Hyderabad: It is abhorrent that a country that worships thousands of goddesses, an average of six women is raped per day. Despite stringent laws being passed and implemented by the Government to curtail the rape culture in our country, the numbers are on a steady rise.
Incidents of accused committing atrocities against women in the name of acquaintance or kinship have increased manifold and the executive forces are struggling to bring them down.
In November 2019, the gang rape and murder of a 26-year-old veterinary doctor in Shamshabad, near Hyderabad, sparked outrage across India. The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder, commonly known as the Nirbhaya case, where a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, was beaten, gang-raped, and tortured in a private bus on which she was travelling with her male friend and later thrown onto the road took the country by the uproar.
However, such cases do not even constitute one per cent of the total cases reported. In more than 99 per cent of the incidents, the accused are termed as 'victims' and not 'survivors'. Police statistics show that they are raping the victims by obstructing their contact with them
STEPS TAKEN BY STATE GOVT: After the formation of a separate state, the Telangana Police focused more on the issue of women's safety. A women's security department was formed and an additional Directorate General-level officer.
After the horrors of the Nirbhaya gang rape case, the central government also took special measures to control rape cases in India.
The government ensured necessary assistance was provided to the state police departments that are required for investigation, such as DNA kits.
Even then, no significant change has been observed with rape cases reporting an upward graph in the country. In 2022, 2,126 rape cases were registered in the state and 2023, these cases increased to 2,284.
Prevention is better than cure: Well of course, in an ideal world, we would not have to worry about prevention because people would be raised with a conscience to not commit such crimes against women or anybody in general.
However, we do not live in a utopian world. Hence, the call for awareness. According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, of the total 606 rape cases recorded in 2020 in Telangana, victims in as many as 599 cases knew the perpetrators.
Police have thereby called for precaution, asking women to not trust anybody, including kin and colleagues.
Contact the National Commission for Women Helpline: 7827170170.
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