Lok Sabha Question No. 3890 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-25
Subject: Suicide by Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Faizal P.P. Mohammed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 3890

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2022

## SUICIDE BY WOMEN

## 3890. SHRI MOHAMMED FAIZAL P.P.:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of suicides of women, State-wise and year-wise from 2019 till date including the number of housewives among them;
- (b) whether suicides by women in India account for 36 percent of global suicides in the 15-39 age-group and if so, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether domestic violence is one of the main causes of suicide by housewives;
- (d) if so, whether the Government intends to strengthen the legal framework to tackle domestic violence in the country; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a)  to  (c)  :  National  Crime  Records  Bureau  (NCRB)  compiles  and  publishes  statistical data on accidents and suicides in its publication 'Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India (ADSI)', which is available on the website of NCRB, viz. https://ncrb.gov.in. The report is available  upto  the  year  2020.  The  said  report  also  contains  details  of  the  number  of cases of suicide by women in the country. State-wise and year-wise details of number of suicides of women, and out of these, by house-wives for the year 2019 and 2020 is at Annexure. The  comparative data of suicide by  women in India with respect to global suicides  is  not  available.  The  data  published  by  the  NCRB  shows  that  the  main  two causes behind suicide of women are 'family problem' followed by 'illness'.

(d) & (e) : 'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility to maintain law and order, protection of life and  property  of  the  citizens  including  investigation  and  prosecution  of  crime  against women and children rests primarily  with  the  respective  State Governments. The  State Governments are competent to deal with such offences under the extant provisions of laws.

Nevertheless, the Central Government gives high priority to ensuring safety and security of  women  and  has  undertaken  various  legislative  and  schematic  interventions  in  this regard. These include legislations such as 'The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018', 'The Sexual Harassment of  Women  at  Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and

Redressal)  Act,  2013',  'The  Protection  of  Women  from  Domestic  Violence  Act,  2005', 'The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961', etc. The schemes/ projects include One Stop Centres (OSCs);  Universalisation  of  Women  Helplines  (WHL),  Emergency  Response  Support System (ERSS) which is a pan-India single number (112)/ mobile app based system for emergencies; a cyber-crime reporting portal to report obscene content; safe city projects in  8  cities  (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai) including infrastructure, technology adoption and capacity building in community through awareness programmes, training and skill development programs for Investigation  Officers,  Prosecution  Officers  and  Medical  Officers;  distribution  of  Sexual Assault Evidence Collection (SAEC) Kits to States/ UTs; establishment of state of the art DNA  Laboratory  at  CFSL,  Chandigarh;  assistance  to  24  States/  UTs  to  strengthen Forensic Science Laboratories; setting up of 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for speedy disposal of cases of rape and cases under POCSO Act; setting up/ strengthening of  Anti  Human  Trafficking  Units  (AHTUs)  in  all  districts  of  the  country;  setting  up/ strengthening  of Women Help Desks (WHDs) at Police Stations etc. The Government has  also  put  in  place  Investigation  Tracking  System  for  Sexual  Offences,  an  online analytic tool for tracking and monitoring of investigation. A National Database on Sexual Offenders  (NDSO)  has  also  been  created.  As  such,  sufficient  legal  and  schematic framework are available to safeguard women from the menace of domestic violence.

In addition, Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Home Affairs have issued advisories to States/ UTs from time to time on various issues pertaining to safety and security of women and children.

*****

ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  TO  THE  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  3890  FOR  ANSWER  ON  25.03.2022  ASKED  BY  SHRI MOHAMMED FAIZAL P.P. REGARDING 'SUICIDE BY WOMEN'

State/ UT-wise Number of Suicide Committed by Female and number of house-wives among them during 2019 & 2020

| Sl.   | State/UT                    | 2019         | 2019        | 2020         | 2020        |
|-------|-----------------------------|--------------|-------------|--------------|-------------|
| No.   |                             | Total female | House-wives | Total female | House-wives |
| 1     | Andhra Pradesh              | 1725         | 609         | 1884         | 748         |
| 2     | Arunachal Pradesh           | 31           | 9           | 48           | 9           |
| 3     | Assam                       | 691          | 378         | 906          | 405         |
| 4     | Bihar                       | 246          | 111         | 358          | 151         |
| 5     | Chhattisgarh                | 2109         | 854         | 2242         | 1066        |
| 6     | Goa                         | 58           | 35          | 74           | 50          |
| 7     | Gujarat                     | 2486         | 1689        | 2542         | 1736        |
| 8     | Haryana                     | 894          | 402         | 917          | 391         |
| 9     | Himachal Pradesh            | 207          | 142         | 296          | 200         |
| 10    | Jharkhand                   | 580          | 180         | 759          | 212         |
| 11    | Karnataka                   | 2873         | 1658        | 3067         | 1855        |
| 12    | Kerala                      | 1888         | 961         | 1930         | 908         |
| 13    | Madhya Pradesh              | 4348         | 2938        | 4915         | 3185        |
| 14    | Maharashtra                 | 4448         | 2737        | 4472         | 2570        |
| 15    | Manipur                     | 22           | 11          | 17           | 8           |
| 16    | Meghalaya                   | 33           | 11          | 61           | 18          |
| 17    | Mizoram                     | 16           | 2           | 20           | 8           |
| 18    | Nagaland                    | 5            | 1           | 12           | 3           |
| 19    | Odisha                      | 1986         | 713         | 1637         | 554         |
| 20    | Punjab                      | 539          | 373         | 623          | 411         |
| 21    | Rajasthan                   | 1229         | 641         | 1630         | 883         |
| 22    | Sikkim                      | 58           | 27          | 68           | 28          |
| 23    | Tamil Nadu                  | 4250         | 2025        | 5275         | 2559        |
| 24    | Telangana                   | 2062         | 659         | 2164         | 630         |
| 25    | Tripura                     | 232          | 109         | 249          | 166         |
| 26    | Uttar Pradesh               | 2231         | 1586        | 1642         | 893         |
| 27    | Uttarakhand                 | 181          | 149         | 276          | 167         |
| 28    | West Bengal                 | 4896         | 1931        | 5136         | 2009        |
|       | TOTAL STATE(S)              | 40324        | 20941       | 43220        | 21823       |
| 29    | A & N Islands               | 51           | 35          | 50           | 34          |
| 30    | Chandigarh                  | 38           | 18          | 48           | 18          |
| 31    | D&N Haveli and Daman&Diu +@ | 40           | 18          | 43           | 26          |
| 32    | Delhi UT                    | 768          | 305         | 895          | 410         |
| 33    | Jammu & Kashmir             | 127          | 42          | 130          | 62          |
| 34    | Ladakh@                     | -            | -           | 2            | 0           |
| 35    | Lakshadweep                 | 0            | 0           | 1            | 1           |
| 36    | Puducherry                  | 145          | 0           | 109          | 0           |
|       | TOTAL UT(S)                 | 1169         | 418         | 1278         | 551         |
|       | TOTAL (ALL INDIA)           | 41493        | 21359       | 44498        | 22374       |