· Over 96% of the accused in rape cases are known to the victim.
· Out of 100 rape cases, only 27 result in a conviction, while the rest of the accused are acquitted.
· With 2,904 rape cases, Maharashtra was fourth in the list of states with the highest number of incidents.
Gold Rate
Friday 17 Jan. 2025
· In 14,582 cases, the accused was either an online friend, live-in partner, or someone who had promised marriage.
Nagpur: These three statistics indicate that despite having strict laws, the number of rape cases in our country is not decreasing, nor is the conviction rate improving.
Even though the law provides for the death penalty in rape cases, only five rapists have been sentenced to death in the past 24 years. In 2004, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed for a rape case that occurred in 1990. Additionally, in March 2020, the four convicts in the Nirbhaya case– Mukesh, Vinay, Pawan, and Akshay — were hanged at Tihar Jail.
Amid the country’s outrage over the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in Kolkata, the statistics of rape, paint a grim picture. As per the annual National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, India reported 86 cases of rapes daily on an average between 2017 and 2022 and, in 82 cases, the rapist was known to the woman. Further calculation says every hour, India recorded almost four rape cases and in more than three of these, the rapist was known to the victim.
When it comes to states, Rajasthan reports the highest number of rape cases in India. In 2022, 5,399 cases of rape were registered in Rajasthan. Uttar Pradesh ranked second with 3,690 cases. With 2,904 rape cases, Maharashtra was fourth in the list of states with the highest number of incidents.
In the majority of rape cases, the perpetrator is known to the victim. Statistics show that in over 96% of rape cases, the accused is someone familiar to the victim. In 2022, a total of 31,516 rape cases were registered. Among these, 30,514 involved an accused known to the victim. Of these, 2,324 accused were family members of the victim. Additionally, in 14,582 cases, the accused was either an online friend, live-in partner, or someone who had promised marriage. Furthermore, 13,548 cases involved an accused who was a family friend, neighbour, or acquaintance.
As per the annual NCRB report, between 2017 and 2022, a total of 1.89 lakh rape cases were reported in India, involving 1.91 lakh victims. In at least 1.79 lakh cases, the rapist was a known person while in 9,670 it was someone the victim did not know.
Further, the highest number of rape victims in India are between the ages of 18 and 30 years, the analysis shows. Of the 1.89 lakh cases, 1.13 lakh were from this age group. So, of the 86 rapes recorded every day, 52 are from the age group between 18 and 30 years. The remaining cases, 35 per day, could be from any age, the analysis shows.
The cases of sexual harassment at the workplace are very few when compared to the overall cases reported across India. On an average, every day at least one woman faces sexual harassment at work or on office premises, NCRB data shows.
Since 2014, NCRB started collecting data regarding sexual harassment at workplace under the category of insult to the modesty of women (Section 509 of IPC) at office premises.
In the initial years, 2014 and 2015, the reports had two different categories — sexual harassment at office premises and another was places related to work. However, post 2016, the categories were merged as sexual harassment ‘at work or office premises’.
Between 2014 and 2022, at least 4,231 cases of sexual harassment at work or office premises were recorded. Initially, the number of cases of sexual harassment on office premises was few but that from other places related to work was higher. Post 2017, every year, more than 400 cases were reported under the clubbed category.
In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the NCRB also revealed the number of rapes by employers or co-workers. In the three years, 1,795 cases of rape by employers or co-workers were recorded – almost two every day. Later, the reports clubbed several categories with employers or co-workers, including family friends.
How safe are our workplaces?
While the cases of sexual harassment at the workplace are very few when compared to the overall cases reported across India, it is not a statistic that can be ignored. On an average, every day at least one woman faces sexual harassment at work or in office premises, NCRB data shows.
Since 2014, NCRB started collecting data regarding sexual harassment at workplace under the category of insult to the modesty of women (Section 509 of IPC) at office premises.
In the initial years, 2014 and 2015, the reports had two different categories — sexual harassment at office premises and another was places related to work. However, post 2016, the categories were merged as sexual harassment ‘at work or office premises’.
Between 2014 and 2022, at least 4,231 cases of sexual harassment at work or office premises were recorded. Initially, the number of cases of sexual harassment in office premises was few but that from other places related to work was higher. Post 2017, every year, more than 400 cases were reported under the clubbed category.
In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the NCRB also revealed the number of rapes by employers or co-workers. In the three years, 1,795 cases of rape by employers or co-workers were recorded – almost two every day. Later, the reports clubbed a number of categories with employers or co-workers, including family friends.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, mandates all workplaces having more than 10 workers to constitute Internal Committees (ICs) for receiving complaints of sexual harassment of women at workplaces. The aggrieved woman or any person authorised on her behalf can file a written complaint of sexual harassment.
The statistics paint a grim picture amid the country’s outrage over the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in Kolkata. The body of the postgraduate trainee doctor, who was on duty, was found in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College. The incident has sparked protests by doctors and medical students in several parts of the country.
