The document discusses women's safety issues in India. It notes that ancient Indian scriptures respected women's high status but over time, due to social and political changes, women lost their status and became more vulnerable to crimes. It outlines the various types of crimes against women according to Indian law and UN definitions. These include domestic violence, sexual abuse, dowry deaths, and trafficking. The document analyzes crime statistics and discusses the social causes like patriarchy, dowry practices, and lack of values. It also examines issues with the legal system and makes recommendations to improve women's safety through policy initiatives, legal reforms, self-defense training, and social awareness campaigns.

1. WOMEN SAFETY IN INDIA
By:
MAHENDER
(12112020)
3/17/2015 1

2. In the ancient India, women held a high place of respect in
the society as mentioned in Rig-veda and other scriptures.
“यत्र नाययस्तु पूज्यन्ते रमन्ते तत्र देवता: ।
यत्रैतास्तु न पूज्यन्ते सवायस्तत्राफला: क्रिया: ।”
The universal truth is that in a house, all the deities are
pleased where women are honoured and no meritorious
deed will not yield any result where they are abused.
Volumes can be written about the status of our women and
their heroic deeds from the vedic period to the modern times.
INTRODUCTION
3/17/2015 2

3. Women is a symbol of love, purity, knowledge, sacrifice, etc.
3/17/2015 3

4. Later on, because of social, political changes, women lost
their status and were relegated to the background and
are very much prone to crimes against them nowadays.
Swami Vivekananda said
“Circumstances have forced
upon us, for many centuries,
the women's need of
protection. This, and not her
inferiority, is the true
reading of our customs”.
3/17/2015 4

5. CRIME AGAINST WOMEN
The Semantic meaning of ‘crime against women’ is direct
or indirect physical or mental cruelty. Crimes which are
directed specifically against women are characterized as
‘Crime Against Women’.
Violence is also known as abuse and include any sort of
physical aggression or misbehave.
When violence is committed at home it becomes domestic
violence and involves family members such as spouse,
parents or servants.
Domestic violence may involve different means such as hitting,
kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, throwing objects.
3/17/2015 5

6. Violence in broader includes threats, sexual abuse, emotional
abuse, control &domineering, intimidation, stalking, and economic
deprivation, rape, abduction, kidnapping and murder(criminal
violence).
Dowry death, wife battering, sexual abuse, maltreatment of a
widow and for an elderly women (domestic violence).
Eve-teasing, forcing wife/daughter-in-law to go for foeticide,
forcing a young widow to commit sati, etc (social violence).
3/17/2015 6

7. The United Nations defined “violence against women” in 1993
in Declaration of Elimination of violence against women as
“Any act of gender based violence that results in or likely
to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or
suffering to women including threats of such acts, coercion
or arbitrary deprivation of liberty whether occurring in
public or private life”.
3/17/2015 7

8. CLASSIFICATION
These are broadly classified into two categories.
A. The Crimes Under the Indian Penal Code(IPC)
Seven Crimes included under this head are as follows:
I. Rape (section 376IPC)
II. Kidnapping and Abduction for specified purposes (section 363-
373IPC)
III. Homicide for dowry, deaths or attempts (section 302/304-B IPC)
IV. Torture –both mental & physical (section 498-A IPC)
V. Assault on women with an intent to outrage her modesty (sec.
354)
VI. Insult to the modesty of women (sec. 509 IPC)
VII.Importation of girls from foreign countries (366-B IPC)
3/17/2015 8

9. B. The crimes under special and local laws(SLL)
I. The Immoral Traffic (prevention) Act -1956
II. The Dowry Prohibition Act-1961
III. The Indecent Representation (Prohibition) Act-1986
IV. The Commission of Sati Prevention Act-1987
The provisions of the law affecting women significantly have been reviewed
periodically and amendments carried out to keep pace with the emerging
requirements.
3/17/2015 9

10. cruelty by
husbands or
relatives, 38.4
Dowry death, 2.6
Dowry Prohibition
Act, 3.5
Immoral Traffic
Act, 0.8
Others, 0.1
Rape, 10.9
Kidnapping and
Abduction, 16.8
Insult to
modest
y of
women,
4.1
Assault on women
with an intent to
outrage her
modesty, 22.9
Source: NCRB
CRIME AGAINST WOMEN -2013
Percentage Distribution.
3/17/2015 10

11. COMPARISIONS
3/17/2015 11

12. INCIDENCE OF CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN-2013
3/17/2015 12

13. 3/17/2015 13

14. CAUSES?
A. Lack of VALUES in Indians
There are a few reasons and are as follows:
 Bollywood and media:
 Both these media are projecting films and advertisements
that contains nudity and vulgarity.
 Misuse of Internet:
 There are millions of porn sites.
 INDIA ranks 2nd in watching porn over internet.
 Philosophy of Patriarchy:
 Dowry:
3/17/2015 14

15.  Liquor:
 Diverts mindset.
 Loses self control.
 More than 75% accused of rapes are either family
members, relatives, friends or close associates.
3/17/2015 15

16. B. Improper Protection System
• According to Criminal Law Journal, there have been 80 and 75
percentage of cases have been reported in High Courts and
Supreme Courts respectively between 1983-2011 from
villages.
• Delay in the process of prosecution.
• There are just over 30+ judges in Supreme Courts.
• There are 24 High Courts in India and have only 160 judges
altogether.
3/17/2015 16

17. Government’s Initiatives
There have been a number of initiatives from the national government or the
judiciary which have touched upon issues of violence and crimes against
women.
• The National Policy for the Empowerment of Women,2001.
The policy also made a specific mention of violence against women, asserting that:
“All forms of violence against women, physical and mental, whether at
domestic or societal levels, including those arising from customs, traditions or
accepted practices shall be dealt with effectively with a view to eliminate its
incidence. Institutions and mechanisms/schemes for assistance will be created
and strengthened for prevention of such violence, including sexual harassment
at work place and customs like dowry; for the rehabilitation of the victims of
violence and for taking effective action against the perpetrators of such
violence.”
3/17/2015 17

18. •In 2006, Domestic Violence Act
 Under this Legislation, all states were to appoint Protection
Officers to support and guide those affected by domestic
violence.
 In Delhi alone, 6000 cases have been registered under the
Domestic Violence Act in the three years since the Act was
passed.
 17 Protection Officers have been appointed, attached
to family courts across Delhi.
3/17/2015 18

19. • Eleventh Five Year Plan(2007-2012)
has included a reference to preventing Violence Against
Women in its chapter titled “Towards Women’s Agency and
Child Rights”, acknowledging that VAW is a major issue in both
rural and urban areas.
The Plan promises to strengthen both the legislative
environment and the justice delivery mechanism under the
Domestic Violence Act.
•The Ministry of Home Affairs has also issued directives to state
governments from time to time on women’s safety.
3/17/2015 19

20. Prevention/reduction of these crimes
• Instilling the ethical values in & among the male gender.
• Installation of CCTV cameras in public places.
• Clean and safe public toilets for women.
• Improved infrastructure, including pavements and street lights.
• Improving the public transport system.
• Restriction on drinking in public places.
• Increased police presence and more recruitment of women in
police, as well as gender-sensitization of the entire police force.
• Deployment of uniformed as well as plain-clothes police
personnel in public places.
• Increased publicity of helpline numbers, accompanied by
effective and immediate readdresses of complaints of sexual
harassment received through the helpline.
• Awareness campaigns regarding sexual harassment.
3/17/2015 20

21. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WOMEN
 Awareness about the rights and laws.
 Awareness about the immediate aid like the usage of
mobiles.
 Carrying instruments that could save them at the time of
incidents like pepper sprays.
 Self defence training.
 Equal share of property rather than dowry.
 Trust your Instinct.
3/17/2015 21

22. शोचन्न्त जामयो यत्र ववनश्यत्याशु तत्कु लम ।
न शोचन्न्त तु यत्रैता वर्यते तद्धर् सवयदा ।
Peace and prosperity lies in the society where woman is
happy and honoured.
3/17/2015 22

23. “BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD”
SAVE ME!
3/17/2015 23

24. 3/17/2015 24