Bengaluru: Big leap in crimes against women

BENGALURU: Data released by the

National Crime Records Bureau

(

NCRB

) on Thursday revealed that compared to a rise of a mere nine cases of crimes against

women

-- from 3,100 in 2014 to 3,109 in 2015 -- in Bengaluru, the figure jumped by more than 300 cases in 2016. The city recorded 3,412 cases of crimes against women with the total number of victims in these 3,412 cases touching 3,531.

Compared to 18 other metropolitan cities in the country, Bengaluru stands third. New Delhi records the lion’s share with 13,803 cases against women, and Mumbai comes second with 5,128 cases. The total number of crimes against women recorded in the country jumped from 38,385 cases in 2014 to 41,761 cases last year. As a state, Karnataka fared better than Bengaluru when it came to crimes against women, recording a total of 14,131 cases and ranking 11th in the country. Prominent women’s rights activist KS Vimala said that while there was an increase in the number of cases being reported due to awareness campaigns about women’s safety, adequate measures were not being taken to curb the menace.

“I don’t completely agree that there is an increase in the number of crimes, we must also consider that there has been a surge in people going out and reporting atrocities. Landmark incidents like the Nirbhaya case, and recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee have helped instil confidence in women. At the same time, several measures had to be taken by the central and state governments, like setting up fast track courts for these cases. To my knowledge, Kerala is the only state that has sought victim compensation from the state government, out of the victim compensation fund set up for victims of crimes against women. Governments have to be more proactive,” she said. Manjula Manasa, former chairperson of Karnataka State Commission for Women, said it was not surprising that Bengaluru stood third, considering the general perception of women in society.

“When we see people like Pratap Simha’s comments about women, it is clear that there is no respect for women in society. A misogynistic attitude can be seen even among the educated classes. The judiciary should do more,” she added.

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