Lok Sabha Question No. 953 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-25
Subject: Violence against Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Dileshwar Kamait

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 953

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2025

## VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

## †953.  SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any special intervention has been made to reduce violence against women in the country during the last five years and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the manner in which awareness about women rights is being promoted among the rural population in the country;
- (c) the details of the funds allocated for the purpose alongwith the names of the schemes implemented in this regard;
- (d) whether violence against women has increased in the country during the last five years;
- (e) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  reasons  therefor  alongwith  the  corrective  steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (f) the  details  of  the  schemes  being  framed  by  the  Government  to  ensure  safe environment for the women in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) to (f):   'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Responsibility to maintain law and order and protection of life and property  of  the  citizens  and  investigation  and  prosecution  in  all  crimes  including  those against  women  rests  primarily  with  the  respective  State  Governments;  they  are  legally competent to deal with such crimes.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes statistical data on crimes in its publication 'Crime in India'. The latest published report pertains to the year 2022 and is available at its website https://ncrb.gov.in/en/crime-india. As reported by NCRB, the number of crimes against women in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 were 378236, 405326,  371503,  428278  and  445256  respectively.  Among  other  reasons,  increased reporting of crime is attributable to the increased level of awareness among citizens due to various measures taken by government in the last few years including the operationalisation of helplines such as Women Helpline -181, Child Helpline - 1098 and Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112), concept of Zero FIR and e-FIR and provision of institutional support to the survivors.

For safety and security of women and girls, Government has taken several steps. Some recent laws and policies that directly and indirectly cater to the safety of women are given below:

- i. The Government of India with an aim to modernize and improve the criminal justice system has enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) which came into effect from 1st July, 2024. In BNS 2023, the offences against women and children earlier scattered in Indian Penal Code, 1860 have been brought together and consolidated under Chapter-V of BNS. It has introduced new provisions to strengthen laws related to women and children, specifically, Section 111 related to 'organized crime', Section 69  related  to  sexual  intercourse  on  false  promise  of  marriage,  employment, promotion or by suppressing the identity, Section 95 related to hiring, employing or engaging a child to commit an offence etc. In respect of the crimes related to buying a  child  for  the  purposes  of  prostitution  (Section  99),  gang  rape  (Section  70)  and exploitation of a trafficked person (Section 144), punishment has been increased. Further, in respect of certain severe crimes against women like buying child for the purposes  of  prostitution  (section  99  of  BNS),  organised  crime  (Section  111), kidnapping  or  maiming  a  child  for  purpose  of  begging  (Section  139),  mandatory minimum punishments have been prescribed. Also, Sections 75 and 79 of BNS 2023 provide  additional  legal  protections  against  harassment,  covering  actions  like unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks and also word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman. A woman facing sexual  harassment  at  workplace  has  an  option  to  file  a  complaint  under  these provisions.
- ii. Additionally, provisions under section 398 BNSS which introduce Witness Protection Scheme,  acknowledging  the  critical  need  to  shield  witnesses  from  threats  and intimidation and Section 2(1)(d) of BSA which now enables electronic or digital record on emails, documents on computers, laptop or smartphone, messages and voice mail messages stored on digital devices under definition of documents can also be referred for protection of women from harassment at workplace.
- iii. Further, the Labour Codes, collectively include provisions to promote participation of women  in  workforce  in  a  dignified  manner  and  with  adequate  safety  measures adopted by the employers. Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020 consolidates and amends laws regulating the safety, health, and working conditions of workers, with specific provisions to ensure the safety of women at the workplace.
- iv. The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  recently  launched  the  SHe-Box portal duly encompassing various provisions of 'the Sexual Harassment of Women at  Workplace  (Prevention,  Prohibition,  and  Redressal)  Act,  2013'  (SH  Act).  This portal provides a publicly available centralised repository of information related to Internal Committees (ICs) and Local Committees (LCs) formed across the country, whether in government or private sector. It also provides a common platform to file complaints and track the status of such complaints. The portal includes a feature where complaints registered on it will be automatically forwarded to the IC/ LC of the workplaces concerned within the Central Ministries/ Departments, States/ UTs and in  Private  sector.  The  portal  provides  for  designating  a  nodal  officer  for  every workplace who is required to ensure updation of data/ information on a regular basis for real time monitoring of complaints.
- v. Under Nirbhaya Fund, upto the financial year 2024-25, projects amounting to Rs. 11,325.64  Crore  have  been  appraised  by  Empowered  Committee  (EC).  The Competent Financial Authority (CFA) has so far approved amount of Rs. 9058.68 Crore  against  the  aforesaid  appraised  projects.  The  total  fund  provided  by  the Government under Nirbhaya Fund is Rs. 7712.85 Crore till the Financial Year 202425 and as informed by the Implementing agencies, total Fund released and utilized out of Nirbhaya Fund is Rs. 6232.83 Crore. Under this fund, Government has taken several measures to improve safety of women some of which are detailed below:
- a.  One Stop Centre (OSC) component of Mission Shakti Umbrella Scheme, which is fully funded by the central government is implemented across the country since 1st April, 2015. It provides integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence and those in distress, both in private and public spaces. It also provides an integrated range of services including medical aid, legal aid and advice, temporary  shelter,  police  assistance,  psycho-social  counselling  to  needy  women. 843 OSCs are operational across the country and over 11.19 lakh women have been assisted upto 31st March, 2025.
- b.  To ensure that the Police Stations are more women friendly and approachable, as they would be the first and single point of contact for any woman walking into a police station, 14,658 Women Help Desks (WHDs) have been set up, of which 13,743 are headed by women police officers.
- c.  To provide help and support to needy women and women in distress, Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112) has been established in all 36 States and UTs for various emergencies, with computer aided dispatch of field/ police resources. Since its launch, over 43 crore calls have been handled so far. In addition to ERSS, a fully functional dedicated Women helpline (WHL-181) is operational in 35 States/ UTs except West Bengal. The WHL has also been integrated with ERSS. So far, Women Helplines have handled over 2.30 crore calls and assisted over 88.24 lakh women.
- d.  To ensure safety of public places where women work and live, various components under Safe City Projects have been implemented in 8 Cities (namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai). To ensure safe  transportation  for  women,  rail  and  road  transport  projects  like  Integrated Emergency Response Management System (IERMS), Video Surveillance System at Konkan Railway, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based Facial Recognition System (FRS) integrated with Video surveillance Systems, including Command-and-Control Centre at 7 major railway stations and tabs for safety of women passengers on board the train  by  Ministry  of  Railways,  and  projects  like  Vehicle  Tracking  Platform  with command and control centre across States/ UTs, and some State specific projects like Uttar Pradesh Road transport Corporation (UPSRTC), Bengaluru Metropolitan

Transport  Corporation  (BMTC),  Telangana  State  Road  Transport  Corporation (TSRTC), etc. by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, have been implemented.

- vi. Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) has also undertaken several initiatives,  which,  inter-alia  include  training  and  skill  development  programs  for Investigation Officers, Prosecution Officers and Medical Officers. BPR&D has also prepared Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) for 'Women Help Desk at Police Stations'  to  ensure  their  smooth  functioning.  Emphasis  has  been  laid  upon appropriate behavioural and attitudinal skills of the police in course of prevention and detection of crime against women and children and interaction with victims of crime. Webinars on women safety with sensitivity, gender sensitization of police personnel etc. have also been organized by BPR&D.
- vii. Further, the Ministry of Women and Child Development also administers scheme 'Samarthya' under Mission Shakti in which the component of Shakti Sadan is for relief and rehabilitation of women in difficult circumstances.
- viii. The  Government,  through  institutions  like  the  National  Commission  for  Women (NCW)  and  its  counterparts  in  States  has  been  spreading  awareness  through seminars, workshops, audio- visual, print and electronic media etc. to sensitize the people about the safety and security of women and also about various provisions of the legislation and  policies etc. 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. In respect of the registered complaints, NCW takes up the matter with stakeholders especially the Police Authorities to ensure that the complaints are redressed and brought to logical conclusion.
- ix. The Ministry has launched the 'Mission Shakti Portal' with all functional features on January 22, 2025. This portal aims to enhance accessibility of various government services  for  women,  establish  quality  mechanisms  for  rescue,  protection,  and rehabilitation, and build the capacity of functionaries and duty holders under various schemes and legislations.

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