The horror of Kathua and Unnao rapes have once against brought into focus the safety of women in India, and especially that of children. Looking back at the latest data available, in 2016, India recorded 106 rapes a day and four out of every ten victims were minors.
Another shocking fact that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)‘s "Crime in India 2016" report reveals is that in 94.6 percent cases, the perpetrators were none other than the victim's relatives including brothers, fathers, grandfathers, sons or acquaintances.
The report showed that in the year 2016, a total of 38,947 cases of rape were registered in the country under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) as well as Section 376 and other related sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Among these 38,947 cases, in 36,859 matters, accused are related to the victims, it said.
The NCRB figures also indicate that more and more rapes are being reported every year. However, that could mean that more victims are coming forward to file complaints.
Conviction Rate Remains Low
In 2016, only one in four rape cases in India ended in conviction – the lowest since 2012 – according to national crime data.
India’s conviction rate for rape, at 25.5 percent, remains low compared to all cognisable crimes – those that do not require a magistrate’s permission to investigate – under the Indian Penal Code (46.9 percent in 2015).
“Declining conviction rate in rape cases ordinarily means lesser number of registered cases could be proved in court, and this gives rise to the suspicion that maybe false cases are also being registered,” Anant Kumar Asthana, a Delhi-based activist and lawyer had told IndiaSpend, in this report on 8 July 2017.
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