The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, released on 3 December identified Delhi as the most unsafe metropolitan city for women in India, while Uttar Pradesh emerged as the most perilous state for women in the country.
The new report recorded the highest number of FIRs linked to crimes against women (14,158 cases in 2022 with a rate of 186.9) among 19 other metropolitan cities under the categories of ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ and ‘Kidnapping & Abduction of Women’, followed by Mumbai (6,176) and Bengaluru (3,924).
The national average crime rate against women increased from 64.5 percent in 2021 to 66 percent in 2022 (number of incidents per 1 lakh population).
The total number of cases in metropolitan cities increased from 43,414 in 2021 to 48,755 in 2022, with an overall increase of 12.3%.
An average of three rape cases per day were reported, reflecting a 4% increase in crimes against women in India compared to the previous year.
Compared to 3,71,503 cases in 2020 and 4,28,278 cases in 2021, a total of 4,45,256 cases were registered in 2022.
Looking at the individual state category, Uttar Pradesh topped the list by recording the highest cases of crimes against women, with 65,743 cases, followed by Maharashtra (45,331) and Rajasthan (45,058).
Uttar Pradesh topped the list again under the category of ‘Murder with rape/gangrape’, with 62 registered cases, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 41.
Delhi recorded 1,204 rape cases, 129 dowry death cases, 3,909 kidnappings or abductions of women.
Commenting on the NCRB report, Trupti Jhaveri Panchal, Assistant Professor at Centre for Women Centred Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, said to Maktoob: “Besides the registered FIRs, several NGOs and women’s groups also register a considerable number of cases of crimes against women which often go unaccounted for in the official statistics.”
“Between 2016 and 2021, the Social Service Units (SSU) and Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC, spuwac.in) registered more than 43,078 cases of domestic and familial violence in Delhi. In most of these cases, affected women refrained from filing an FIR or taking any legal action against the perpetrators. The prevailing sentiment among these women is a desire for immediate support, legal guidance, necessary actions, joint mediation, and counselling to secure their safety within their homes.”
As per the NCRB report, the majority of the cases against women under the Indian Penal Code were of cruelty by the husband or his relatives (31.4%), followed by kidnapping and abduction of women (19.2%), assault on women with the intent to outrage her modesty (18.7%), and rape at (7.1%).
India registered over 1,40,000 cases categorised under ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’, with 13,479 cases under the Dowry Prohibition Act.
A record total of 28,522 murder cases, averaging 78 killings per day or over three every hour, was also reported. Primary motives behind these murders included ‘Disputes’ in the highest number of cases at 9,962, followed by ‘Personal vendetta or enmity’ with 3,761 cases, and ‘Gain’ with 1,884 cases.
Among the total murder victims, men constituted approximately 70 percent, 8,125 were female, and nine belonged to the “third-gender” category.
The report revealed an increase in various crime categories beyond those against women.
Crimes against children rose by 8.7%, senior citizens by 9.3%, Scheduled Castes (SC) by 13.1% (50,900 cases), and Scheduled Tribes (ST) by 14.3% (10,064 cases), respectively.
Economic offences witnessed an 11.1% increase, and corruption saw a surge of 10.5%.
Cybercrimes rose by 24.4% in 2022, with a total of 65,893 registered cases.
Aryata is a postgraduate in English Literature from Delhi University. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Media and Cultural Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
 data, released on 3 December identified Delhi as the most unsafe metropolitan city for women in India, while Uttar Pradesh emerged as the most perilous state for women in the country.){kind=link}