Amid lockdown, India witnesses steep rise in crime against women
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA – JULY 2: Sras, a 33 year old survivor of domestic violence, in the Cambodian Women’s Crisis Shelter on July 2, 2018 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sras husband threatened to kill her and her three children about six months ago. As the world talks about women’s rights and the #MeToo movement, Cambodia continues to be a patriarchal society, like many other developing countries, and still considers women to be inferior to men, often limiting them from securing proper education and income opportunities. While Cambodia struggles with high rates of gender violence, activists and organizations aim to provide sexual health training for young women, empowering them through education and factory jobs for those who are at risk of sex trafficking. Villagers at Svay Pak district, an ethnically Vietnamese center infamous for child prostitution at the outskirts of Phnom Penh, have seen a significant drop in sex trafficking ever since the organizations started providing education for those who are at risk of turning to prostitution for money. NGOs such as as AIM claim that sex trade is now down by 50% within the Vietnamese and Cambodian communities while the Harpswell Foundation provides free accommodation in Phnom Penh as well as learning centers for young women from the rural villages with outstanding academic records, thus providing them the opportunity to attend university. Reports have indicated that while male students have an advantage attending the schools of their choice, the lack of safe dormitories for female students in Phnom Penh, where Cambodia’s top schools are located, has prevented rural Khmer women from completing higher education and the opportunity to pick up important life skills. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
By: Aswathy Nair
There has been a steep rise in crime against women across India amid restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak, with the National Commission for Women (NCW) receiving 587 complaints from March 23 to April 16, out of which 239 are related to domestic violence.
According to data shared by the NCW, 123 cases of domestic violence were received between February 27 and March 22. In the last 25 days, the commission received 239 more such complaints.
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma earlier said that the high number can be attributed to the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak which has locked the abuser and the victim together.
The nationwide lockdown was declared by prime minister Narendra Modi on March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus.
From February 27 to March 22, a total of 396 offences related to women were reported to the NCW, while from March 23 to April 16, as many as 587 such complaints were received, according to the data.
The highest number of complaints were related to domestic violence. The NCW had launched a WhatsApp number—72177135372—on April 10 to report domestic violence on an emergency basis during the lockdown.
The commission constituted a special team to handle these complaints on a fast track basis.
Since the launch of this dedicated WhatsApp number, a total of 40 messages were received reporting domestic violence, the data showed.
The NCW, in a statement, said these messages are first scrutinised and those related to domestic violence amid the lockdown are taken up on priority and to provide immediate security to aggrieved women with the help of state police and administration.
