Introduction

Women play a major role in the socioeconomic growth of society; a nation can't prosper until women are safe. Although women's rights are secured under the Indian constitution, their vulnerability hasn't decreased over time. In fact, incidences of violent crime against women that fall under the Indian penal code have increased by 46% over the past decade. In 2014, the latest year for which data are available, every day an average of 101 women were raped, 157 women were kidnapped and 23 killed over dowry. Moreover, crime against women in India goes underreported, especially in rape cases, due to social stigma attached to it. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are known for their extremely underreported crime rate (Gupta, 2014). Moreover, many women do not complain against crime because of family honor. Most of the time, offenders are family members or friends. Often, police do not give a fair hearing, particularly to women in weaker sections of society; even if cases get registered, justice is delayed or denied due to lack of evidence, particularly in rape and kidnapping cases. Obstruction of justice increases more if offenders are socially, economically, and politically powerful.

The main aim of this study is to analyze the crimes against women in India at the national as well as at the state and union territory levels. It also attempts to identify the major issues related to crime against women and discuss countermeasures that would have potential to curtail the crimes. The study primarily focuses on heinous crimes like kidnapping and abduction, rapes, and dowry deaths. The primary source of data for the study is Crime Against Women in India, 1991 to 2014 published by the National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi.

The analysis shows that, from 1991 to 2014, the total for heinous crimes against women in India grew 5.9% per year. During the same period, kidnapping and abduction grew 6.9% per year, rape cases increased 5.9% per year, and dowry deaths increased 2.2% per year. Accordingly, the incidence of heinous crimes per 100,000 women in the country increased from 6.7 in 1991 to 17.1 in 2014. The heinous crime rate varies across states and union territories; in 2014, it varied from 2.5 in Puducherry and Lakshadweep to 69.6 in Delhi. In 2014, there were 15 out of 35 states and union territories that faced a higher heinous crime rate than the all-India average. Change in the rate also varies across states and union territories; from 1991 to 2014, 15 out of 35 states and union territories recorded a higher increase in the crime rate than that in the country (4.2% per year). Nagaland (11%), Odisha (8.8%), Punjab (8.0%), Bihar (6.9%), and Kerala (6.5%) are some of the states that faced a rapid increase in their annual crime rate from 1991 to 2014. However, four union territories of the country experienced a decrease in their crime rate. In general, cities in India faced a higher crime rate than that in the rural areas. In 2013, Delhi (61.5), Patna (48.0), Jaipur (40.7), Indore (37.0), Lucknow (26.3), Varanasi (24.8), and Bhopal (24.2) are some of the cities that faced a 50% higher crime rate than the all-India average (15.8).

This study is organized into five sections. The second section analyzes heinous crimes against women at the national level. The third compares heinous crimes against women across states and union territories, and in selected cities. The fourth section discusses the way forward to check the crimes. The conclusion is presented in the fifth section.

Analysis of heinous crimes against women at the national level

Crimes against women in India have increased rapidly over the years. Incidences have increased at the rate of 5.9% per year from 27,250 in 1991 to 102,501 in 2014 (Table 1). From 1991 to 2014, incidences of rapes, kidnapping and abduction, and dowry deaths increased at the rate of 5.9%, 6.9%, and 2.2%, respectively. Moreover, the county witnessed a very rapid increase since 2010; incidences of such heinous crimes increased at the rate of 14.2% per year from 2010 to 2014. Incidences of rapes increased at the rate of 13.5% per year and kidnapping and abduction increased at the rate of 17.8% per year since 2010. However, the number of dowry deaths increased only marginally from 8,391 in 2010 to 8,455 in 2014, an increase of less than 1% in a span of four years.

Figure 1 presents incidences of heinous crimes per 100,000 women in India from 1991 to 2014. This Figure clearly reveals that the dowry death rate per 100,000 women in India hasn't changed significantly over the years. In fact, the dowry death rate in 2014 was the same as it was in 2001 (1.4 per 100,000 women). However, one may note that dowry in the form of a payment of cash or gifts from the bride's family to the bridegroom's family upon marriage and dowry deaths of women who are murdered or driven to suicide by continuous harassment and torture by husbands and in-laws in an effort to extort an increased dowry are still prevalent in India particularly in its north and central regions. On the other hand, the rape and kidnapping-and-abduction rates per 100,000 women increased significantly from 2.4 and 3.0 in 1991 to 6.1 and 9.6 in 2014, respectively. Moreover, the kidnapping and abduction rate has tripled and the rape rate has almost doubled from 2001 to 2014. As a consequence, the heinous crime rate per 100,000 women increased sharply from 7.6 in 2001 to 17.1 in 2014. It is amply clear that, for women in India, chances of being victimized by heinous crime increased far more in the 2010s than in the 2000s and 1990s.

Rape and sexual violence against women are endemic everywhere, but India faces a worsening situation. While in many developed and developing countries, including Pakistan and the United States of America, the rape rate is generally decreasing, in India it is increasing rapidly, particularly during the 2000s and 2010s. Although India has been characterized as one of the countries with the lowest per capita rates of rape, a majority of rape cases in India, as elsewhere in the world, are never reported. Kark (2013) estimates that 54% of rape crimes in India are unreported because the rape victims fear retaliation and humiliation. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) of India under the stewardship of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, in 2006 estimated the lifetime prevalence of sexual violence among women aged 15-49 years. The study sampled 83,703 women nationwide, and found that 9% of them in the age group of 15-49 years had experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. According to religion, Buddhist/Neo-Buddhist and Jain women have the lowest prevalence of sexual violence (3% and 4%, respectively) and Muslim women the highest (11%), followed by Hindu women (8%). The prevalence of sexual violence is somewhat higher for the scheduled castes (11%) and scheduled tribes (10%) than for women not belonging to the scheduled castes and tribes (7-9%). Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are official designations given to the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. Moreover, the prevalence is highest among women in the poorest wealth quintile (13%) and declines steadily with increasing wealth to a low of 4% among women in the highest quintile.

The vast majority of women who have ever been married experienced such violence at the hands of a current or former husband (95%); 2% report sexual violence by a relative; 1% report sexual violence by a friend; and about 0.5% report sexual violence by a boyfriend, an in-law, a family friend, or a stranger. Never- married women who have experienced sexual violence have most often been abused by a relative (27%), a friend (23%), a boyfriend (19%), a stranger (16%), and a family friend (8%). This shows that most of the rapes in India, almost 98%, are committed by someone known to the victim.

Table 3 presents rape cases by age group from 2003 to 2013. This table shows that there were 33,764 victims of rape out of 33,707 reported rape cases in the country during 2013. Moreover, 13.1% (4,427 out of 33,764) of the total victims were girls under 14 years of age, 26.3% (8,877 victims out of 33,764) were teenaged girls (14-18 years), and 46.1% (15,556 victims) were women of 18-30 years. In 2013, nearly 2 in 5 rape victims were minors (under 18 years of age). The rape risk to minors has increased sharply in the 10 years from 2003 to 2013; minors comprised 19.6% of all rape victims in 2003, but the corresponding figure increased to 39.4% in 2013. That is why the number of minor rape victims increased by 328% from 3,112 in 2003 to 13,304 in 2013, significantly higher than the corresponding increase in the total number of rape victims (113%). By comparison, minors comprise only 17.4% of total rape victims in the United States, much lower than the corresponding figure for India, 39.4%.

The Table 3 figures reveal that teenaged girls are the most vulnerable to rape in India. They comprise only 7.8% of India's female population; however, they were 1 in 4 rape victims in 2013. From 2003 to 2013, the number of rape victims in the teenage group (14-18 years) increased by nearly 400%. India is also facing a serious problem of child rape; in 2003, only 8.3% of total rape victims were children (<14 years of age), but the corresponding figure increased to 13.1% in 2013. From 2003 to 2013, the number of child rape victims increased by 235%, the second highest rate of increase after the teenage group. Although women in the age group of 18-30 years constitute the largest number of rape victims, their relative vulnerability has declined over the years. In 2003, 62.3% of total rape victims were women in the age group of 18-30 years; despite the fact that the number of rape victims in this age group increased by 58% in a span of 10 years, they comprised only 46.1% of total rape victims in 2013. However, women in the age group of 18-30 years are still quite vulnerable to rape. Almost 1 in 2 rape victims are women of this age group, though they comprise only 21.6% of the female population of the country.

Women in the age group of 30-50 years are not as vulnerable as women of the younger age groups. Although they comprise 25.7% of the female population in the country, they constitute only 13.8% of total rape victims in 2013. From 2003 to 2013, the number of rape victims in this age group increased by 65%, significantly lower than the increase in the total number of rape victims (113%). That is why the proportion of rape victims in the age group of 30-50 years has declined from 17.7% in 2003 to 13.8% in 2013. The number of rape victims in the age group of 50 years and above is negligible; in 2013, only 256 out of 33,764 victims belonged to this age group. Women from this age group are the least vulnerable since they comprise only 0.8% of total rape victims, though they constitute 16.6% of the female population in the country. It appears that vulnerability to rape follows an inverted U-shaped curve with age. Vulnerability to rape increases with age till the age of 18 years or so.

Incest rape is one of the most extreme forms of abuse. Table 4 presents age group-wise victims of incest rape cases from 2003 to 2013. This table shows that 7 in 10 incest rape victims were minor girls (under 18 years of age) during 2013. In 2003, only 4 in 10 incest rape victims were minor girls, which shows that their vulnerability has increased significantly during the last ten years. From 2003 to 2013, the number of minor incest rape victims increased by 141%, significantly higher than the increase in total number of incest rape victims (37%). Moreover, the increase in number of child incest rape victims (278%) is far higher than the increase in the number of teenage incest rape victims (53%). That is why child incest rape victims, which comprised 16.0% of all incest rape victims in 2003, now comprise 44.2%. Teenage incest rape victims proportionate to total incest rape victims also increased from 24.8% in 2003 to 27.6% in 2013. Girls under the age of 14 as well as teenaged girls are quite vulnerable to incest rape; presently, girls under the age of 14 constitute 28.3% of the female population but comprise 44.2% of the total incest rape victims, whereas teenaged girls constitute only 7.8% of female population but comprise 27.6% of all incest rape victims. Table 4 reveals that women in the age group of 18-30 years which constitute 21.6% of the female population in the country, now comprise only 21.4% of total incest rape victims, significantly lower than the corresponding figure in 2003 (51.5%). Women in the age group of 30-50 years have very low vulnerability as they make up 25.7% of the female population but constitute only 6.6% of all incest rape victims. The number of incest rape victims in the age group of 50 years and above is negligible; in 2013, only 2 out of 548 victims belonged to this age group. Women from this group are the least vulnerable, since they comprise only 0.4% of total incest rape victims even though they constitute 16.6% of the female population in the country.

Analysis of heinous crimes against women at the state and union territory levels

Figure 2 presents state and union territory-wise distribution of heinous crimes against women in India in 2014. This figure reveals that the total reported incidences in 2014 were highest in Uttar Pradesh (16,562), followed by Madhya Pradesh (11,497), Rajasthan (8,588), Bihar (7,260), West Bengal (6,943), and Delhi (6,283). However, adjusted for population, the heinous crime rate per 100,000 women in 2014 was highest in Delhi (69.6), followed by Assam (39.1), Madhya Pradesh (31.7), Arunachal Pradesh (28.7), Chandigarh (28.1), and Haryana (27.6). Figure 3 shows that there is a huge variation in the heinous crime rate across states and union territories, ranging from 2.5 per 100,000 women in Puducherry to 69.6 per 100,000 women in Delhi in 2014. During the same year, fifteen out of thirty five states and union territories faced a heinous crime rate more than the all-India average (17.1), while six of them faced a 50% higher rate than the all-India average. From 2004 to 2014, the rate increased in all the states and union territories except one (Puducherry); Sikkim (647%) faced the highest increase in the rate, followed by Mizoram (450%), Karnataka (231%), Delhi (215%), and Haryana (209%). During the same period, the rate in thirteen states and union territories increased at a higher rate than that in the whole country (120%).

In 2014, Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of rapes (5,076), followed by Rajasthan (3,759), Uttar Pradesh (3,467), Maharashtra (3,438), and Delhi (2,096). However, the rape rate per 100,000 women in 2014 was highest in Mizoram (23.53), followed by Delhi (23.21), Sikkim (15.67), Arunachal Pradesh (13.61), and Madhya Pradesh (13.31). Figure 4 shows that there is a huge variation in rape rate across states and union territories, ranging from 1.33 per 100,000 women in Tamil Nadu to 23.53 per 100,000 women in Mizoram in 2014. During the same year, eighteen out of thirty one states and union territories faced rape rates more than the all-India average (6.12), while twelve of them faced a 50% higher rate than the all-India average. It is noted that six out of eight northeast states of India have a higher rape rate than the all-India average; only two states, Manipur and Nagaland, have lower. Among the big states, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have a rape rate lower than half of the country average. From 2004 to 2014, the rape rate increased in twenty eight out of thirty one states and union territories; Sikkim (1288%) faced the highest increase in its rape rate, followed by Mizoram (436%), Karnataka (307%), Rajasthan (209%), and Delhi (197%). During the same period, rape rate in eighteen states and union territories increased at a higher rate than that in the whole country (76%).

As far as kidnapping and abduction is concerned, in 2014 Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number in the country (10,626), followed by Madhya Pradesh (5,688), West Bengal (4,976), Bihar (4,760), Rajasthan (4,421), and Delhi (4034). However, adjusted for population, the kidnapping and abduction rate per 100,000 women in that year was highest in Delhi (44.7), followed by Assam (25.1), Chhattisgarh (19.3), Haryana (15.6), Arunachal Pradesh (14.9), and Madhya Pradesh (14.5). Figure 5 shows that there is a huge variation in the kidnapping and abduction rate across states and union territories, ranging from 0 per 100,000 women in Lakshadweep to 44.7 per 100,000 women in Delhi in 2014. During the same year, ten out of thirty one states and union territories faced a higher kidnapping and abduction rate than the all-India average (9.6), while six of them faced a 50% higher rate. From 2004 to 2014, the kidnapping and abduction rate increased in all the states and union territories except three (D & N Haveli, Puducherry, and Kerla); Madhya Pradesh (703%) faced the highest increase, followed by Goa (579%), Haryana (457%), Odisha (424%), Karnataka (356%), West Bengal (343%), and Bihar (313%). During the same period, the rate in fourteen states and union territories increased at a higher rate than that in the whole country (222%). The main reason of kidnapping and abduction of women in India is marriage followed by illicit intercourse and unlawful activities. Abductions of women for marriage accounted for about 45% of all cases in the country during 2014. Girls and women between 15 and 30 are most vulnerable to abduction for marriage, according to NCRB data. The most sizable proportion of abduction for marriage happens in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Assam. Abduction of women for marriage is also increasing rapidly in the country--by 71% between 2010 and 2014. However, figures for this should be read with caution, as parents in India sometimes go to police with complaints of abduction if their son or daughter marries against the parents' will in what is known as a 'love marriage'. Most marriages in the country are arranged by the bride and groom's parents.

"Dowry deaths" occur in response to a bride's family's not complying with demands made by her husband and his family for high dowry payments and gifts. Figure 2 also presents state and union territory-wise distribution of dowry death cases. This figure reveals that in 2014 Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of dowry deaths in the country (2,469), followed by Bihar (1,373), Madhya Pradesh (733), Andhra Pradesh (504), and West Bengal (501). The problem of dowry deaths is alarmingly serious in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar; 45% of all cases of dowry deaths happen in these two states, whereas their share of the Indian population is only 25%. That is why the dowry death rate per 100,000 women in these two states is 50% higher than the all-India average (1.4). However, the dowry death rate per 100,000 women in 2014 was highest in Haryana (2.4), followed by Uttar Pradesh (2.3), Odisha (2.1), and Bihar (2.1). Figure 6 shows that there is a huge variation in the dowry death rate across states and union territories, ranging in 2014 from 0 per 100,000 women in Himachal Pradesh, D & N Haveli, Daman & Diu, Goa, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim to 2.4 per 100,000 women in Haryana. During the same year, seven out of the thirty one states and union territories, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Tripura, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh, faced a higher dowry death rate than the all-India average. However, from 2004 to 2014, the dowry death rate increased significantly only in a few states; Assam (124%) faced the highest increase in the dowry death rate followed by Tripura (46%), Odisha (26%), Uttar Pradesh (21%), Bihar (15%), and West Bengal (15%). These six states faced an increase higher than that in the whole country (12%). All other states and union territories either experienced a decline or an insignificant increase in their rates. Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, and Goa experienced significant declines in their dowry death rates between 2004 and 2014.

Heinous crimes against women in many Indian cities are a serious and growing problem. Although, there is a huge variation in the heinous crime rate against women across cities of India, ranging from 3.2 heinous crimes per 100,000 women in Chennai to 61.5 in Delhi in 2013, most of the north and central Indian cities face a higher crime rate than the cities located in other parts of the country (Figure 7). In 2013, Delhi (61.5), Patna (48.0), Jaipur (40.7), Indore (37.0), Lucknow (26.3), Varanasi (24.8) and Bhopal (24.2) faced more than a 50% higher heinous crime rate against women than the all-India average (15.8). From 2003 to 2013, the heinous crime rate increased in all the sample cities except Hyderabad; Varanasi faced the highest increase (613%) followed by Patna (527%), Bangalore (466%), Pune (233%), and Delhi (210%). During the same period, the rate in ten out of fifteen sample cities increased at a higher rate than the all-India average (132%).

The way forward

Heinous crimes against women are, to a great extent, preventable. The best way to prevent crimes against women is to address their root causes. The persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women, unequal access to education, inadequate access to direct participation in the economy and policy making processes, inequality in sharing power and decision making, insufficient mechanism to promote the advancement of women, ineffective implementation of existing rules and regulations to protect women from violence, and inadequacy of ill-equipped, somewhat insensitive, and understaffed police and investigative machinery are some of the important reasons why Indian women are so vulnerable. Table 5 reveals that the states and union territories having lower participation of women in wage employment, higher unemployment, lower female to male ratio, lower literacy rate, and larger proportion of people living below the poverty line are likely to face higher rate of heinous crime against women. In general, the rape rate is higher in those states and union territories where unemployment rate is higher, the female to male ratio is lower, and illiteracy is higher. The kidnapping and abduction rate is higher in those states and union territories where female participation in wage employment, female to male ratio, and literacy rate is lower, and unemployment and proportion of people living below poverty line is higher. Although the dowry death rate is higher mainly in Northern and Eastern Indian states, six out of seven states having a higher than all-India average rate are the ones having lower (than all-India average) participation of women in wage employment. Most of these states have a lower literacy rate and female-to-male ratio, along with a higher level of unemployment and larger proportion of people living below the poverty line. However, Table 5 also reveals that only economic and demographic factors such as women's participation in wage employment, the unemployment rate, the female-to-male ratio, literacy rate, and proportion of people living below the poverty line can't explain the variation in heinous crimes against women across states and union territories of India. For example, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, D & N Haveli, Daman & Diu, and Lakshadweep experience lower (than the all-India average) female participation in wage employment, but none of them face higher (than the all-India average) rate of dowry deaths, kidnapping and abduction, and rape of women. Similarly, there are a number of states and union territories having a lower female-to-male ratio (such as Gujarat and Nagaland) or higher unemployment rate (such as Tamil Nadu and Puducherry), but that face a lower heinous crime rate against women. Then, what does explain the disparities and the rapid increases in rate? what should be the way forward? Will more stringent laws help? Some people demand new stringent laws, legislative reforms, and amendments ton existing laws relating to gender issues. On the other hand, some people fear that strong laws are more prone to be misused; there may be a surge in filing false cases. Since the perpetrators of crimes against women are most often known to the victims, if penalty is very harsh, victims may face tremendous pressure from their family or social circle not to report the crime. Therefore, stringent laws may have perverse consequences; it may increase the vulnerability of victims. Instead, India needs honest and effective enforcement and implementation of already existing laws.

There is an urgent need for police reform in the country; police in Indian states and union territories need to be insulated from extraneous pressures to be able to enforce the rule of law. Currently, women constitute only 6% of the police force in India, varying from 1% in Assam to 12% in Tamil Nadu. This needs to be changed; central as well as state governments should ensure that women constitute at least 33% of the police force in all states and union territories. A sizable presence of women in the police force is likely to have great impact. Besides increasing the number of women in the police forces, law enforcement agencies should be made accountable to ensure that crimes against women are curtailed.

In general, women face less violence if they are economically independent and have bargaining power over household budgets and family decisions. Table 5 shows that six out of seven states and union territories which face higher than the country average dowry death rate and nine out of eleven states and union territories which face higher than the country average kidnapping and abduction rate are the ones which are having lower than the country average proportion of women in wage employment. Therefore, a key goal of public policy should be to focus on training and education of women along with creating job opportunities for them. The female literacy rate in every state and union territory in India is lower than the male literacy rate. In states like Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, the difference between the male and female literacy rates is in excess of 20 percent. The difference between the male and female literacy rates is in excess of 10 percentage points in twenty seven out of thirty five states and union territories. Therefore, there is an urgent need to promote women's education throughout the country, particularly in those states and union territories where the gap is significantly high, say more than 15 percentage points. Also, governments should exercise their power to open the labor market to women, and try to create channels for them to gain positions of importance. Clearing the way for women to enter the workplace would increase their safety.

India has only 943 women for every 1,000 men, and in many states and union territories, the deficit of women is very severe. Nine out of thirty five states and union territories including Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Sikkim have less than 900 women per 1,000 men. Overall, the Indian average gender ratio is far behind the global average of 984 women for every 1,000 men, and is the second lowest in the world, before China (Gender Statistics Highlights from 2012 World Development Report). Urban India is on par with China, though, with 926 women per 1,000 men. In India, the preference for sons has led families to abort female fetuses and reallocate resources from girls, decreasing their survival rate. Hudson and Boer (2002) has shown that a shortage of marriageable women results in higher rates of crime, including rape, committed by young unmarried men. In other words, violent crime against women increases as the deficit of women increases. Right now, the statistics are worrying. According to 2011 census data, India has 37 million more men than women, and about 17 million excess men in the age group that commits most crimes, up from 7 million in 1991. In a marriage market where women are scarce, certain characteristics of young surplus males are easily and accurately predicted. They are liable to come from the lowest socioeconomic class, be un- or underemployed, live a fairly transient lifestyle with few ties to the communities in which they are working, and generally live and socialize with other bachelors. In sum, these young surplus males may be considered, relatively speaking, losers in societal competition. Marital status affects more than just social standing for these men. In general, levels of testosterone decline for married men which thwart potentially antisocial male behaviour (Mazur and Booth, 1998). If we have more men in the society who are unable to marry, even though they would be willing to marry, society will face greater level of violence and crimes particularly against women. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, of all the people arrested for rape crimes during recent years, almost 60 percent were men between the ages of 18 to 30 years and nearly 30 percent were men between the ages of 30 to 45 years. Although, India's total sex ratio, number of females per 1,000 males, has increased over the past 20 years, the number of extra men is still growing due to population growth and the prevalent practice of female foeticide. And among India's youngest population, the gender ratio is still getting worse. India's child population, defined in the national census data as all children between the ages of 0 and 6 years, was almost 160 million as of 2011. The overall sex ratio for this age group is 914 female children for every 1,000 male children, and it is even more skewed in the urban areas, at 902. Such gender imbalance in the sex ratio could be a silent demographic disaster in the making in India. Central as well as state governments need to take appropriate steps including enforcing existing laws against dowry and sex-selective abortion to avoid more serious consequences of gender imbalance.

Effective responses to crime against women depend on clear understanding of the social norms and the preferences of the involved parties. Altering conventions such as inheritance laws, for example, creates winners and losers, which may lead to domestic conflict and violence. Similarly, various policies that would enable gender equity, such as reserving positions for women, may bring turmoil in society in the shortrun. Such policies are good for society in the long-run. Short-run turbulences should be checked by strengthening the criminal justice system and involving public representatives at local levels to change antiquated social norms. Unfortunately, presently, in the Indian criminal justice system, many crimes are unreported; if reported, often not registered; if registered, true perpetrators not found in many cases; if found, usually not prosecuted; if prosecuted, often not charged; if charged, usually not convicted; if convicted, generally not punished adequately; if punished, too much time is lost in the whole process. In other words, justice is often delayed or practically denied. Therefore, India badly needs to strengthen its criminal justice system to make it effective and efficient.

Governments, non-governmental organizations, media, and educational institutions have to play an important role in spreading awareness and changing the mindset of people. Interventions from these institutions can increase knowledge, challenge attitudes, modify behavior, and alter social norms and values. Governments should take the initiative to start a number of campaigns targeting men specifically, aiming to challenge traditional concepts of masculinity associated with violence. Messages such as 'violence towards women is unacceptable', 'masculine man is not a violent man', 'my strength is not for hurting', 'end gender violence', 'end violence against women', 'stop violence against women', etc. should be propagated through print and electronic media to sensitize people to influence their attitude towards gender norms and consequently check their violent behavior. Raising public awareness and gender sensitization has been quite successful in curtailing violence towards women in many countries such as South Africa, Nicaragua, Australia, and United States; therefore, central as well as state governments of India should now step up a vigorous campaign for gender sensitization throughout the country.

Conclusion

The analysis shows that heinous crimes against women in India have been increasing at an alarming rate of close to 6% per year since 1991. We have found that there is a huge variation in the heinous crime rate across states and union territories.

Heinous crimes against women are, to a great extent, preventable. The best way to check crime against women is to prevent it from happening in the first place by addressing its root and structural causes. In general, crime against women is rooted in gender-based discrimination and social norms and gender stereotypes that perpetuate such crime. That is why prevention should start early in life, by educating young boys and girls to have respectful relationships and gender equality. Disproportionate burden of poverty on women, unequal access to education, inadequate access to direct participation in the economy and policy making processes, inequality in sharing power and decision making, and ineffective implementation of existing rules and regulations to protect women from violence are some of the important reasons why women in India are so vulnerable. Therefore, public policies and interventions should focus on promotion of gender equality, women's empowerment and their enjoyment of human rights. It also means making the home and public spaces safer for women, ensuring their economic autonomy and security, and increasing their participation and decision making powers in the home, as well as in the offices and public life.

In general, if we have more men in the society who are unable to marry, even though they would be willing to marry, society will face greater level of violence and crimes particularly against women. In other words, violent crime against women increases as the deficit of women increases in society. According to 2011 census data, India has 37 million more men than women and about 17 million excess men in the age group that commits most crimes. Therefore, central as well as state governments in India need to take appropriate steps including enforcing existing laws against dowry and sex-selective abortion to avoid more serious consequences of gender imbalance.

Last but not the least, awareness raising and community mobilization is another important component of an effective prevention strategy. Governments, non-governmental organizations, media, and educational institutions have to play an important role in this regard. Interventions from these institutions can increase knowledge, challenge attitudes, modify behavior, and alter social norms and values. Current efforts in this regard in India are not sufficient in comparison to what should be done. Along with non-governmental organizations, media, and educational institutions, central as well as state governments of India should now step up a vigorous campaign for gender sensitization throughout the country.

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank Prof. Roger Pearson and anonymous referees for their helpful comments and valuable suggestions which considerably improved the exposition of this work.

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Report of The Expert Group to Review the Methodology for Measurement of Poverty, June 2014, Planning Commission, Government of India.

Report on Fourth Annual Employment--Unemployment Survey, 201314, Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India.

National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005-06, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai.

National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai.

Sanjay K. Singh (1) *

Indian Institute of Management Lucknow

(1) * Professor, Economics and Business Environment Area, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, India. Address for correspondence: sanjay@iiml.ac.in.

Table 1. Heinous crimes against women
statistics of India: 1991-2014

Year     Women      Number    Number of     Number of   Total number
       population    of      kidnappings     dowry       of heinous
       ('00,000)    rapes    & abductions    deaths     crime against
                                                            women

1991      4071       9793       12300         5157          27250
1996      4413      14846       14877         5513          35236
2001      4957      16075       14645         6851          37571
2006      5331      19348       17414         7618          44380
2010      5752      22172       29795         8391          60358
2011      5864      24206       35568         8618          68392
2012      5852      24923       38262         8233          71418
2013      5926      33707       51881         8083          93671
2014      5999      36735       57311         8455         102501

Table 2. Rape rate, number of rapes per 100,000 people,
across selected countries

COUNTRY        2004    2006    2008    2010    2012

Pakistan       29.7    24.4    25.6    28.8    N.A.
South Africa   148.4   137.6   144.8   132.4   N.A.
Japan           1.7     1.5     1.3     1.0    1.0
Netherlands    11.1    14.6    11.6     9.2    N.A.
Germany        10.7     9.8     8.8     9.4    N.A.
USA            32.3    31.5    29.8    27.3    26.6
Canada          1.8     1.7     1.5     1.7    1.4

Source: Crime Statistics: Sexual Violence against Children
and Rape, 2004 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,
Vienna, Austria.

Table 3. Age group-wise victims of rape cases: 2003-2013

Year    < 14 years    14-18 years     18-30 years

2003   1320 (8.3%)    1792 (11.3%)   9873 (62.3%)
2008   1893 (8.9%)    3421 (16.2%)   12182 (57.5%)
2013   4427 (13.1%)   8877 (26.3%)   15556 (46.1%)

Year   30-50 years    [greater than      Total
                      or equal to]
                        50 years

2003   2811 (17.7%)     60 (0.4%)     15856 (100%)
2008   3552 (16.8%)    128 (0.6%)     21176 (100%)
2013   4648 (13.8%)    256 (0.7%)     33764 (100%)

Table 4. Age group wise victims of incest rape
cases: 2003-2013

Year   < 14 years    14-18 years   18-30 years

2003   64 (16.0%)    99 (24.8%)    206 (51.5%)
2008   77 (24.9%)    75 (24.3%)    117 (37.9%)
2013   242 (44.2%)   151 (27.5%)   117 (21.3%)

Year   30-50 years   [greater than     Total
                     or equal to]
                       50 years

2003    31 (7.7%)      0 (0.0%)      400 (100%)
2008   32 (10.4%)      8 (2.5%)      309 (100%)
2013    36 (6.6%)      2 (0.4%)      548 (100%)

Table 5. States and union territories having higher or lower than
all-India average rate of different variables during the year 2014

States & UTs        higher    higher     higher     higher    lower %
                    heinous    rape    kidnapping   dowry        of
                    crime      rate        &        death     females
                     rate              abduction     rate     in wage
                                          rate               employment
                                                             (2011-12)

Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh      *        *          *                     *
Assam                  *        *          *                     *
Bihar                                                 *          *
Chhattisgarh           *        *          *
Goa                    *        *
Gujarat                                                          *
Haryana                *        *          *          *          *
Himachal Pradesh                *
Jammu & Kashmir        *                                         *
Jharkhand                                                        *
Karnataka
Kerala                          *
Madhya Pradesh         *        *          *          *          *
Maharashtra                     *
Manipur
Meghalaya                       *
Mizoram                *        *
Nagaland                                                         *
Odisha                 *        *          *          *          *
Punjab                          *                                *
Rajasthan              *        *          *
Sikkim                 *        *
Tamil Nadu
Tripura                *        *                     *
Uttar Pradesh                              *          *          *
Uttarakhand                                                      *
West Bengal                                *                     *
A & N Islands          *        *
Chandigarh             *        *          *                     *
D & N Haveli                                                     *
Daman & Diu                                                      *
Delhi                  *        *          *          *          *
Lakshadweep                                                      *
Puducherry

States & UTs           higher       lower     lower     higher
                    unemployment   female    literacy    % of
                        rate       to male     rate     people
                     (2013-14)      ratio     (2011)     below
                                   (2011)               poverty
                                                         line
                                                        (2013)

Andhra Pradesh                                  *
Arunachal Pradesh        *            *         *          *
Assam                    *                      *          *
Bihar                    *            *         *          *
Chhattisgarh                                    *          *
Goa                      *
Gujarat                  *            *
Haryana                               *
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu & Kashmir          *            *         *
Jharkhand                *                      *          *
Karnataka                *
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh           *            *         *          *
Maharashtra                           *
Manipur                                                    *
Meghalaya                *
Mizoram
Nagaland                              *
Odisha                   *                      *          *
Punjab                   *            *
Rajasthan                *            *         *
Sikkim                   *            *
Tamil Nadu               *
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh                         *         *          *
Uttarakhand              *
West Bengal              *
A & N Islands            *            *
Chandigarh               *            *
D & N Haveli                          *                    *
Daman & Diu                           *
Delhi                    *
Lakshadweep              *            *
Puducherry               *

Table sources (page 67): (1) Crime Against Women in India, 1991
to 2014, National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs,
Government of India. (2) Key Indicators of Employment and
Unemployment in India, 2011-12, NSS 68th Round Survey, National
Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation, Government of India. (3) Census of India 2011,
Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Ministry
of Home Affairs, Government of India. (4) Report on Fourth Annual
Employment--Unemployment Survey, 2013-14, Labour Bureau, Ministry
of Labour & Employment, Government of India. (5) National Family
Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16, International Institute for
Population Sciences, Mumbai. (6) Report of The Expert Group to
Review the Methodology for Measurement of Poverty, June 2014,
Planning Commission, Government of India.

Figure 1. The heinous crime rate against women
in India over the years

       Dowry   Rape   Kidnapping &   Heinous
       death          abduction      crime

1991   1.3     2.4    3.0            6.7
1996   1.2     3.4    3.4            8.0
2001   1.4     3.2    3.0            7.6
2006   1.4     3.6    3.3            8.3
2011   1.5     4.1    6.1            11.7
2014   1.4     6.1    9.6            17.1

Note: Table made from bar graph.

Figure 2A. State and union territory-wise distribution
of rape cases

Madhya Pradesh   14%
Rajasthan        10%
Uttar Pradesh     9%
Maharashtra       9%
Delhi             6%
Rest of India    52%

Note: Table made from pie chart.

Figure 2B. State and union territory wise
distribution of kidnapping and abduction cases

Rest of Inda     50%
Uttar Pradesh    15%
Madhya Pradesh    8%
West Bengal       7%
Bihar             7%
Rajasthan         7%
Delhi             6%

Note: Table made from pie chart.

Figure 2C. State and union territory-wise
distribution of dowry death cases

Uttar Pradesh    29%
Bihar            16%
Madhya Pradesh    9%
Andhra Pradesh    6%
West Bengal       6%
Rest of India    34%

Note: Table made from pie chart.

Figure 2D. State and union territory-wise
distribution of heinous crimes against women

Uttar Pradesh    16%
Madhya Pradesh   11%
Rajasthan         9%
Bihar             7%
Delhi             6%
Rest of India    44%

Note: Table made from pie chart.

Figure 7. Heinous crime rate, number of heinous
crimes per 100,000 women, in selected Indian cities
in 2003 and 2013

                    2013   2003

Delhi               61.5   19.8
Patna               48.0    7.6
Jaipur              40.7   16.8
Indore              37.0   13.2
Lucknow             26.3    9.6
Varanasi            24.8    3.5
Bhopal              24.2   16.1
Bangalore           16.5    2.9
Ahmedabad           16.3    5.5
All India Average   15.8    6.8
Pune                12.8    3.8
Kanpur              11.6   10.0
Mumbai               7.8    3.1
Hyderabad            5.1    6.1
Kolkata              3.5    2.2
Chennai              3.2    1.8

Note: Table made from bar graph.