In a grim reminder of how risky Indian cities, villages, and towns are for Women and children, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) positions Uttar Pradesh as the most unsafe for Women. In this context, the Badaun incident comes within a few months after a Dalit lady from Hathras was purportedly assaulted by four men on September 14. The Hathras victim passed away on September 29 at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital and the victim in the Badaun incident died due to severe injuries and blood loss caused by the accused with her body dumped at the doorsteps of the anxious family in the dead of the night. The family of the victim in Badaun had informed the police and were hushed away by the SHO.  Likewise, in a show of unethical apathy by the state government in the Hathras case, the family were not even allowed to attend the funeral which was carried out by the state police, to sweep away the case, in night against the cultural norms of the victim’s family.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the Adityanath government over the gang rape and murder in Badaun district, charging that there was a laxity in the intention of the Uttar Pradesh administration on the issue of women’s security.  She also condemned the remarks made by a member of the National Commission for Women (NCW) on the Badaun rape and murder case, saying that women will not tolerate such foul-mouthing habits.

Noting that NCW member Chandramukhi Devi’s remark that the crime could have been avoided if the victim had not ventured out alone, pinned the blame on the victim, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked if the safety of women can be ensured with such an attitude.

Earlier, Priyanka Gandhi had also launched a scathing attack on the UP government over the Hathras case. She had stated that the development of the Hathras case had raised serious questions on the Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, UP police, ADG Law & Order, District Magistrate of Hathras and senior functionaries of the state administration. She had also accused that the state-govt of UP had left no stone unturned to deny the victim dignity, be it in life and death.

Also Read: Development of women’s rights in India-Part-I

As per the horrifying statistics, every 16 minutes, a woman is raped somewhere in India, and every four minutes a woman experiences cruelty at the hands of her in-laws.

In 2016, Uttar Pradesh had the most elevated number of crimes against women. While the state recorded 14.5% of the absolute instances of violations against women, it represented 12.4% of the total number of rape cases.

The 2017 statistics highlights the poor law and order circumstances in the nation with 3.59 lakh instances of crimes revealed against women. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of crimes against womens with 56,011 cases, while Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of rape cases at 5562.

The 2017 Unnao rape case in the Bharatiya Janata Party- ruled Uttar Pradesh shook the nation. The party legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar was charge-sheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case. Uttar Pradesh was trailed by Maharashtra with 31,979 cases and West Bengal with 30,002 cases.

Also Read: Development of women’s rights in India-Part-II

Interestingly, Delhi, which came to be known as the rape capital after the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case, saw a decrease in crimes against women for the third consecutive year, with 13,076 FIRs being recorded in 2017, down from 15,310 in 2016 and 17,222 in 2015.

In 2018, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released the yearly Crime in India Report. It was published with provisional information, as five States, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Sikkim did not send explanations looked for by the NCRB regardless of rehashed updates.

As indicated by the report, 3,78,277 instances of crimes  against women  were accounted for in the nation, up from 3,59,849 in 2017. Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 59,445 cases, trailed by Maharashtra (35,497) and West Bengal (30,394). The conviction rate in rape-related cases remained at 27.2% despite the fact that the pace of recording chargesheets was 85.3% in such cases.

In 2019, the nation had recorded 88 rape cases each day. Of the total 32,033 revealed rape cases in the year, 11% were from the Dalit community. In 2019, 5,997 rape cases have been recorded in Rajasthan, in which 1313 were minor young girls and UP had 3,065 cases. In parallel, as per Rajasthan Police, 3498 cases have been recorded till August in 2020.

It is a disgrace without a doubt that rapes occurs everyday. Rape is an physical, psychological & social malady or infection which attacks the dignity of the victim who are either left dead or with a life-long stigma. It does not differentiate between a 3-year-old kid and an 80-year-old woman. From parties to workplace to our homes, rape, molestations, harassment, and to a larger extent voyeurism, sexual innuendos, and benevolent sexism have become a norm. The survivors of these shocking crimes, more specifically rapes, molestations, & harassment are then left to be humiliated, ostracized, and stigmatized for the rest of their life. In many cases of such assaults, the victims are burnt alive. Some of them even spend their entire “after rape life” on ventilators. A painful example was that of Aruna Shanbaug, who had remained in a vegetative state for 42 years because of a brutal sexual assault on her, and had died in 2015.

According to government data, nearly four women are raped every hour in this country. Realistically speaking, it indicates that only about 90 women each day find the courage to report that they have been sexually violated. The real number, which is probably way higher never gets captured as many rapes go unreported, buried under shame, confusion and fear.

Public data also shows that the majority of rapes are often perpetrated by persons known to the victim, including family and neighbours. Reporting this often risks inviting stigma on the victim rather than on the accused. This is because, in our rancid rape culture, fuelled by the venomous, vile, and vacuous patriarchy, where men assume entitlement of superiority, some of us also question victim’s behaviour that brought on predators like the recent incidence of the comment made by the member of the NCW.

The government must set up a special unit that recruits and trains officers specifically to deal with sexual offences, and create easy access for victims to doctors, forensic experts, rape survivors, and psychologists. This will help victims feel confident in coming forward to seek justice. Ideas like “all-women police stations” should be implemented with vigour across the nation. The first such All-women police-station in India was set up in Kozhikode by Indira Gandhi in 1973. All registered offences must be dealt with by this unit within a month using fast-track courts. Predators must know that justice is swift and favourable to victims. India’s approach to curbing sexual aggression must steer clear of diminishing women, and root out the reckless deep-seated patriarchal attitudes instead.