Delhi reported 1,441 rapes in 2013, making it the city with the highest number of rapes and living up to its reputation as India’s “rape capital”. Following a rape, women are often socially condemned, ostracized, ignored and are often believed to be responsible for their own rape in the sense that they tempted the male perpetrator. This is part of the reason why women’s rights groups say the figures reported are still underestimates of reality, as women are usually too scared to report a rape incident due to fear of being socially condemned and shunned by their families. This is particularly important as the NCRB report that close relatives or acquaintances of victims are accused in 98% of India’s rape cases.

Domestic Abuse

Domestic and family abuse account for another large portion of violence against women in India. Domestic abuse doesn’t just include physical abuse, but verbal and emotional abuse is also incorporated in this category. Up to 45% of married men acknowledged physically abusing their wives, according to a 1996 survey of 6,902 men in the state of Uttar Pradesh. In addition to this the NCRB notes that one case of cruelty by husband and relatives occurs every 9 minutes in India. In 2012, the total number of women who reported this cruelty by their husband or relatives was 106,527. More than 20% of women reported to have been abused by a man whom they live with, and not only are they abused by their husbands but also their mother in laws and father in laws who play an integral role in this physical and mental abuse.

Acid Attacks

Acid violence involves the intentional throwing, spraying, or pouring of acid onto victim’ faces and bodies. Perpetrators of these attacks aim to disfigure and cause both intense physical and mental suffering to their victims. Acid attacks are another form of gender-based violence that perpetuates the inequality of women within Indian society. Although these types of attacks occur throughout the globe, India, Bangladesh, and Cambodia appear to have some of the highest rates of acid violence. Young girls are often targets of acid attacks if they refuse marriage, and if they are in the middle of family feuds.

Dowry Deaths

Dowry refers to the wealth a bride is supposed to bring with her for her husband and his family when she weds him. Despite the dowry system becoming illegal and the giving and taking considered to be an offence, it continues to persist and influence the treatment of women in Indian society. Dowry death is one of the most heinous crimes against women, as they are well thought out crimes that are typically committed within the home of the woman. Although the Indian criminal law was amended and acts of cruelty to married women, or compelling them to commit suicide were included as criminal offenses, nothing has appeared to decrease the number of dowry deaths that occur in the state. The NCRB reports that one dowry death occurs every 77 minutes in India.