The most common offences of criminality against women were ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’, ‘Assault on Women’, ‘Kidnapping and Abduction of Women’, and ‘Rape’ among others.
According to the latest data from the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), Jammu and Kashmir have seen an 11 per cent increase in reports of crime against women, which is concerning.
Jammu and Kashmir registered 3069 incidences of crime against women in 2019 and 3414 cases in 2020, according to a report by the National Crime Records Bureau.
243 rape cases witnessed in J&K in 2020
As per the report, nine dowry deaths, 243 rape instances, 349 incidents of cruelty towards women by their spouses or family, 1,639 cases of assault on women, and 1,744 cases of attack on women with the purpose to outrage their modesty occurred in 2020.
In 2020, 247 rape cases were recorded, according to the NCRB data. Rape victims ranged in age from 18 to 30 years old in 180 instances, followed by 55 cases (30-45 years), and 9 cases (45-60 years).
Culprits mostly known to victims
Except in one case, the culprits were known to the victims through family or acquaintances, according to the report.
According to the report, there were 783 occurrences of female kidnapping and abduction in 2020, 349 cases of a spouse or relative abuse, nine dowry deaths, 24 cases of suicide abetment, 1744 cases of assault on women with the intention to outrage modesty, and 10 cases of attempted rape.
‘Cruelty by husband’ most common offence
The most common offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or Special Local Laws (SLL) were ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’, ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’, ‘Kidnapping and Abduction of Women’, and ‘Rape’ among others.
Similarly, according to the NCRB data, 195 incidents were reported under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (Girl child victim only).
The number of murder cases increased by over 25% in 2020, from 119 in 2019 to 149 in 2020.
In 2020, there were 487 incidents of attempted murder, 35 cases of suicide abetment, and 24 cases of female suicide abetment. In addition, crimes against minors increased by roughly 29% in 2020, with 606 incidences compared to 470 and 473 cases in 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Suicide attempts, which accounted for 472 instances in 2020, were also a substantial portion of the crime statistics.