No rise in crimes against women since Nirbhaya, think most Indians: Survey

Out of 16,000 respondents, nearly 37 percent of Indians think that the rate of crime against women has gone up while 50 percent of them said the situation is same as earlier.

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New Delhi: At a time when there is a visible anger among the masses against the Kathua and Unnao rape cases, a recent survey has claimed that only a third of respondents feel that crime against women has increased post the 2012 Nirbhaya case while nearly half of them believe that it is at the same level.

The survey was conducted by LocalCircles, which surveyed nearly 16,000 respondents. The survey found that 37 percent of Indians think that the rate of crime against women has gone up while 50 percent of them said the situation is same as it was in the past. 

Nearly 6 percent of those surveyed said that the rate of crime against women has gone down.

However, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report of 2016 claims that as many as 39 crimes against women were reported in India every hour, up from 21 in 2007.

LocalCircles conducted another poll on what the residents of the national capital think about the safety of women in the city and found that 75 percent citizens felt that the government has not taken any major initiative in last four years to reduce crime against women. 

Only 16 percent of the respondents said that some steps were taken to ensure the safety of women.

On the night of December 16, 2012, the brutal gangrape of a paramedical student by six men on a moving bus in the national capital shook the nation for the sheer brutality and torture inflicted on the hapless girl.

The girl and her male companion fought bravely but she suffered fatal injuries and was admitted to Delhi's Safdarjung hospital. Despite the best efforts by the doctors, her condition kept on deteriorating and she had to be moved to a Singapore hospital even as thousands of youngsters protested on the streets of Delhi demanding justice for her. 

She finally succumbed to her injuries on December 29, 2012.

The brutality inflicted upon the victim, who was later addressed as 'Nirbhaya', triggered a massive outrage across the country with thousands taking to streets demanding justice to the girl.

Seeing the massive anger against the heinous crime, the government was forced to set up a three-member committee to suggest changes in the anti-rape laws. 

One of the perpetrators of the crime was a juvenile who was sent to a juvenile home for just 3 years while another accused died mysteriously in the jail during the trial.

But even several years after the horrific crime that shook the entire nation, justice is yet to be fully delivered to the girl's family and there has been no significant decline in crime against women.

(With IANS inputs)