Introduction 00:08

 

Hello everyone, my name is Bipasha Nath, and I am a Program Associate at ADR. Welcome to our new podcast on crimes against women in India.

 

In light of rising harassment cases in the country, ADR will be directing its tenth podcast towards details of contesting candidates who have declared their involvement in crimes against women through affidavits filed during elections. This is relevant for analysis because governing bodies will seldom invest in stronger policies for women’s safety if elected representatives themselves have a questionable background. Undoubtedly, a weak legal and redressal system will, in turn, hold criminals among the general public less accountable for their actions, leading to an unending cycle of rising crime, poor governance, and insufficient structural support for women.

 

Significance of topic 01:01

 

In September this year, the Uttar Pradesh government announced its decision to put up posters in public places with pictures of people accused of sexual harassment and other crimes against women. This was done with the purpose of ‘instilling confidence among women and putting a check on crimes’ committed against them. This has reopened a crucial debate on the adoption of stringent measures that can make public spaces safe for women, and for implementing required policy frameworks that would guarantee justice for survivors and victims. This is because in the current scenario, not only is victim-blaming largely prevalent in the country, but a weak legal system ensures that the few cases that do get registered, are either riddled with complications or do not warrant sufficient/satisfactory attention. A case in point is Uttar Pradesh.

 

Crime Against Women: Uttar Pradesh 01:56

 

(Key findings)

 

In a report titled, “Analysis of MPs/MLAs with Declared Cases Related to Crimes against Women”, ADR has analysed rate of crime against women among contesting candidates in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The following observations have been made -

 

1. A total of 59 candidates from the state have declared cases of crime against women.

 

2. With regard to state-wise number of MPs/MLAs with declared cases, Uttar Pradesh stands at 3, bringing the total to 91.

 

3. Types of crime include: assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty (IPC Section-354); and word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman (IPC Section-509).

 

Crime Against Women: Countrywide Analysis 02:46

 

The problem is not restricted to only Uttar Pradesh; India, as a whole, has been struggling with rising crimes against women. In its report, ADR has taken into consideration criminal activities relating to acid attack, rape, sexual harassment, stalking, trafficking of women, dowry death, etc.

 

(Key findings) 03:09

 

Through its analysis, ADR has presented the following key findings -

 

1. From 2009 to 2019, there has been an increase of 231% in the number of candidates with declared cases of crime against women contesting in Lok Sabha Elections.

 

2. In the same time period, there has been an increase of 850% in the number of MPs with declared cases of crime against women in Lok Sabha.

1. Out of 764 MPs and 4054 MLAs analysed, 91 MPs/MLAs have declared cases related to crimes against women.
2. Among these 91 MPs/MLAs with declared cases related to Crimes against women, 74 are MLAs and 17 are MPs.
3. In last 5 years, a total of 601 candidates with declared criminal cases related to crime against women who have contested in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and assembly elections.
4. 439 candidates analysed who had declared cases related to crimes against women, were given tickets by recognized political parties. Among these candidates, 89 candidates were given tickets by parties for Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha elections and 350­­ candidates for state assemblies’ elections.
5. 162 independent candidates analysed with declared cases related to crimes against women had contested for Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha and state assemblies’ elections in last 5 years.
6. There are 12 MPs/MLAs who have declared cases related to rape. Out of these, 3 are MPs and 9 are MLAs.
7. Surprisingly, political parties which are led by women, such as Indian National Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, and All India Trinamool Congress have also been fielding candidates with declared cases related to crime against women.

 

10. Among the major parties in the last 5 years, 75 candidates with declared cases related to crimes against women were given tickets by Bhartiya Janata Party. The second highest number of candidates - that is, 51 who had declared cases related to crimes against women were given tickets by Indian National Congress, followed by 41 candidates from Bahujan Samaj Party who had declared cases related to crimes against women who had contested for Lok/Rajya Sabha and State Assemblies Elections in last 5 years.

 

 

Conclusion 05:39

 

In a report recently released by the National Crime Record Bureau, the top two states with maximum number of cases in 2019 for crimes against women are Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Overall, the country recorded a rise of 7.3% as compared to 2018. This means that a woman was raped every 16 minutes in the country last year. The problem, unfortunately, is not only limited to the number of cases a year, but also on the fact that available statistics is based on criminal activities that have been reported and registered. Refusal to register complaints made by women is a common practice in the country, which can only be rectified through proper and timely intervention by those in power. To this end, it is necessary to first have a clean and transparent legislature so that measures directed towards women’s safety are rigorously implemented. However, this will not be possible if the governments themselves comprise of representatives who have committed crimes against women. It is, thus, important for eligible voters to have full knowledge about the candidates they elect to power.

 

06:49

 

For more information, make sure you subscribe to the podcast on our website: adrindia.org or write to us at [email protected] with your feedback and queries. We will be back soon with another amazing episode. So stay tuned, and thank you for listening.

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