Srinagar: In its latest report, the National Crime Records Bureau has said that J&K has seen over 10 percent increase in crime against women during 2020.
The report indicates that violence against women has seen a sharp rise amid the “conservative Muslim society in Kashmir” in recent years.
In several cases, women have been ruthlessly murdered by immediate family members. “There were 3,069 cases in 2019 and 3,414 (including nine in Ladakh) in 2020,” the report reveals, adding that 2019 had witnessed a fall of 10% in such crimes.
In 2018 there were 3,437 cases registered with law enforcing agencies, it said.
“In 2020,” the report says, “in J&K there were 487 cases of attempt to murder. There were also 35 cases of abetment of suicide and 24 cases of abetment of suicide of women in 2020.”
In 2020, the report suggests there were nine cases of dowry deaths, 243 rape cases with 247 victims including three girls, 349 cases of cruelty against women by their husbands or relatives, 1,639 cases of assault on women and 1,744 cases of assault on women with intention to outrage their modesty.
“About 30 cases of stalking were registered in 2020 that included 15 cases of sexual harassment,” the report said. “The murder cases saw an increase of 25% with 149 cases in 2020 as against 119 in 2019.”
Pertinently, in October last year (2020) the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by the Union Ministry of Health has shocking exposures about domestic violence against women in Jammu and Kashmir.
The survey report, released in 2020, states that 9.6% of women in the age group 18-49 experienced domestic violence in 2019-20.
Five years ago, when J&K was still a state, the survey had said that 9.4% of women were subjected to domestic violence. It further revealed that domestic abuse and sexual harassment is more widespread in rural areas of J&K as compared to urban areas.
The NCRB report says that the crimes against children also witnessed an increase of around 29%. “There were 606 crimes incidents against children in 2020 in comparison to 470 and 473 cases in 2019 and 2018 respectively,” the report said.
Suicide cases, the report adds, were also a significant part of the crime statistics, including 472 incidences of attempt to commit suicide in 2020. “The kidnapping and abductions cases have been witnessing a decline for the past three years in J&K,” it said, adding that J&K also recorded 10 cases of crimes related to offences against the state besides two cases of sedition in 2020.
A senior official of crime branch here said here that their utmost effort is to stop the abuse of women and children. “A slew of measures have been taken in coordination with respective police stations to stop such crimes,” he said while seeking help from general public to stop the crime against women, children and others in society.