India witnessed major rise in domestic violence during pandemic: NCW

The National Commission for Women (NCW) received 7,715 complaints involving the right to live with dignity, 5,297 under the protection of women against domestic violence, 3,788 cases of dowry-related harassment, 1,679 cases of molestation and 1,236 cases of rape and attempt to rape between January to December last year.

New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) registered a total of 23,722 atrocities and crime against women and children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NCW received 7,715 complaints involving the right to live with dignity, 5,297 under the protection of women against domestic violence, 3,788 cases of dowry-related harassment, 1,679 cases of molestation and 1,236 cases of rape and attempt to rape between January to December last year.

Such a huge number of cases of atrocities and crime against women has also been categorically figured by a Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs in its report presented in the Parliament on Monday.

The committee notes that there was a sudden spurt in domestic violence and trafficking of women and children during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

"This was mainly due to disruption in economic activities, work from home and family spending more time at home during lockdowns," the committee said in its report.

The 30-member committee headed by Congress MP Anand Sharma said that the female migrant workers and their children were trafficked and had gone missing during lockdowns.

Quoting a report submitted by Jagori (an NGO), the committee said that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns on women and children inter-alia includes increased unpaid care work during the lockdown, increase in child marriage, increased violence and harassment at home, loss of job particularly in the informal sector, lack of women's access to sexual and reproductive health care services etc.

The parliamentary committee observed that steps may be taken under both rural and urban employment guarantee schemes focussing especially on poor women so that cash transfers through DBT in their names could continue for a longer time.

"Currently, in many rural areas, a moratorium on interest rates for SHGs or loan repayments would also help because they are the women who are supporting their families in a big way," the committee said.

It further observed that some steps would raise women's participation in employment and also lead to a reduction in violence against them in an effective manner.