Lok Sabha Question No. 84 (STARRED), answered on 2021-12-03
Subject: Crime Against Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Kanakmal Katara, Chirag Paswan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *84

TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.12.2021

## CRIME AGAINST WOMEN

- *84.     SHRI KANAKMAL KATARA: SHRI CHIRAG KUMAR PASWAN:

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

- (a) whether  there  has  been  a  rapid  increase  in  crime  against  women  in  several States of the country and if so, the steps taken to check the same;
- (b) the details of facilities being provided by the Government to the victims of dowry related exploitation and domestic violence;
- (c) whether any special training is being given or proposed to be given to the officers investigating the cases of dowry related exploitation and domestic violence;
- (d) if so, the details thereof, State/ UT-wise and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e) the  details  of  assistance  provided  by  the  Government  to  the  victims  of  dowry related exploitation and domestic violence?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## *84. STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. +*84 for  03.12.2021  ASKED BY  SHRI KANAKMAL KATARA & SHRI CHIRAG KUMAR PASWAN REGARDING 'CRIME AGAINST WOMEN'

(a)  to  (e ): The  National  Crime  Records  Bureau  (NCRB)  publishes  the  data  on  crime against women which is available for the year upto 2020. The data published by NCRB shows  a  declining  trend  in  the  crime  against  women  which  was  3,71,503  in  the  year 2020, as against 4,05,326 in the year 2019.

For the first time, almost on all indicators related to marital and natal violence such as dowry death (S. 304B Indian Penal Code), cruelty by husband or his relatives (S. 498A Indian  Penal  Code),  dowry  harassment  (the  Dowry  Prohibition  Act),  domestic  violence (Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act) are on decrease as indicated in the following table:

| Marital Offences                                                                   | 2019     | 2020     |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------|----------|
| Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives (S. 498A)                                      | 1,24,934 | 1,11,549 |
| Dowry Harassment (under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961)                           | 13,307   | 10,366   |
| Dowry Death (S. 304B IPC)                                                          | 7,141    | 6,966    |
| Domestic Violence (under The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005) | 553      | 446      |

'Police'  and  'Public  Order'  are  State  subjects  under  the  Seventh  Schedule  to  the Constitution of  India  and  the  responsibility  to  maintain  law  and  order,  protection  of  life and  property  of  the  citizens  including  investigation  and  prosecution  of  crime  against women rests primarily with the respective State Governments.

The  Constitution  of  India  guarantees  the  right  to  equality  and  also  provides  for positive interventions by the State to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and  to  ensure  their  holistic  empowerment.  Keeping  in  mind  the  vision  articulated  in Constitutional provisions, there has been enactment of various legislations such as the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, the Protection of Women from Domestic  Violence  Act,  2005  and  the  Prohibition  of  Child  Marriage  Act,  2006   which addresses the issue of gender inequality, discrimination and violence faced by women.

In  addition,  Government  of  India  has  introduced  various  schemes  and  projects including  One  Stop  Centres  (OSCs)  for  violence  affected  women,  Women  Helplines (WHL) running on tollfree telephonic short code 181, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), Swadhar  Grehs  for  women  facing  difficult  circumstances  or  destitution,  Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) which is a pan-India single number (112)/ mobile app based  system  for  emergency  response,  safe  city  projects  in  8  cities  (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai), training and skill development  programs  for  Investigation  Officers,  Prosecution  Officers  and  Medical Officers, setting up/ strengthening of Women Help Desks (WHDs) at Police Stations etc to ensure safety of women across the country.

Further,  the  National  Commission  for  Women  (NCW),  in  addition  to  handling complaints  through  regular  mode,  helps  women  in  distress  through  a  dedicated WhatsApp  Number  at  72177  35372  for  reporting  domestic  violence  cases.  NCW  also takes  cognizance  of  the  grievances  relating  to  domestic  violence  reported  in  social media. The complaints received by NCW are acted upon by coordinating with victims, police and other authorities to provide immediate assistance.

These  measures  have  resulted  in  positive  outcomes  such  as  reduction  in  the percentage of women aged 18 to 49 years who have ever experienced spousal violence from  31.2%  as  per  National  Family  Health  Survey  (NFHS)-4  (2015-16)  to  29.3%  in NFHS-5 (2019-20), increase in the sex ratio of total population (females per 1000 males) from 991 as per NFHS-4 to 1,020 as per NFHS-5, and extension of support to more than 4.5 lakh violence affected women through 704 One Stop Centres operationalized across the country.

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