CRIME AGAINST WOMEN

Dr. Aditya Kumar Kar

 INTRODUCTION
Everyday March 8 is celebrated as International
Women’s Day even then violence against women has
been increasing.
Women are still considered secondary to males and
they use violence to control women.
Several laws exist to protect women like
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, Protection of Women from Domestic
Violence Act, 1994, Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, Muslim
Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, Criminal Law
(Amendment) Act, 2013 etc
 Introduction
• 35% of women have been victims of some
form of violence: physical and sexual violence,
intimate partner violence, non- partner
violence. (WHO, 2013)
• 70% women experienced physical and sexual
violence at some time in their life (UN, 2012)
 CRIME/VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

CRIME against women is an umbrella term for

violent acts that are primarily and exclusively
perpetrated against women. Often considered
a hate crime.
 TYPES OF CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN

Violence against women can be

• Physical (beating, physically torturing)
• Psychological (psychological abuse, emotional
abuse)
• Economic (demanding dowry, or demanding
money otherwise)
• Sexual ( passing lewd comments, rape,
sexually tainted whistles)
 MAJOR FORMS OF VIOLENCE
• Violence by an intimate partner: Violence by an intimate partner refers
to physical violence inflicted by an intimate partner where the woman
might be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused. (Domestic
Violence)

• Sexual violence: Women often have to face sexual exploitation in the

form of rape, attempted rape, marital rape, the practice of child
marriage, human trafficking.

• Female genital mutilation/genital cutting: refers to several types of

traditional cutting operations performed on women and girls. Such
practices are predominant in certain countries of Africa and Middle
East.
 Major forms of violence
• Dowry murders: Dowry murders refer to a practice where the husband or
the in-laws kill the woman for the want of dowry. Although dowry as a
practice is prevalent in many countries, dowry murders are mostly prevalent
in South Asian countries.
• Violence during pregnancy: Often pregnant women have to face physical
violence that can have serious health problems for the mother, as well as the
child. Practices of female infanticide, pre-natal sex selection and systematic
neglect of girl child are widespread in Middle East, South and East Asia,
North Africa.
• Honour killing: In many cultures, women who engage activities that are
thought to be a threat to the honour of the family are killed by their
relatives. Such practices include engaging in premarital sex, adultery,
marrying up men of their choice (love marriage). Even women who are only
suspected of engaging in such activities are killed along with victims of rape.
Dimensions and levels of severity of violence

DIMENSIONS:
• Threats of violence
• Acts of violence
• Sexual aggression
LEVELS:
• Minor
• Mild
• Moderate
• Serious
Dimensions and levels of severity of violence

THREATS OF VIOLENCE
Refer to symbolic violence and may involve mild, moderate and
serious acts of violence (eg. driven dangerously with you in the
car, shook a fist at you, threaten to destroy property, threatened
to kill you, respectively).
ACTS OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE:
May be minor, mild, moderate and serious (e.g., pushed or shoved
you, pulled your hair, slapped you with the back of his hand, and
choked you, respectively).
SEXUAL AGGRESSION :
Involves forcing the women into sexual encounters (e.g., physically
forced you to have sex).
 IMPACT OF VIOLENCE
PHYSIOLOGICAL IMPACT:
• Physical trauma- physical injury due to an external force
• Physical injuries- including minor bruises, bone
fractures, severe internal injuries
• Acid attacks may cause disfigurement
• Sexual violence poses many health risks- HIV/AIDS,
other STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), abrasion,
bleeding, unwanted pregnancy, miscarriage, pre-term
labor, low birth weight.
• May even die
 IMPACT OF VIOLENCE
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
• Huge medical bills
• Belongings may be destroyed or stolen
• Relocation expenses if they move to a
different place
• Loss of wages as they take time off from work
to repair damage
• Expenses on mental health services
 IMPACT OF VIOLENCE
SOCIAL IMPACT:
• Stigma (a symbol of disgrace) is often attached to certain
crimes such as rapes. The victims are not accepted in the
society after that.
• Blamed for what happened
• Face isolation
• Unwanted sympathy to complete lack of sympathy
• Disturbances in relationships (with family members,
boyfriends, husbands) and may lead to ending of these
relations
• Problem finding marriage partner
 IMPACT OF VIOLENCE
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EMOTIONAL IMPACT:
Severity of impact varies from person to person and also depends
on severity of crime
• Feelings of shock, terror, numbness, anger, rage, shame, guilt
• There is sufficient evidence to suggest that depression and post-
traumatic stress disorder is common among victims of violence
against women.
• Helplessness, hopelessness
• Reduced quality of life
• Intense fear of violence related situations
• Rape trauma syndrome, battered women syndrome