“Crime Against Women In India”

SUBMITTED BY:
Bhaskara sharma
PRN-16010324315
Division-D

Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad

Symbiosis International (Deemed University), PUNE

ON

5th March 2019

Under the guidance of
Dr Sukhvinder Singh Dari
 CERTIFICATE

The project entitled “Crime Against Women In India “Submitted to the Symbiosis Law
School, Hyderabad for Internship as part of Internal Assessment is based on my original work
carried out under the guidance of Dr Sukhvinder Singh Dari on 5th March 2019. The
Research work has not been submitted elsewhere for award of any degree.
The material borrowed from other sources and incorporated in the research paper has been
duly acknowledged.
I understand that I myself would be held responsible and accountable for plagiarism, if any,
detected later on.

Signature of the Candidate

Date: 5thMarch 2019
 Acknowledgement
The achievement and ultimate result of this task required a great deal of direction and help
from numerous individuals and I am amazingly blessed to have this up and down the finish of
my undertaking work. Whatever I have done is just because of such direction and help and I
would not neglect to express gratitude toward them.

I owe my significant appreciation to my guide Dr Sukhvinder Singh Dari, who appreciated

my undertaking work and guided me from the beginning, till the fulfilment of our task work
by giving all the important data to building up a decent project.

A unique thank of mine goes to my colleagues who helped me out in finishing the task, where
they all traded their own particular intriguing thoughts, contemplations and made this
conceivable to finish my project with all exact data. I wish to thank my folks for their own
backing or consideration who propelled me to go my own specific manner.

Finally however not the minimum I need to thank my companions who prized me for my
diligent work and urged me lastly to God who made every one of the things feasible for me
till the end.
INDEX
 Abstract
The present paper shows the study that reveals, that, in spite of all steps taken by the
Government and NGOs, more and more number of cases of assaults on wives are being
reported. This problem is seen among all classes of women, irrespective of their caste,
religion and socio-economic status. Hence, the author suggests a different type of approach
towards prevention of this social infectious disease
KEYWORDS: Atrocities on women, Battered wives, Dowry torture.

Introduction
Women in India have always been issues of concern. The folks and society at large consider
women as second class citizens. Though we admire and preach them in the name of Durga,
Saraswati, Parvati and Kali, we also abuse her in the form of Child-marriage, Female
infanticide, Sati, Sexual harassment, Dowry and so on. The status of women in India has been
subject to many great alterations over the past few millenniums. From a largely unknown
status in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of
equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been lively. The status of
women has varied in different time periods. Violence against women is partly a result of
gender relations that assumes men to be superior to women. Given the subordinate status of
women, much of gender violence is considered normal and enjoys social sanction.
Manifestations of violence include physical aggression, such as blows of varying intensity,
burns, attempted hanging, sexual abuse and rape, psychological violence through insults,
humiliation, coercion, blackmail, economic or emotional threats, and control over speech and
actions.

Women In India -The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes
over the past few millennia. From a largely unknown status in ancient times through the low
points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reforms, the history
of women in India has been eventful. The current status of women cannot be properly
understood without reference to the predecessor form of womanhood from which it evolved
and the process by which it grew. So the status of women has been traced by dividing into
historical phase’s Ancient society, Medieval society, and Modern society.

Women in Ancient Society: In ancient India, the women enjoyed equal status with
men in all fields of life. Later 500 B.C, the status of women began to decline with the Smritis
and with the Islamic invasion of Babur and the Mugal Empire and later Christianity curtailing
women’s freedom and rights. The women enjoyed freedom, Status and prestige in the society
but did not last long and women finally settled down to an indoor life.

Women in Medieval Society:

The Indian woman’s position in the society further deteriorated during the medieval period
when sati among some communities, child marriages and a ban on widow remarriages
became part of social life among some communities in India. In some parts of India, the
Devadasi or the temple women were sexually exploited Polygamy was widely practiced
especially among Hindu Kshatriya rulers. The women lost their entity in the 18th century and
till the beginning of the 19th century women were totally and forcefully sublimated male
superiority, physically and intellectually.

Women in Modern Society: Women’s participation in the workforce as well as in other

activities increased during the 19th and from the early period of 20th century due to the
upliftment of women started by the influence of social reforms. As far as India is concerned,
the social structure, cultural norms and value systems are important determinants of women’s
role and their position in society India has one of the most impressive sets of laws for women.
The state to practice protective discrimination in favour of women.

Types and Forms of Violence against Women in India:

(i) Sexual Harassment: Half of the total number of crime against women reported in
1990 related to molestation and harassment at the workplace. Eve teasing is a
euphemism used for sexual harassment or molestation of women by men many
activists blame the rising incidents of sexual harassment against women on the
influence of “Western culture”.
 (ii) Dowry: In 1961, the government of India passed the Dowry prohibition Act, making
the dowry demands in wedding arrangements illegal. However, many cases of dowry
–related domestic violence, suicides and murders have been reported. The term for
this is “bride burning” and its criticized within India itself

(iii) Child Marriage: Child marriage has been traditionally prevalent in India and continues
to this day. Historically, young girls would live with their parents till they reached puberty. In
the past, the child widows were condemned to a life of great agony, shaving heads, living in
isolation, and shunned by the society. Although child marriage was outlawed in 1860, it is
still a common practice.

(iv)Female Infanticides and Sex Selective Abortions: India has a highly masculine sex
ratio, the chief reason being that many women die before reaching adulthood. It is therefore
suggested by many experts, that the highly masculine sex ratio in India can be attributed to
female infanticides and sex-selective abortions. The abuse of the dowry tradition has been
one of the main reasons for sex-selective abortions and female infanticides in India.

(v) Domestic Violence: The incidents of domestic violence are higher among the lower
socio- economic classes. There are various instances of an inebriated husband beating up the
wife often leading to severe injuries. Domestic violence is also seen in the form of physical
abuse. Domestic violence includes harassment, maltreatment, brutality or cruelty and even
the threat of assault-intimidation. It includes physical injury, as well as “wilfully or
knowingly placing or attempting to place a spouse in fear of injury and compelling the spouse
by force or threat to engage in any conduct or act, sexual or otherwise, from which the spouse
has a right to abstain”. Confining or detaining the spouse against one’s will or damaging
property are also considered as acts of violence

.
(vi)Trafficking: The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act was passed in 1956. However many
cases of trafficking of young girls and women have been reported. These women are either
forced into Prostitution, domestic work, or child labour.
 (vii) Eve- Teasing: Eve teasing is an act of terror that violates a woman’s body, space and
self-respect. It is one of the many ways through which a women is systematically made to
feel inferior, week and afraid. Whether it is an obscene word whispered into a woman’s ear;
offensive remarks on her appearance; an intrusive way of touching any part of a woman’s
body; a gesture which is perceived and intended to be vulgar; all these acts represent a
violation of a woman’s person, her bodily integrity.

(viii) Rape: One-quarter of the reported rapes involves girls under the age of 16 but the vast
majority are never reported. Although the penalty is severe, convictions are rare. Crimes such
as rape as a form of sexual violence are reported to be on the increase. Around the world, one
in five women have been found to be victims of rape in their lifetime. Many rapes go
unreported because of the stigma and trauma associated with them and the lack of
sympathetic treatment from legal systems. The insecurity outside the household is today the
greatest obstacle in the path of women. Conscious that, compared to the atrocities outside the
house, atrocities within the house are endurable, women not only continued to accept their
inferiority in the house and society, but even called it sweet. In recent years, there has been an
alarming rise in atrocities against women in India. Every 26 minutes a woman is molested.
Every 34 minutes a rape takes place. Every 42 minutes a sexual harassment incident occurs.
Every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped. And every 93 minutes a woman is burnt to death
over dowry

.
(ix) Acid attacks: At times, acids such as sulphuric acid have been used to disfigure or kill
women and girls for reasons such as family feuds, inability to meet dowry demands and for
rejection of marriage proposals. The Government of India should come out with some more
stringent laws to protect the rights of women who are victims of violence of any kind
occurring within the family, so that it will work as the preventive measure to eradicate the
crime. A strict law to be passed to punish those women who are filing a false compliant
against husband or relatives by misusing of Domestic Violence Act so that there will be fair
justice to all. In our society, violence is bursting. It is present almost everywhere and nowhere
is this eruption more intense than right behind the doors of our homes. Behind closed doors
of homes all across our country, people are being tortured, beaten and killed. It is happening
in rural areas, towns, cities and in metropolitans as well is crossing all social classes, genders,
racial lines and age groups. It is becoming a legacy being passed on from one generation to
another.
Following the rape and murder of the Delhi student on December 16, 2012, there have been
debates and discussions on the causes, remedies and punishments for crimes against women.
For weeks, news concerning the rape and agitations that followed reigned supreme on the
country’s news channels. Active in these debates were law makers, lawyers, jurists, police
officers, celebrities, and women’s activists, but conspicuous by their absence were criminal
psychologists who have studied rape as a phenomenon and examined the methods or modus
operandi of rapist. The debates were fuelled more by passion, emotion and law, but what was
lacking was expertise on criminal behaviour or psychology.
Rape of women by men has occurred throughout recorded history and across cultures.
McKibbin, Shackelford, Goetz and Starratt (2007) have studied rape from an evolutionary
psychological perspective. Evolutionary psychology is a powerful heuristic that allows
researchers to develop and test novel hypotheses about complex behaviours such as rape.
They propose that rapists be characterised as belonging to one of several types, distinguished
by individual differences as well as by the circumstances in which they are predicted to
commit rape such as:
 Disadvantaged men

 Specialised rapists

 Opportunistic rapists

 High-mating-effort rapists

 Partner rapists

A large number of workers have however proposed different causes for rampant crime and its
underreporting. One report seems to suggest that the rise in population has led to a fall in
values and hence crime has risen (Naidu and Nayak 2007). Criminalisation of politics is
blamed by another for the rise in crime against women (Mukherjee, Rustagi and Krishnaji
2001). Blame has also been apportioned to the immensely popular film industry of India,
which thrives on typecasting women and often glorifies crimes against them (Dasgupta
1996).
Women are vulnerable members of the society, but all women are not equally vulnerable.
Those women who are poor or widowed or belong to a particular caste or region are more
vulnerable than others. In the recent decades, people from Northeast of India, particularly
women have been the target of attacks in different Indian cities. North-eastern women have
been particularly targeted for sexual assault, for reasons that seem to defy logic.
Human Rights Watch investigations in the former Yugoslavia, Peru, Rwanda and Somalia
have revealed that rape and sexual assault of women are an integral part of conflict, whether
internal or international in scope (Watts and Zimmerman 2002). Since biblical times, the
incentive for the march of an advancing army has been the rape and loot of conquest. Rape as
a weapon has been widely used in Bangladesh, the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (The
Human Rights Watch Global Report 1995, Sharlach 2000).
The National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3, one of the most authoritative surveys in the
country, surveyed several aspects of gender equality and women’s empowerment in India.
When the norm about men’s ‘right’ to beat their wives was explored, it was found that
overall, more women aged 15-49 (54%) agree with one or more reasons for wife beating as
compared to 51% of men in the same age group (Kishor and Gupta 2009).
More than sex, rape is used to demonstrate power over women, to humiliate and break them.
Not all rapes involve violence, nor do all rapists hurt their victim. The interaction between a
rapist and the victim is very complex and any attempt to simplify it, goes wrong (Hauer and
This phenomenon is worldwide, in most surveys the way the victim dresses, behaves, drinks,
smokes or parties seem to influence the attribution of responsibility. Blaming the victim for
rape or other crimes is a known phenomenon and its systematic study is known as
‘victimology’. In the United States and Canada, rape is unique in that it is the only crime in
which there are statutory protections designed in favour of the accuser. These were enacted in
response to the common defence tactic of ‘putting the accuser on trial’. Typical rape shield
laws (in US and Canada) prohibit cross-examination of the accuser (alleged victim) with
respect to certain issues, such as her or his prior sexual history, or the manner in which she or
he was dressed at the time of the rape (Bachman R and Paternoster 1993). To our knowledge
there is no study that shows that a woman dressed in a burqa is safer than one say dressed in a
mini skirt, in the same setting. During interaction, men and women send out signals to each
other. Correct interpretations of these signals, helps the development of understanding each
other. However people often do not read the signals correctly, and suggest that wrong signals
were sent out. Incorrect decoding of signals by the male may result in men's overestimation
of female sexual interest (Grammer, Kruck, Juette and Fink 2000). Rape takes place as a
result of misinterpretations of the signals sent out by the victim, rather than the signals
themselves (Muehlenhard 1988).
Burt (1980)in her seminal work on ‘rape myth’, tested hypotheses derived from social
psychological and feminist theory that acceptance of rape myths can be predicted from
attitudes such as sex role stereotyping, adversarial sexual beliefs, sexual conservatism, and
acceptance of interpersonal violence. Personality characteristics, background characteristics,
and personal exposure to rape, rape victims, and rapists were other factors used in
predictions. Results from regression analysis of interview data indicated that the higher the
sex role stereotyping, adversarial sexual beliefs, and acceptance of interpersonal violence, the
greater a respondent's acceptance of rape myths. In addition, younger and better educated
people revealed less stereotypic, adversarial, and pro-violence attitudes and less rape myth
acceptance.
Drieschner and Lange (1999) conclude that men with a high proclivity to rape have more
rape supportive attitudes, are more likely to consider victims to be responsible for rape, and
are less knowledgeable about the negative impact of rape on the victims. These men tend to
misperceive cues emitted by women in heterosocial interactions; fail to generate inhibitory
self-verbalisations to suppress association of sex and aggression; and have more coercive,
sexual fantasies. Furthermore, a high proclivity to rape is associated with a semantic network
in which concepts of sex and power are closely linked in such a way that power cues are
necessary precursors of sexual feelings. Multivariate studies suggest that rape-supportive
attitudes interact with non cognitive factors in the aetiology of rape
.

Significance and Importance of the Study

In recent years there has been an alarming increase in atrocities and violence against women
in the country. Throughout history women in various continents of the world have been
considered as the physically weaker sex. The gender differences and bias existing globally
places women all over the world at various disadvantageous positions. Crimes against women
are assertion of dominance over them and come from the baser instincts of society. As a
matter of fact the problem of violence against women is not something new. Moreover
violence against women is often not considered as violence because of general acceptance of
man‟s superiority in the society. Women themselves also do not consider it as violence
because of their misconstrued religious values and resulting socio cultural attitudes. I have
pieced together the various issues related to violence against women. I believe that a proper
understanding of such issues is imperative in tackling this menace and specially being a girl and a
law student.

Research Questions

1) To find out the probable causes of such unfortunate incidents, caused to women by
getting assaulted by their own husbands?

2) The effects of age, type and duration of their marriage, their education, religion and socio-
economic status and the impacts of the present corrective measures taken by way of
legislation and other social means, in eradicating such problems from the society?
 Limitation
Due to time constraint available couldn’t get a chance to collect first hand information and
had to restrict the study completely on secondary data available.
Use of survey information has its limitations, particularly once the sample sizes which
are only 70.

Analysis

Period/Yea Male Female Total

r
From 01– 80 35 115
01–2012 to
31–12-
2012
From 01– 07 68 155
01–2013 to
31–12-
2013
Total 167 103 270
Table 1: Year wise distribution of injury cases 1

Table 1-Out of 270 injury cases brought for medical examination, 167 were males and 103
were females. It is also impressively observed that in the year of 2013, the percentage of
female injury cases is considerably increased in comparison to previous year (i.e., in the year
of 2012).

Period By By Total
Husba other
nd

2012 20 15 35

2013 50 18 68
Total 70 33 103
Table 2: Incidence of Assault by the
Husbands 2

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J of Evolution of Med and Dent Sci/ eISSN- 2278-4802, pISSN- 2278-4748/ Vol. 4/ Issue 39/ May 14, 2015
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Table 2-Among the injured females, a large number (70 out of 103, i.e., more than 2/3rd)
were assaulted by their husbands which reveals that in the present society a woman is more
vulnerable at her own house and that too by her own husband than at outside by an outsider.
Again, the incidents of assault on wives in the year of 2013 show a steep rise to 50 in
comparison to 20 in the year of 2012.4 These observations are at par with the present global
statistics, which reflects that one woman in every three is assaulted some way some times
during her life. This rising incidents in battering wives indicates that:
(a) the present systems of management have failed in curbing this psycho-social endemic
disease, which is very much prevalent in our society and/or
(b) the legal awareness among the women about their rights and privileges has increased the
number of reported cases which were otherwise likely to be disposed of unregistered.

In the present study the minimum age of the battered wife was observed to be 19 years and
the maximum age 45 years. The most vulnerable age group comprises from 21 to 35 years
with peak incidents in 26-30 years. A study in Bangladesh observes that married women aged
30-39 and 40-49 are only about half and one-third as likely to have been beaten in the
previous years, compared to women aged 20-29 [Schuler et al 1996].

Age Group in No. of

Years Cases

0-15 0
16-20 7
21-25 16
26-30 25
31-35 15
36-40 4
41-45 3
46 and above 0
Total 70
Table 3: Age wise distribution
of battered wives 3

Table 4: Although it has been ascertained from most of the victim ladies that they had been
tortured by their husbands from the very first year of their marriage, the present study
exhibits that such cases were reported to the police only at the end of 1st year and continued
up to 20 years of marriage. The peak period of reporting was 5 to 10 years of marriage. Delay
in reporting attribute for shake of self-esteem, family prestige, hope for a change and better
future where the women prefer to stay mute and does not ventilate here grievances to out-
side. It was only the torture became unbearable she seeks police/legal help. Incidents of
torture beyond 20 years of marriage have not been reported. Perhaps during the said period
she might have compromised and adjusted to the situations, the marital violence might have
been minimized due to the presence of her grown up children or she might have been
separated/divorced from her cruel husband.
In the Indian context, a recently study has observed that high dowries lower the probability
that the wife will be beaten [Bloch and Rao 1995].
Secondary schooling, autonomy, and delayed marriage have an important bearing on
protecting women, and efforts to enhance these aspects of women's situation must be pursued
(Jejeebhoy and Cook 1997).7

Duration (in No. of Cases

Years)

0-2 14
2-5 11
5-10 23
10-15 16
15-20 06
20 years and 0
above
Total 70

3
Sup2
Table 4: Report on Battered Wife
and Duration of Marriage4

Table 5: It was observed that irrespective of this educational status, the women are
frequently assaulted by their husbands. However, women having primary and secondary level
education, out-number the others. In the illiterate group there is every chance of un-reported
cases for lack of their knowledge about their rights and privileges assured by the law of the
land and their increased tolerance to such adverse situation, which they accept it to be a
natural occurrence in married life. The incident is less in higher educated women, where
mental torture is inflicted in place of physical torture. Again these women were capable of
maintaining an independent life and for the sake of self-esteem and family prestige; they can
avoid/ignore any type of conflicts which may lead to physical assaults. Among the 70 victim
ladies, 45 belong to Hindus, 13 to Christian and 12 to Muslim sects which indicates that wife
battering is prevalent in all communities and a challenge for all with equal importance
considering the ratio and proportion of the number of assaulted women to their population in
the locality. Out of 70 cases of tortured victims 67 women have their arranged type of
marriage and 3 women have love marriage.

Education No. of Cases

Illiterate 10
Primary School 25
Secondary 28
Collegiate 07
Professionals 00
Total 70
Table 5: Battered Wives and Educational

4
Sup3
Status 5

Table 6: As regards socio-economic status torture on wives is seen in all classes being
mostly reported in the middle class group followed by low socio-economic group and less
number in higher classes. The causes of tortures as alleged by the victim ladies are multi
factorial. Allegation of dowry in the early period of marriage (specifically within seven years
of marriage) is more reported. In the late period of marriage the alleged cause was either
alcohol/poverty. Specifically in the middle and higher socio-economic groups the cause of
torture was alleged predominantly to dowry with occasional allegation of extramarital
relationship of the husbands where as in low economic group the allegation was poised
towards alcohol and poverty with occasional cases of suspecting the character of wife.

SE Dowry Alcohol Poverty Extram Infideli Total

Status arital ty
Husban Wife
d
Low 0 13 4 0 3 20
Middle 29 1 3 2 0 35
Higher 11 3 0 1 0 15
Total 40 17 7 3 3 70
Table 6: Causes of Assault and Socio-economic Status

Table 7: The present study reveals that the injuries inflicted on the body of the victim lady
were mostly caused by fist and blows and the common instrument used in addition were such
household appliances/articles readily available like a lathi, iron rod or wooden plank. Hence
with all practical purposes it can be presumed that in most of such cases, the battering could
be the result of a sudden provocation and is of unintentional in nature.

5
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Manual Instrumental
Fist and 43 Lathi 14
Kick
blows
Teeth 07 Rod 14
bite
Total 50 Wooden 10
Plank

Stone 03
Cutting weapon 03
Stabbing weapon 00
Fire arm 00
Thermal Burn 03
Total 47

Only manual 23
Only instrumental 20
Both manual and 27
instrumental
Total 70

Table 7: Manner of Battering 6

Methodology

This research project is based on doctrinal research. All sources are secondary sources.
Several books, online articles, journals are used for successful completion of this research
project. All the female injury cases brought to the Department of Forensic Medicine &
Toxicology, Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar (Odisha) by the police for medical examination
from 01.01.2012 to 31.12.2013 with history of assaults by their own husbands were taken as
study materials for the present work.

6
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 Conclusion

In spite of all the steps taken by the Government and NGOs the cases of assault on wives are
increasingly reported, which proves that the measures so far taken are not appropriate
/adequate to prevent the incidents. The young adult women is found more frequently tortured
during her early period of marriage, which indicates that this problem is due to
maladjustment in a new type of relationship in a different environment to which she was not
acquainted earlier.This problem is seen in almost all classes of women irrespective of caste,
creed education & socio-economic status. Almost in all cases, the incidents of assault appear
to be result of sudden and unexpected anger and provocation without any motive or pre-
plans. In most of the cases, the relatives of the victims (parents/Brothers) who accompany the
tortured woman at the time of medical examination allege the incidents to be the result of
dowry demand, but subsequent investigations reveal a different cause. While trying to solve
the problems her parents and relatives do less help and more harm to the victim lady without
their knowledge, by widening the difference and misunderstanding between the husband and
wife. The present judiciary system also does not deliver any apparent relief to the tortured
woman by allowing divorce in her favour and awarding punishment to her husband, because
none of these measures can restore her lost/broken family harmony and provide her and her
children a secured future.

Suggestions

For already disturbed family.

1. Post-marital family counseling: Behavioral therapy for husband and psychotherapy for
wife. In hard cases the husband should be sent to correctional school instead of allowing a
divorce in favor of wife or awarding punishment.
2. Parental Counseling: The parents/guardian of the both the parties should be advised not to
interfere much and not to indulge themselves in the matter of small conflicts between
husband and wife and to encourage them to settle their problem by mutual understanding.
For Prevention:
1. Premarital counselling should be made mandatory to educate the prospective couples about
the right and privileges of the married couple, duties and responsibilities of the spouses
towards each other and above all the purpose of marriage.
2. Spiritual and moral education in the school/colleges to be made compulsory.
3. Pre-marital mutual acquaintance/dating for a minimum period of 3 to 4 years should be
allowed in the society in addition to the existing conditions towards ones taste, distaste,
nature and compatibility and developing. 4. Mutual love and respect towards each other
 References

Journal
1) IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 20, Issue 2,
Ver. III (Feb. 2015), PP 51-55 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845.

2) J Indian Acad Forensic Med. October-December 2014, Vol. 36, No. 4 ISSN 0971-
0973

Article

1) VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA: A CASE FOR RESEARCH IN

TACKLING THE MENACE

2) CRIME AGAINST WOMEN by Asis Kumar Ray1, Jyotin Kumar Dash, S. N. Gole