Crime against Women and its Impact on Them

Veena Chhibber
MA Sociology (IGNOU)
Pursuing PhD (Sociology) at Devi Ahilya Vishwa Vidyalay
School of Social Sciences, Indore, India
Head of Department Training and Development
Indore Professional Studies and Academy (IPS ACADEMY)

Indore, India

Abstract

Domestic crime and violence is the most frequent crime against women occurring across the
World. Physical and sexual abuse perpetrated by husband or family members on women can
have deep physical and psychological impact preventing the victim from leading a normal life.
Crimes of such nature are frequent and very widely occurring in India. Low level of education
and socio economic background is an important factor causing domestic violence. One of the
main causes of crimes against women is the predominantly male dominated Indian society. In
spite of laws to protect women from being victims of domestic violence, it is found that disparity
which exists between gender, caste, class, sexual orientation and ability manifests itself in crimes
against women. Strict laws will help in bringing down these crimes but this is not enough. What
is required is a social and cultural awakening to stop crimes against women.

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Introduction

Over the past few decades the world has witnessed phenomenal growth in standards and quality
of living across the globe. India has also witnessed a huge growth in its economic sphere.
However growth is not development. This is a perennial topic of debate... Growth and
development are not always interrelated. Ideally economic growth should bring about social
development but this does not always happen.
Development is providing opportunities to every individual to develop their full potential, to
realize their dreams freely with confidence without any barriers. In a developed society, every
individual enjoys equal opportunities, dignity and respect. In such a society social, cultural,
economic religious or gender bias is nonexistent.

Crime against women is a Global phenomenon. In spite of all the development women are still
victims of horrendous crimes across the world

Violence against women became a top political issue in India, soon after the Nirbhaya gang rape
case. A young girl brutally gang raped in a moving bus and thrown on the Delhi streets to die.
What followed was a public outrage of dimensions country had never witnessed before.

According to World Health organization report on Violence against Women, published on 29th
Nov 2017,( http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women) one in
every three women world wide faces physical and/or sexual abuse from her intimate partner or
non partner at least once in a lifetime, That is 35% of women in the world go through this
experience. Some more alarming findings by WHO report is globally almost 38% murders of
women are committed by their intimate partners.

Importance of the study

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Social development happens when right investment is made in people. A developed society has
less or minimal income discrimination. And absolutely no class or gender discrimination, where
every individual feels safe and experiences a worthwhile contribution towards society.
Violence against women is violation of human rights. This is the biggest hindrance to achieve
gender equality. It’s a crime that leads to physical and psychological harm to the woman. It can
be a major hindrance for any society to achieve equality, development and peace. Such acts of
crime are direct consequence of gender inequality, unequal social power structures, illogical
cultural practices based on blind beliefs and traditions, religious beliefs, customs and media to a
large extent. An important finding of WHO 2017 report on “Violence against Women” is
‘Women who are less educated and have witnessed their mothers being abused, develop
an attitude of accepting violence as male privilege and women’s subordinate status.

The WHO report 2017, on “Violence against women” developed in collaboration with London
school of hygiene and tropical medicine and the South African Medical Research Council, is a
systematic study of violence against women by intimate partner and by non partner. It specifies
that such acts of violence have a tremendous long term and sometimes permanent negative
impact on the woman’s physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. Her life becomes a
living hell if she is not able to come out of the trauma caused by this violence. And even if she is
able to restructure it is not the same as before.

In India there are many challenges to attain development but one of the prominent one is the evil
cultural traditions that have been instrumental in violence against women. According to “The
Thomson Reuters” survey in June 2018 India was ranked as the world’s most dangerous country
in the world for women. Surpassing even countries like Afghanistan and Syria.

The Objective of this paper is to

1. To understand the kind of domestic crimes that happen against women

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 2. To understand the circumstances under which domestic crimes against women happen
3. To examine the impact such abuse on the life of the victim
4. To examine the legal protection available to victims of such crimes in India

Methodology

The study is conducted through analysis of previous studies and reports on such issues and is
based on secondary data.

Scope:

The scope of the study is limited to domestic crime against Indian women

Hypothesis

Most of the Indian women are victims of domestic crime of physical and sexual abuse due to
male dominated society and culture.

Review of Study

Thomson Reuters Survey surveyed 548 global experts on six different indices, healthcare
discrimination, cultural traditions, sexual and non sexual violence, and human trafficking, the
study found India tops in cultural traditions, sexual violence and human trafficking.

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While every crime is a social evil, crime against women is extremely alarming and serious. It
shows the breaking down of sensitive social fabric. It shows a society which has not only
disregard but is oppressive, cruel and sadist towards its weaker section. Today this is on a high
time rise in India. If the same is not checked it will soon result in a society where women will
live in constant fear and threat.

Crime in India 2016 statistics published by Director National Crime Records Bureau ,
Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, Email : stat@ncrb.nic.in Website :
http://ncrb.nic.in

Crime Head Crime incidences Crime rate Percentage

variation
2014 2015 2016 2014 201 2016 2014-15 2015-16
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Total crimes against 3,39,457 3,29,243 3,38,954 56.6 54.2 55.2 -3.0% 2.9%
women

Total
S no Crime Head cases Major State/UT during 2016
Reported
Cruelty by
West Bengal Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh
1 husband or his 1,10,378
(19302) (13,811) (11,156)
relatives
2 Assault on 84746 Maharastra Uttar Pradesh Madhya Pradesh
women with (11396) ( 11335) ( 8,717)
intent to

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 outrage her
modesty
Uttar
Kidnapping Maharashtra
3 64,519 Pradesh Bihar (5,496)
and Abduction ( 6,170)
( 12994)
Madhya
Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra
4 Rape 38,947 Pradesh
( 4,816) ( 4,189)
(4,882)

Interestingly majority of cases reported were under cruelty by husband and his relatives
Article published in ‘Times of India” on 7th August 2018 by Arvind Chauhan
(https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/in-three-months-of-2018) In three months March
to June ) in 2018 UP alone reported 76,000 cases of crime against women compared to 49000 in
all in 2016. The crime rate against women in UP has risen to 35% over a period of just 3 months.
Compared to all in 2016. As domestic crime has higher number of cases registered it is the topic
of study.

The states showing high rate of domestic crimes in India, i.e. cruelty by husband and close
relatives viz West Bengal, Rajasthan and UP are also states where predominantly superior male
culture is prevalent.

Domestic violence can be defined as “all acts of physical, psychological sexual or economic
violence that may be committed by a family member or intimate partner”
India from 2005 to 2015 almost 88,467 women died due to dowry death. Which means 22
women per day. Sadly the data on crime against women in India is extremely inadequate and
numbers can be much more. These are just reported cases however the numbers are much higher.
A large number of cases do not get reported due to compromises, threats, fear, ignorance or

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social order. While women are regularly subjected to domestic abuse and crime in India since
decades, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) came into existence
only in the year 2005. It indicates that such a crucial existing evil in the society was given lowest
priority by the government. No wonder then crime against women kept in India was on steady
rise in spite of growth happening in all sectors. People seem to take domestic crime lightly
compared to other crimes. Many a times domestic crime and violence is also normalized like “he
got a bit drunk and therefore beat her up”. The Indian society has always been male
dominated society and while some changes in outlook are happening in past few years,
nothing much has changed in the rural areas. Women are still seen as objects that can be
suppressed.
Conducted by Ameeta Kalokhe in 2017 shows that out of 137 cases, 41% of women in India
experienced domestic violence during their life time. The most important cause for this is the
male dominant society in India.
The clear preference for male child has led to evils like female infanticide, abandonment of girl
child, and preferential education for male child among others.
Causes of domestic violence against women
In the report as Special Rapporteur of United Nations on an invitation from Government of
India, on “Violence against women, its causes and consequences” in the year 2013, which
examines the causes and consequences of abuse against women in India, some of the key
findings are that crimes against women in India occur both in private as well as public places.
The main cause of this is Patriarchal form of society. In a society dominated by men, women
often find themselves discriminated on the ground of caste, class, ability, sexual orientation, and
traditions. This is a reflection of structural and institutional imbalances in Indian society.

In India a woman faces abuse and violence by family members like husband and in laws because
of the tolerance of the society towards such violence. The supremacy of in laws and husband
is a widely accepted social norm in many Indian communities. Daughters cannot complain or
leave their husbands’ home because separation and divorce is still a taboo in many Indian
communities. Such acts are looked down upon by relatives and society and seen as acts that
bring disgrace to the girl’s family. In such a situation a woman is left with no choice but to

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tolerate the atrocities. The National Crime Record Bureau--- shows that in all an alarming 1,22,
877 cases were registered in 2014 under cruelty by husband and his relatives.

One of major reason for domestic crime is Dowry. According to National Crime Record Bureau
(NCRB) the numbers of registered dowry deaths in 2014 were 8445 and in 2015 it were a little
less at 7634. The 2016 data shows that Uttar Pradesh recorded highest numbers of dowry death,
2,473 followed by Bihar 987.Its a significant indication that marriage is often used to acquire
money and property by the groom and his family. In any communities dowry is considered to
ensure safety of the girl. This is a one of the worst social evil in India because many times in
spite of getting the dowry, the girl is subjected to repeated sexual and physical violence by the
husband and his family.

Yet another domestic crime found in India is Honor Killing. 71 cases were registered under
this head in the year 2016 (NCRB). This killing of a daughter for reasons like marrying or
having affair out of caste or refusal to marry as per parents wishes is an example of deeply rooted
dangerous social beliefs in Indian society. Most of the cases happen in rural or semi urban areas
of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Women very often are denied the
freedom to choose their husband and are subjected to varying amount of physical and
psychological pressure and also murder for the sake of so called “honor” of the family and
community.

What constitutes domestic violence?

1.Physical abuse use of force to cause physical injury eg kicking, stabbing, choking, battering,
punching, choking, forced to use drugs etc
2. Emotional abuse destrotying the self esteem of the victim through continous insults,
humiliation, criticism, abuse etc.
3.Sexual abuse sexual assault, rape, sexual harassment etc.
4. Financial abuse preventing education, prevention from employment, no access to money,
being at the mercy of the partner, no access to food water or clothing, no access to medical
treatment

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5 Psychological abuse involves such behavior that causes fear, preventing victim to talk to
others or leave house without permission, threatening to physical abuse, emotionally
blackmailing etc.

Why do victims suffer silently for a long time?

According to BBC every five minute one incidence of domestic violence s reported in India.
( http://www.womeninandbeyond.org/?p=18687) The victims quietly suffer for years before
raising their voice. The fear of society which looks down on divorced woman, the lack of
financial or family support, the threat to their life for rising against abuse, the compromise for the
sake of children and at times extremely low self esteem, low mental and physical health are some
of the reasons that the victims suffer in silence in spite of living in hell.

Some of the tweets assimilated on twitter the hash tag “ why I stayed and why I left” are painful
and terrifying stories of domestic violence. (https://www.jaagore.com/power-of-49/why-i-stayed-
why-i-left-an-abusive-relationship)

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The above tweets are from women residing in urban areas. Imagine the plight of women in rural
areas where wife beating and sexual abuse is part of life.

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Survivors speak

Case study 1 Ricci Gay “To hell and Back” Survivors story

Source Seattle City Attorney

https://www.seattle.gov/cityattorney/crime-victim-assistance/domestic-violence-help/to-hell-and-

back-a-survivors-story

Victim was trusting and childhood lack of family protection perhaps lured her into relationships

which went bad to worst. Most important she speaks of emotional abuse that happens in

relationship which distorts the rational and allows accused to indulge in violence. She is wiser

but after series of similar abusive experiences one after the other.

Rose Lillian’s story source DVRC (Domestic violence Resource Center Victoria)

https://www.dvrcv.org.au/stories/true-stories/stories-women-disabilities/anjs-story

The words she said I never heard my parents saying “I love you” I was expected to know this.
There is again an emotional void created by insensitive family life.2 incidents that caused further
trauma when at the age of 8 she lost her friend in a road accident and was not allowed to speak
about it. Instead she was made to feel that it was not death but her friend was missing. The first
instance of children not allowed speaking of realities by parents causing mind to shut off and
remain silent of traumatic sufferings. Lonely child not able to get over the trauma, brother started
sexual abuse and she did not speak to her parents. Leading to wrong choice of marriage at the
age of 16. Again looking for emotional help due to child hood experiences. Drunkard husband,
Impact major depression and minor personality disorder. Therapies for almost 30 years. Real
cause of trauma was the sense of loss of child hood friend not able to speak about it and
suppressing the sadness. Experienced black outs, weird sounds and also suicide attempts. The
most imp trauma in her words “No one is listening to me” Brother always threatened that if she

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speaks, parents will be affected. After years when she confronted him his answer was you didn’t
complain then the therapist also was not of much use because he believed it was a fantasy.

Women experiencing sexual abuse by family members require immense support to cope up
Community and group activities of such women will help. Early education on trauma mental
health etc is very imp for kids. They must learn to speak if something goes wrong.

Anj’s story

Case of intense physical violence battering by boyfriend at the age of 16. A 14 year old girl

falling in love. The main reason continuing with physical abuses is emotional black mail

threatening to kill himself and sob stories crying on the girl’s shoulder and telling lies so that the

woman is not able to break the relationship. It took a brain injury and severe physical assault

which resulted in wheel chair living to make her realize this. Always protecting the abuser .is s

trait seen in such cases. The accused continuously played on the psyche because that made the

victim weak and unable to take any action. The accused was in the hospital for nine months at

the age of 17 years recovering from injuries.

What has helped her is self determination learning new skills and perseverance to get back to

life. Insurance does not cover disability due to domestic violence. She is now in wheel chair

throughout her life. Reason quoted by her for bad relationships and continuing with it is that low

self esteem, afraid of getting out of relationships, be aware of the threatening behavior; listen to

others who are your well wishers. Don’t let the other partner get complete control over your life,

she wishes to be inspiration to other young girls.

Sexual assault

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Research shows One in every 10 married women in India has experienced sexual assault by her
husband. Which means forced to have sex or indulge in sexual act against her wish. This is
highest in economically backward households. 49% compared to financially strong households
18%, Level of education plays an important part in sexual abuse in marriage. 46% of
uneducated married women experienced sexual abuse in their married life indicating education
of a woman decreases chances of sexual abuse in a marriage. Domestic violence is also more
likely in case generation before has experienced it meaning 60% of women whose mothers have
gone through domestic violence are likely to experience similar violence as compared to 30%
whose mothers have not experienced such abuse.
Alcohol certainly is a major cause of domestic violence. Husbands who are addicted to alcohol
or are likely to resort to domestic and sexual abuse but it does not mean that only those men who
consume alcohol are abusive, because 30% of married woman whose husbands are non alcoholic
have also experienced sexual and domestic abuse.
The ratio of domestic and sexual violence varies from state to state. The highest being Rajasthan
and Bihar 59% to 46% in Madhya Pradesh , 40% in Tripura, Assam, Tamil Nadu , UP W
Bengal, and UP and 6% in Himachal Pradesh.

Emotional Abuse
Every one in six that is 16 percent women have experienced emotional abuse.
Only one % of women have initiated violence against their husband.
Unmarried women have also experienced domestic violence and sexual abuse at the hands of
their father, sibling, or teacher, among these 27 % say that the perpetrator was a relative.
.((https://hetv.org/india/nfhs/nfhs3/NFHS-3-Domestic-Violence.pdf)
Surprisingly very few women seek help in domestic violence. The above study shows that only
2% of abused women seek help from police...

What do they think about sexual abuse?

54% women and 51% men feel it’s justifiable for a husband to beat his wife under the following
conditions
1) Wife disrespects her in laws
2) When wife neglects house and children

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Impact of physical or sexual abuse on women

According to World Health organization in its report 2017 on “Violence on Women”women who
have been physically and sexually abused by intimate partner face serious health issues. For
example they are16% more likely to have low weight babies at birth, The chances of them
having abortions is twice higher than other women, They are likely to go through depression
twice as much than other women, The chances of them acquiring diseases like HIV is as high as
1.5% compared to women who have not experienced sexual or physical abuse.
In case of women who have faced abused from non partners the findings show that these women
are likely to have use of alcohol disorder almost 2. 3 times more than those who have not
experienced non partner sexual abuse. They are also likely to experience depression 2.6 percent
more than others.
In short domestic violence of physical and sexual abuse can lead to serious health issues for
the victim, affecting reproductive system of the victim and cause lasting psychological
problems of depression. Victims are likely to further get into drug and alcohol addiction in
an attempt to overcome the memories and trauma.
Recommendations

Prevention
The most important step is prevention of such violence. And if firm steps are taken towards this
goal, domestic violence can be reduced drastically if not stopped completely. Most important we
need to foster a culture where women are respected and seen as valuable resources of society. To
do this we need to examine the economic and socio cultural norms of our society. Social media,
Films and TV play an important role in correcting /fostering social evils. Women should be
seen in a position of dignity and status rather than cheap objects of lust in all social media. Today
most of the time women are projected as sex objects in all popular Hindi serials and films. How
will a society respect its women if they are constantly seen as sex objects or self sacrificing all
compromising beings First and foremost all norms advocating male supremacy must be
challenged? Be it entry of only males in temples or refraining females from entering kitchen
during menstruation or making household work exclusively female focused. Men should be

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taught to share the household chores like cooking and washing utensils etc to make a non gender
biased work ethic even at home.
Women education and financial independence should be priority in all developmental activities
of the Government. Women empowerment schemes should be implemented most effectively.
School education for girls should be made compulsory.

Awareness programs similar to the scale of “Swachh Bharat” campaigns are required to stop
crime against women. We can have “Naari Suraksha “, “ Beti Bachao” programs launched on a
large national scale to impress the seriousness of Government in protection of women

Festivals glorifying women like Durga pooja and other such practices should be encouraged to
inculcate the cultural importance in Hinduism where woman is worshipped like a goddess. Many
studies show that crime rate during Durga pooja and Navratri drips drastically indicating the
social psyche and orientation can be influenced and plays an important and significant role in
attitudes and behaviors towards women.

Woman courts can be formed for quick and effective justice specially for domestic crimes.
Special portals and social media sites should be formed where accused found guilty of domestic
crimes are listed. This will bring shame on families and men indulging in such crimes. Such an
action will bring reversal in such crimes due to public shaming.

Every effort must be made to stop exposure to violence during child hood. Children exposed to
violence or witnessing domestic violence have extremely strong negative and lasting mental
disorders. Social organizations, community groups, NGOs and family members can come
together to fight this evil. Laws protecting not only child abuse but also exposure to domestic
abuse must be formed to protect children from such experiences.

Laws to Protect Women against crimes

The Indian constitution recognizes the equal right and freedom of women. Both males and
females enjoy right of equality under Indian constitution. There are laws and policies to protect
women from violence and crimes. This include

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 1. The Penal code, The criminal law amendment Act, 2013
2. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005- This act provides effective
protection of women which is guaranteed by the constitution of India, for victims of
violence from the family members or within the family.
3. The sexual harassment of women at workplace(Prohibition, Prevention and Redressal)
Act 2013
4. The indecent Representation of Women, (prohibition) Act, 1986
5. The Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes (prevention of atrocities )Act1989
6. The Dowry Prohibition Act , 1961,
7. The commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1961
8. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention ) Act 1956
9. The bonded labor System (Prohibition) Act 1976
In spite of such legal measures crime against women continue to increase. What is required is
very strict and ongoing social cultural and legal reforms to stop this abuse...

Conclusion

Violence and crime against women is a global phenomenon it requires urgent attention. Every
woman is entitled to a fear free and respectable life. And it’s our responsibility to create such a
society where a woman is able to live with dignity and respect. Not only because it is a human
right but because only then we will foster a mother, daughter and sister who creates loving
families and children who respect each other. It’s a Nation building activity at the grass root
level. Just laws to protect women are not enough. What is required is a social and economic
freedom to women to resist such acts and building a society where men respect women. Social
media, cultural events, and festivals can play an important role in building this culture.
Government awareness programs advocating women safety, protection and respect will bring
about changes in the attitudes towards women.

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Ameeta K, Domestic violence against women in India, : a systematic review of a decade of
quantitative studies, 2017, doi 10.1080/174416922015.11
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4988937/
Crime in India
Kavita D, 2015,Domestic violence in urban India: A middle class story Women and Beyond the
Globe http://www.womeninandbeyond.org/?p=18687
National Family and Health survey-3 report chapter 15 on domestic violence.s
World Health Organisation, 2017 report on Violence against women WHO/RHR/HRP/13.06 ©
World Health Organization 2013
http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women

Rashida Manjoo, 2014, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and
consequences, United Nations Organisation General Assembly

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