ARMED ASSESSMENT Issue Brief Number 5 October 2015

Unheard and Uncounted Violence against

Introduction (Shen, 2013). and effective responses remain elusive. This and subsequent group and While and public Violence against women and the relucc incidents of and murder have intimidation are familiar to women tance of public authorities to deal captured national and international across India, statistics remain scarce with it are longstanding themes of pubc attention (Shen, 2013). They leave no and unreliable. lic debate in India. They have been This Issue Brief reviews the state part of India’s public policy agenda doubt that violence against women is of violence against women in India since the landmark rape case in 1972 of a serious challenge to Indian society, and the state of research to date. Key a teenage girl known only as Mathura law enforcement, and judicial affairs. findings include the following: (Basu, 2013). Forty years later, the These highly publicized incidents group rape and murder committed in focus attention on the widespread but A series of highly publicized vioc New in 2012 (also known as the poorly understood problem of violence lent crimes against women have Nirbhaya case)1 generated mass protest, against women. The Indian public has transformed public awareness of making the issue central to debates on voiced their demands for action, yet the problem and elevated demands how the country is tackling issues of knowledge of the scale of the problem for action in India.

Dalit women demonstrating for women’s rights, fair wages, and the rights of their community, in , , May 2009. Source: Forster/ullstein bild/Getty Images

www.india-ava.org 1 Underreporting appears to affect rape in the , for examc Box 1 What is violence against women? virtually all forms of violence against ple, states that 75 to 95 per cent of cases women in India, including rape. in that country go unreported (HMIC, Effective interventions require clear definitions. In 2013, the number of rapes forc 2007, p. 8). In the , survey The labels gender-based violence and violence against women are often used interchangeably. mally reported in India was 33,707 research shows that approximately When used loosely, however, such terms may lead for a national rate of 5.7 per 100,000 65 per cent of rapes go unreported to confusion about related law, policy, problems, female residents. While it is a signific� (Rennison, 2002, p. 2). Social science and goals (Dziewanski, LeBrun, and Racovita, 2014, cant increase over previous officially research on rape is improving in these pp. 10, 29; UN Women, 2013, p. 2). Gender based violence refers to violence reported rates, it is still one of the - countries and elsewhere as data gradc directed against a person due to expectations lower rates reported worldwide. ually becomes more complete and relic of their role in society or culture based on their Estimates of the proportion of able (Taylor, 2006). For countries such as gender (UN Women, 2013, p. 2). According to the rapes in India reported to police India, however, systematic research is 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, violence against women range from 1 in 10 to 1 in 200. Such limited and statistics on rape—including refers to ‘any act of gender-based violence that estimates suggest as many as sevc those cited in this Issue Brief—should be results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual eral million rapes are unreported referred to with caution. When possible, or psychological harm or suffering to women, annually. independent estimates and other survey including threats of such acts, coercion or arbi- trary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in A range of violent social practices, data have been sourced in this research. public or in private life’ (UNGA, 1993, art. 1). including selective abortion and Poor reporting may explain the lack This Issue Brief focuses on the narrower topic foeticide, regional cultures of vioc of public attention to the victimization of physical and against women. lence, and armed conflict, elevate of women in the past. Provoked by the the danger of violence in India, spec public outcry against highly publicized women (31,807 out of 33,707 reported cifically against women. brutal crimes—starting with the 2012 rape cases in 2013) involve a family Improved monitoring and measurec Delhi group rape and murder—the member or husband, a neighbour, or ment of trends in violence against Central Government appears to be someone from the community known women are essential to better policy- taking swifter action (Shen, 2013). to the victim (NCRB, 2014, pp. 397, 399; making and interventions for vicc A prominent indication of this parac see Figure 6). tims. Independent, large-sample digm shift was the 2013 report of the Violence against women is a reflecc surveys are an especially promising Justice Verma Committee, a judicial tion of the larger society in which it way to begin. review conducted in response to the occurs. Selective abortion and foeticide Comprehensive police reform— assault carried out by the Delhi gang. —responses to multi-layered cultural including more police who are The Verma Committee concluded that and religious oppression—undermine dedicated to serving victims and ‘violence or assault, sexual or otherwise, are free of corruption—is essential a woman’s prospects in India from on women is a violation of the fundac before her birth. Vulnerabilities are for responding to violence against mental right to live with dignity’ (Verma, further compounded by domestic facc women. Seth, and Subramanium, 2013, p. 65). tors of caste, ethnicity, and poverty. As In addition to institutional reforms, The Committee framed violence against emphasized in this Issue Brief, most social change is a key part of the women as a violation of the Indian conc social pathologies, including regional solution to problems of violence stitution’s commitment to equality and cultures of violence and armed conflict, against women in India, from changc autonomy, as a result of entrenched also elevate the danger of violence ing attitudes towards women in social prejudices, and as a failure of against women (Joseph, 2010, p. 19). general to assumptions about government institutions. The most effective responses are to be domestic relations. The clash between traditional mores found in immediate interventions to Violence against women and rape and social transformation worsens the prevent individual crimes, and broader in particular are probably the most problem. There is a common belief that social engagement to reduce their likec underreported of all major crimes men who are unemployed, uneducated, lihood throughout society, over time. globally (UN Department of Public marginalized, or of low social status may The Issue Brief begins by situatc Information, 2011). Chronic doubt, be more prone to violence against girls ing India in the wider, global context regarding reporting and the scale of and women (Desai, 2014). Research conc of violence against women. It then the crime, is greatly exacerbated by a ducted in the country reveals the family examines diverse estimates for rape lack of standardized legal definitions to be the predominant site in which vioc in India to highlight the widespread across India (see Box 1). Because systemc lence against women occurs, notably underr­eporting of all acts of violence atic underreporting renders official in the form of dowry-related , against women. The limitations relatc statistics incomplete, estimates are homicide, and suicide (Saravanan, ing to recording rape include the onc essential to any efforts to assess the 2000). According to official statistics, going ambiguity around defining the scope of the problem. An estimate of almost 95 per cent of rapes against term, within the Indian legal system.

2 Small Arms Survey Issue Brief Number 5 October 2015 Under ­reporting is also a gendered be , Democratic Republic women and girls. Statistics on rapes problem in the country, along with of the Congo, India, Pakistan, and reported to the police collected by women’s unequal access to the judicial Somalia (Anderson, 2011). To find India UNODC indicate very low levels of system. An analysis of these issues is listed among countries burdened by , with less than two cases followed by a breakdown of the major civil war, large-scale terrorism, and reported annually per 100,000 residents. categories of violence experienced by failed states might be unexpected, but In India, with approximately only one women in India. The Issue Brief conc increasingly gender-sensitive assessc rape reported for every woman or girl siders the particular vulnerability of ments have reaffirmed this finding. reported killed, the ratio between the women from lower caste and tribal In some respects women are not the rate of rapes reported to the police and backgrounds and those living in areas group most affected by lethal violence the rate of female violent deaths is the of armed conflict. To conclude, the in India. As in other countries, the vicc lowest among a selection of countries study focuses on India’s need for comc tims of armed violence tend be male with low or medium levels of female bined legal, social, and cultural reforms (Oosterveld, 2014, p. 107). In India’s violence deaths (see Table 1). to significantly reduce the levels of vioc official national crime statistics for lent acts committed against women. 2013, female victims accounted for 27 per cent of all reported homicides Estimating the scale of (NCRB, 2014, p. 333). rape in India Violence against women in A global assessment of official stac In estimating the scale and regional India and the global context tistics on female victims of homicide also shows India to have a low rate, distribution of violence against women, Internationally, violence against women averaging 1.5 per 100,000 for 2007–2012 obstacles arise from controversies over is recognized as ‘one of the most sysc (Geneva Declaration Secretariat, n.d.). rape-related data. In 2013, a total of tematic and widespread human rights Much of the danger to women arises 33,707 penetrative sexual attacks (rapes) violations’ (UN Women, 2013, p. 2; in non-lethal forms of violence that are were formally reported in India (NCRB, UNFPA, UNIFEM, and OSAGI, 2005). rarely or poorly reported. 2014, p. 387). Actual incidents of rape This is because such violence is rooted Official statistics on rape are imperc against women in the country are in gendered social structures rather fect in all countries, yet they generally believed to be much higher. than in individual or random acts; represent a proxy indicator —albeit an A commonly cited estimate of rape and ‘cuts across age, socio-economic, inadequate one—for violence against in India holds that only one in ten cases educational and geographic boundac women. This is because, although rape is reported to police (Basu, 2013)— ries; affects all societies; and is a major is generally underreported, its reportc implying that a further nine may go obstacle to ending gender inequality ing is more regular than that of other unreported. While this estimate is widely and discrimination globally’ (UN forms of gender related violence against referred to, little statistical evidence Women, 2013, p. 2). In international rankings, India’s overall rate of reported lethal violence Table 1 Ratio of reported rapes per female violent deaths, selected countries, 2007–12 is low to mid level, far below societies Country Rate of rape Rate of female Ratio of rapes per female such as Brazil, the Russian Federation, violent deaths violent deaths or (Acharya and Karp, 2011, p. 2). India’s low rate of national England and Wales 26.8 0.2 134.0 violence, however, conceals its large 58.1 0.6 96.8 absolute scale, with an annual averc Germany 9.1 0.5 18.2 age of 35,848 violent deaths of men and women between 2007 and 2012 Chile 19.2 1.2 16.0 (Geneva Declaration Secretariat, n.d.). Peru 24.7 1.6 15.4 From a gender perspective, these crime United States 28.3 1.9 14.9 rate statistics provide merely a glimpse of violence against women. 8.6 1.6 5.4 Given that a great deal of violence Hong Kong 1.6 0.5 3.2 against women worldwide goes unrec Thailand 7.2 2.7 2.7 ported (see UN Women, 2013, p. 65), official data fails to reflect the true magc Slovakia 2.6 1.0 2.6 nitude of the problem. A 2011 poll of 1.1 0.5 2.2 global gender policy experts identified the countries where women and girls India 1.9 1.5 1.3 are most at risk of gendered violence to Sources: UNODC (n.d.); Geneva Declaration Secretariat (n.d.)

www.india-ava.org 3 supports it. Estimates of 30, 50, and homicide, assault, and battery (NCRB, be reliable (the violent incidents it lists even 200 actual rapes for each incident 2014, p. 81). Meanwhile, a 2005–06 surc definitely occurred) but not compre- reported can also be found (Hindu, 2013; vey concluded that the total number hensive (many crimes go unreported). Vieira, 2013). At these estimates, the of Indian women aged 15 to 49 who NCRB reporting also involves judgc approximate total number of actual had ever experienced physical or sexual ments by police about the causes of a rapes would be approximately 340,000; violence was just under 100 million crime—a problem most evident in 1,000,000; 1,700,000; or even 6,500,000 (CCS, 2011, para. 4.11). certain categories, such as motives annually, for a population of 1.2 billion for sexual affairs or killings due to in 2011. Such estimates would indic allegations of witchcraft (NCRB, 2014, cate national rape rates of up to 184 Recording and reporting of pp. 55–56)—which raises questions per 100,000 total residents, and would violent crimes against women about misreporting. And all reporting rank India among the countries most on rape in India is limited by a legal The key figures for violent crimes exception which rules out the possic affected. against women in India are the annual bility of most (see Box 2). Despite the great uncertainty regardc statistics released by the NCRB. As a Underreporting tends to occur ing higher estimates, they are supported police agency operating under the because people are hesitant to approach by widespread anecdotal reporting and Ministry of Home Affairs, the NCRB is the police, feel inhibited by social survey research. A survey of 109,041 responsible for all official, national crime mores, or fear demands for bribes or households in India found that of statistics, relying on data submitted by abusive treatment. Police may be uninc women aged 15 to 49, more than one- state and city law enforcement agencies terested or unwilling to investigate third (34 per cent) had experienced (Shrinivasan, 2013; Acharya and Karp, allegations and are often under presc physical violence and nine per cent 2011, p. 2). In 1989, it introduced a sure to suppress the reported crime rates reported that they had endured sexual separate section on ‘Crimes against of their districts. The resulting underc violence at some point during these Women’ to its annual report. In this reporting has been widely acknowlc years of their lives (NFHS, 2007, section, acts of violence against women edged, including by an official of the pp. 14, 497, 500). are recorded under two separate catc NCRB (Shrinivasan, 2013). Rates of physical or sexual violence egories: the (IPC), uncovered by this survey varied greatly and crimes recorded under specific across the country. Lowest was the state gender laws, called the Special and Gendered underreporting of , where 4.1 per Local Laws (NCRB, 2014, p. 79). Underreporting by law enforcement cent of women said they had been physc As the only systematic data source agencies of violent crime against ically attacked, and and , on violent , NCRB annual women is a global concern (Dziewanski, where 12.5 and 12.6 per cent reported reports are an invaluable resource. LeBrun, and Racovita, 2014, p. 11). having been attacked, respectively. However, their weaknesses are well By effectively concealing the true Highest rates were recorded in Madhya known: their figures on the occurrence scale of the problem, underreporting Pradesh and , where 37.6 and of violence against women appear to diverts public and political attention, 38.9 per cent of female respondents respectively said they had been attacked physically (NFHS, 2007, p. 504). Box 2 Defining rape in India: unresolved legal ambiguity and denial A different survey of sexual vioc India’s legal definition of rape comes from the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a legal code first approved in 1860 lence among Indian women aged 15 to (IPC, 1860, art. 375), which is still praised for coherence and efficacy (New Indian Express, 2011). The IPC is 49 found that 8.5 per cent had experic also criticized, however, for being increasingly out of touch with changing social mores, including in its definition of rape. Among Indian jurists, a major criticism concerns the vagueness of the law regarding the enced sexual violence annually— physical means of penetration—a nuance that makes prosecution difficult (Metha, 2013). amounting to about 27.5 million female Another set of concerns surrounds the basic legal approach to rape, defined under the IPC and the victims in this age group for 2013. This Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013 as the penetration by a male of a woman’s body with any part of his estimate includes marital rape, which body or an object, without her consent (Gazette of India, 2013, pp. 5–8). The IPC emphasizes the establishing of consent and the fact that minors cannot provide consent. It fails to date is not a crime in India (Raj and to recognize, however, that wives are legally unable to deny consent due to their vows (unless they McDougal, 2014, p. 865). By contrast, are younger than 18, in which case they have some limited rights to refuse sexual relations). This aspect the National Crime Records Bureau of the IPC has been criticized for being archaic and failing to acknowledge the possibility of marital rape (NCRB) reported a total of just 309,546 (Rath, 2007). After the Delhi group rape and murder of 2012 and the subsequent Verma Committee recommenda- crimes against women in 2013 for a tions, the IPC was heavily amended. IPC section 375 was modified and doubled in length to include more population of about 587 million women specific definitions of rape, reducing ambiguity about the means and places of penetration. Section 376 and girls (CSO, 2013; NCRB, 2013). was also amended to add stronger punishments (Gazette of India, 2013, pp. 5–8; Zeldin, 2013). Much else in Missing from the NCRB tabulations the IPC remained the same, however, including the failure to acknowledge marital rape. This crystalized the attention of reform advocates; they maintain that further legal reform is necessary to rectify legal are many serious, violent crimes not paralysis in the vast majority of domestic cases (Garg, 2014). delineated by gender, such as attempted

4 Small Arms Survey Issue Brief Number 5 October 2015 Figure 1 Crimes against women reported to the NCRB, 1994–2013

Reported crimes against women, per 100,000 women 60

50

40

30

20

10

0 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998* 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 YEAR Note: * NCRB data was not available for 1998. Source: Annual crime reports, NCRB (1994–2013) thereby inhibiting potentially effecc that has transformed its gender ratios note, were from an influential Hindu tive responses. and society. family who had harassed and intimic Evidence of massive underreportc The concept of missing women in dated not only the victim, but her relac ing in India comes from a study in 2010 Asia explains much about the gendered tives, too (Hindu, 2012). Such incidents that found that approximately 66 per underreporting of violent crimes against highlight frustrations and indignities cent of ’s women had been women in this region. Writing 25 years suffered routinely by women who sexually harassed during the previc ago, Amartya Sen showed that India attempt to lodge formal complaints. ous year, on average two to five times and other countries in Asia were missc Reporting of crime against women (Jagori and UN Women, 2011, pp. 20– ing millions of women due to selective has, however, risen dramatically in 21). With a total of 16.8 million resic abortion, infanticide, and unequal treatc recent years. The sudden increase is dents in the Delhi region (7.8 million of ment of female children, including the almost threefold, from fewer than 19 them female), this suggests that roughly denial of food and health care (Lyn, reported crimes against women per five million girls and women are rouc 2011; Sen, 1990). Sen’s research calcuc 100,000 residents in 2011 to more than tinely subjected to .2 lates the cumulative impact of gender 52 in 2013 (see Figure 1). Because there But little—if any—of this harassment bias on mortality to estimate the addic is no evidence of procedural or methc is captured in official crime data. tional number of females who would odological changes that might influence The weakness of Indian crime data, be alive today if equal treatment of the crime reporting to this extent, this especially poor reporting and lack of sexes prevailed. increase may be due to newfound comprehensiveness, limits insights In India, notions of shame, modesty, public awareness and greater willingc into all aspects of Indian violence. and honour remain the dominant conc ness to report crimes. Perhaps no matter is more obscure cepts in public discourse for justifying The NCRB acknowledges that these than the vastly underreported incic sexual assaults on women (Verma, Seth, figures are lacking; it estimates that an dents of foeticide and infanticide (see and Subramanium, 2013, p. 14). There average of one in 69 rapes, for examc ‘Sex-selective foeticide and female is a pronounced institutional bias against ple, are reported (Shukla, 2011). This infanticide’ below). In 2013, for examc women, whose complaints may not be would suggest a total of roughly 2.3 ple, the NCRB reported just 82 cases of taken seriously by the police (Verma, million actual rape cases occur in one infanticide nationwide—a remarkably Seth, and Subramanium, 2013, p. 48). year, at a rate of 254 per 100,000 women low figure for such a large country One such example is yet another and girls. In contrast, the reported (NCRB, 2014, p. 96). A clearer sense of notorious incident from 2012 that culc total is 33,707 cases per year, or only the problem emerges from a study of minated in the suicide of a girl in 5.7 per 100,000 women and girls (NCRB, India’s population imbalance (one of Punjab. The police took two weeks to 2014, p. 387). As discussed above, other the most noted worldwide), in which register the case and summoned the estimates for rape vary enormously males significantly outnumber females. girl repeatedly to the police station to from 10 to 200 actual rapes for every This imbalance is caused by the counc narrate her account. The alleged perpec incident reported. According to advoc try’s ‘missing women’, a phenomenon trators, named by the girl in a suicide cates who represent victims and to

www.india-ava.org 5 Critics state that a culture of impuc nity feeds the systemic failure to provide justice and relief for female survivors of violence nationwide. In an open letter and petition to the prime minisc ter in July 2012, a women’s advocacy group asserted that:

[t]his impunity manifests itself routinely in cases of sexual harass- ment, molestation, rape of women in urban and rural areas, the tar- geting of women’s bodies during communal and caste conflicts or the of women by men in uniform engaged in counter insurgency operations, in the Vimla Mehra, then head of the Crime Women Cell, a special police branch which set up a mobile intervention unit and centres in a few district in Delhi, May 2005. Source: Thierry Falise/LightRocket/Getty Images North East, Kashmir and Central India. The common feature in all these instances of sexual violence critics of Indian law enforcement, barc police to delay registering the case and is the absence of accountability and riers to reporting remain formidable. arresting the accused. The Chief Minisc failure of the legal system to punish Victims are often afraid to take the ter of , , the guilty (SACW, 2012). required initiative, and police who are claimed the case was fabricated in order hesitant to cooperate may protect susc to malign her government. In another pected perpetrators and punish the instance, the Chair of the National Comc Major categories of violence victims instead (Boga, 2012; Hindu, 2013). mission of Women—a body established Such advocates maintain that ‘if you’re to protect and promote women’s rights against women a woman in distress, the last thing you —responded to the sexual assault of The most widely recognized categories want to do is go to the police’ (Harris, a 20-year-old woman by a mob in of violence against women for which 2013b). Opening the criminal justice Guwahati, , by saying that official data is available are summarized system to women—making the police women should be ‘careful about the in Figure 2. The categories reflect not and courts more welcoming—is crucial. way they dress because such incidents only the combination of violence and are a result of blindly aping the West’ female victims, but a range of systemic Women’s access to justice and that such women are ‘eroding problems, including a lack of comprec Indian culture and causing such crimes hensive data, the contributing role of In a gendered hierarchy of victimizac to happen’ (Ghosh, 2012). social attitudes, the inaccessibility of tion, women are denied equal access In rural areas, lower-caste women policing and criminal justice, and the to judicial processes and services. are even more vulnerable. Often less paucity of support for survivors. Other Dismissive attitudes to female victimic educated, less aware of their legal zation persist, and legal responses are options, and more controlled by social Figure 2. Types of crime against women rarely implemented. Although city and constraints, the pressure to remain silent reported to the NCRB, 2013 village life can be very different in can be overwhelming. With fewer India, they share an entrenched culture police in rural areas and limited access of impunity, which leads to a systemic to judicial institutions, the reporting, failure to provide justice and relief for investigation, and prosecution of a female survivors of violence. violent act against a woman may not In urban areas, female assault and be feasible. Even where police are rape survivors fear that the primary available, they may be uncooperative response of police will not be to protect (Navsarjan Trust, FEDO, and IDSN, Legend: them so much as to cast doubt on their 2013). For example, the Director Genc Rape (33,707) and abduction (51,881) character and bring shame on their famc eral of Police of the state of Andhra Dowry-related death (8,083) ilies, effectively justifying the attack Pradesh said: ‘Fashionable dresses Cruelty by husband and his relatives (118,866) (Maier, 2008). worn by women, even in rural areas, Assault with intent to outrage modesty (70,739) In a prominent case of 2012, quesc are among the factors leading to an Insult to modesty (12,589) tions about the moral character of a increase in rape cases. The police have Other crimes (13,681) woman raped in were used by no control over this matter’ (Roy, 2012). Source: NCRB (2014, p. 81)

6 Small Arms Survey Issue Brief Number 5 October 2015 gender-based crimes or forms of vioc Figure 3 Ratio of girls reported born per 1,000 boys born in India, 2000–08 lence, such as trafficking in girls and Girls Boys women, are no less serious, but they lie beyond the scope of this Issue Brief. 2000–02 2001–03 Sex-selective foeticide and 2002–04 female infanticide 2003–05 Gender-based discrimination begins 2004–06 early in a human life in India. A family 2005–07 with a clear preference for having a son, 2006–08 rather than a daughter, can use prenatal 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000 testing (usually ultrasound) to determine Source: UNFPA (2010, p. 3) the sex of a foetus and arrange a sex- selective abortion to avoid birth of a girl (UNICEF, 2006, p. 4). In 1996, India The shortcomings of official reportc medicine, which the parents promptly enacted a law to prevent prenatal scanc ing on female foeticide and infantic threw away. When the child finally ning for the purposes of ascertaining the cide are illustrated by NCRB data, died, the parents had a medical sex of a foetus. Such a law is extremely which appear implausibly low for a certificate to prove pneumonia. difficult to enforce, because an extenc country of more than 1.2 billion. The Sometimes the infant was given sive yet poorly regulated private medic trends may be more meaningful than a drop of alcohol to create diar- cal system exists (Lyn, 2011). the individual figures—as they indic rhoea, another ‘certifiable disease’ cate a steady rise in reported foeticide (Aravamudan, 2007, pp. 20–22). cases—but the national total in 2013 Table 2 Total reported cases of foeticide and A major study shows skewed surc was still only 221 reports, which is not infanticide in India per year, 1994–2013 vival rates for girls of one month to enough to register statistically in overc Year Foeticide Infanticide five years of age, who are 25 to 50 per all crimes against women. Meanwhile, cent more likely to die of pneumonia 1994 45 131 reported infanticide cases have declined and diarrhoea than boys of the same (see Table 2). 1995 38 139 age (Ram et al., 2013, pp. e224–e25). These numbers only hint at the 1996 39 113 Girls also die at an abnormally high inadequacy of official crime figures. rate because of domestic violence 1997 57 107 Studies suggest that, in reality, 4 to 12 (Silverman et al., 2011, pp. 5–6). million foetuses—virtually all female 1998 — — The reported ratio of girls born for —may have been aborted in India 1999 61 87 every 1,000 boys born has increased over the past three decades (Lyn, since 2000 (see Figure 3). In that year, 2000 91 104 2011 2013 224 ; Ram et al., , p. e ). This only 892 girls were reported born for 2001 55 133 estimate excludes post-birth infanticide every 1,000 boys, suggesting a notable or death due to wilful neglect. 2002 84 115 rate of foeticide and infanticide. By 2008, The data on missing women refers 904 girls were reported born for every 2003 57 103 not just to the systematic prevention of 1,000 boys (UNFPA, 2010). This increase 2004 86 102 the birth of females through sex-selected in births of girls is offset, however, by foeticide but also to the widespread 2005 86 108 a steady decline in girls to boys under killing of female infants and young the age of six—a decrease from 927 2006 125 126 girls, typically under the age of six. girls for every 1,000 boys in 2001, to 2007 96 134 The methods of female infanticide vary, 914 girls in 2011 (NFHS, 2007, p. xxx; with many traditions. One researcher 2012 6 2008 73 140 GoI, , p. ). observed the methods of inducing 2009 123 63 pneumonia and diarrhoea: Domestic violence 2010 111 100 The infant was wrapped in a wet Girls and women are frequently subc 2011 132 63 towel or dipped in cold water as jected to physical and sexual violence, soon as it was born or when it came 2012 210 81 both inside the home and outside. back home from hospital. If, after a Although definitive surveys and estic 2013 221 82 couple of hours, it was still alive, mates are lacking, domestic violence Note: NCRB data was not available for 1998. it was taken to a doctor who would appears to be the most common form Source: Annual crime reports, NCRB (1994–2013) diagnose pneumonia and prescribe of violence perpetrated against women

www.india-ava.org 7 (Smith et al., 2003, p. 13). That said, it police records capturing ‘Cruelty by by changing social traditions and seems to go virtually unreported to Husband and Relatives’ against women emerging opportunities for women police—except for some of its worst —the principal category for the most (Kishwar, 2005, pp. 16–17). manifestations (NCRB, 2014, p. 387). serious of such incidents—accounted Dowry expectations can amount This makes domestic violence the most for 38 per cent of all IPC crimes (NCRB, to several times the annual wealth of critical category of violence against 2014, pp. 387, 391). a poor family. When the bride’s family women for which systematic data is The key state response to domestic cannot afford the dowry requested, lacking. In lieu of criminal reporting, violence is the Protection of Women conflict may result, sometimes culmic survey research on domestic violence is from Domestic Violence Act 2005 nating in lethal attacks committed by the strongest indicative measure of its (Ghosh and Choudhuri, 2011, p. 321), the family of the groom (Anderson, significance. Survey findings suggest which extends to the whole of the 2007, pp. 154, 170; Rao, 1993). A new that approximately 40 per cent of women country, except for the states of Jammu bride might be abused by her husc in India who have ever been married and Kashmir (Gazette of India, 2005, band’s family until her parents pay have been subjected to spousal vioc art. 1(2)). While the Act contains no new certain debts or provide gifts requested. lence. The same survey shows an estic punitive features, it focuses on protectc Similarly dowries have grown to mated one per cent of married women ing the basic civil rights and humanic encompass other ritual occasions, such have acted violently towards their tarian needs of women, such as a as gifts to mark the birth of a child or husbands (NFHS, 2007, pp. 508, 521). woman’s right to reside violence-free other significant events. The social A survey by the Population Referc in her matrimonial or parental home. and financial burden of such expectac ence Bureau found that 30 per cent tions can influence a family’s decision of women and 26 per cent of men in Dowry-related violence to selectively abort a female foetus or India agree that wife-beating is acceptc Under the country’s Dowry Prohibition kill a baby girl, as she in turn will incur able (PRB, 2011, p. 2). Other research Act 1961, dowries—in India almost considerable dowry costs when she indicates that women who marry always paid by families of the bride— reaches (Anderson, young—usually meaning before 18 in were declared illegal; yet they are still 2007, p. 170). Another extreme example India—are more likely than women commonplace in the culture of marriage of dowry-related violence is burning who marry later to believe this and to in India. Research confirms that the to death a bride—which can be disc experience domestic violence (Jejeebhoy, practice continues unchecked and missed as a kitchen accident or suicide 1998, p. 859). dowry-based violence has become more (Belur et al., 2014, p. 4). Domestic violence means violence common, despite official efforts to Reports of dowry-related violence between spouses and violence perpec suppress it (Banerjee, 2014). A study in India have been growing. NCRB trated by other family members. It is conducted by the UN on the culture figures show an increase from 4,836 widely presumed to include physical of dowry and domestic violence in dowry deaths reported in 1990 to 8,083 intimidation and violence towards India found that the crimes associated in 2013—a rise of more than 67 per cent daughters-in-law, typically carried out with dowries tend to relate to financ (see Figure 4). As with other forms of by members of extended families who cial demands made by the families of violence against women, this figure live in the same household. In 2013, bridegrooms and the tensions caused is widely regarded as incomplete (see

Figure 4 Reported dowry deaths in India, 1990–2013

Reported dowry deaths 10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0 1996199519941993199219911990 1997 1998* 1999 2009200820072006200520042003200220012000 2010 2011 20132012 YEAR Note: * NCRB data was not available for 1998. Source: Annual crime statistics, NCRB (1991–2014)

8 Small Arms Survey Issue Brief Number 5 October 2015 Table 3 Five Indian states with the highest reported dowry related deaths, 2013 Box 3 Number of dowry -related murders - State Dowry related deaths Dowry related deaths According to official data, 8,083 women died as a - - (incidences) (rate per 100,000 residents) result of dowry-related assaults in India in 2013 (NCRB, 2014, p. 387). Estimates circulated by 2,335 2.36 women’s rights activists place the actual total at 25,000 deaths annually, a figure that has been in Bihar 1,182 2.43 widespread use since the late 1990s (Buncombe, 776 2.17 2011; Thakur, 1999). The total domestic killings in India, of all kinds, has been estimated at 100,000 492 1.14 annually (Thakur, 1999). A further 125,000 women reportedly die each year from injuries sustained West Bengal 481 1.08 in violent attacks, overwhelmingly of a domestic Source: NCRB (2014, p. 387) nature (Harris, 2013a). Because such crimes are usually witnessed only by the victim and perpetrators, activists In India, extrajudicial arbitration With family attitudes and commuc believe most of them are successfully concealed as accidental deaths or suicides (Harris, 2013a). decrees issued by religious and tradic nity customs often in collusion, and A counter-critique has emerged from accused tional patriarchal structures, such as local police and political leaders often families, claiming that allegations of dowry- local panchayat and jirga (community unsympathetic, honour crimes have related and domestic violence are made unfairly courts), have condemned women to proved difficult to prevent or prosecute by ‘disgruntled wives’ to punish their in-laws. This argument has been accepted on occasion by the death. Couples who try to elope or (Oraa, 2011, p. 33). It is important to Indian Supreme Court (Lakshmi, 2014). transgress the community’s honour note that such crimes are not limited It is unclear whether the true extent of dowry- code, such as marrying within the gotra to the poorly educated. The first related violence can be revealed through public (common ancestral line) or crossing woman president of the Shiromani surveys the most important tool available for — caste barriers, may be killed in the Gurdawara Prabhandak Committee— estimating crime, reported and unreported. Until more effective surveys or alternative methods of name of family honour (Oraa, 2011, a Sikh religious body—and former data collection are developed, the true number pp. 33–34). Such practices are particuc minister in the Punjab government of dowry crimes will remain unknown. larly prevalent in the state of , was jailed for five years for complicity some parts of , and western in killing her pregnant daughter, who Uttar Pradesh, where or katta had married a mona (shaven Sikh), Box 3). The states where most dowry (caste-based) panchayats are powerful from a different caste (Angre, 2012; violence occurs are concentrated in (Oraa, 2011, p. 34).3 Chowdhry, n.d., p. 9). the north of the country (see Table 3): certain states report no dowry-related deaths at all (NCRB, 2014, p. 387). Some of these nil reports may point to more favourable regional social environments, while others suggest poor reporting practices.

‘Honour’ violence and killing ‘Honour’ killings are among the most severe manifestations of violence against women and girls worldwide (HRC, 2012, para. 43). Such killings, carried out in the name of tradition, are usually executed by male family members to assert authority over women’s choices of an intimate partc ner or freedom of movement (HRC, 2012, para. 47). Killing in the name of honour may take many forms. A girl or woman may be stoned, forced to commit suicide after being denounced in public, or burned and disfigured with acid, which in turn can result in An NGO, Action India, provides women legal guidance on preparing their cases for court, in Delhi, May 2005. death or suicide (HRC, 2012, para. 45). Source: Thierry Falise/LightRocket/Getty Image

www.india-ava.org 9 Globally, honour killings are believed Box 4 Response to the 2012 Delhi group rape and murder to be severely underreported (HRC, 2012, para. 44). In India, the NCRB The most transformative incident of violence against women in India to date occurred in New Delhi on data lacks a separate category for such 16 December 2012 when Jyoti Singh Pandey, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, who was travelling by bus with a male companion, was assaulted and raped by six men and left with injuries that led to her death. The killings. Instead, reports emerge almost incident catalysed an unprecedented public outcry. The media nicknamed the victim Nirbhaya (‘fearless entirely through the media and NGOs. one’), which gave a public identity to a criminal phenomenon previously treated as a private matter. This UN bodies have also expressed conc triggered a mass response to something that had historically been suppressed. The crime became a framing cern that honour-related crimes and event for widespread anger about rape, everyday violence against women, flawed gender relations, public insecurity, and discontent with the police. killings are under-documented, rarely Among the responses to the tragedy was the Justice Verma Committee, set up by the Indian Central investigated by police, and usually go Government. The panel submitted a 630-page report that recommended systematic changes in India regard- unpunished (HRC, 2012, paras. 43–44). ing protection and justice for women (Verma, Seth, and Subramanium, 2013). Among the report’s key findings were the following: Violence against women in Political interference with the police and failure of governance resulted in institutions playing a strong public spaces role in perpetuating a culture that allows sexual assault on women with impunity. There is a need to revisit and revise the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in order to end military As women and girls step out from the impunity and to ensure that sexual violence committed by members of the paramilitary forces is tried private sphere of home and family and under criminal law. Special commissioners should be appointed in conflict areas to monitor and take action for prosecution into public spaces for higher education, of sexual offences (Verma, Seth, and Subramanium, 2013, pp. 150–51). paid employment, and social engagec ment, they confront additional risks The momentum led directly to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013, which addresses violence against women through a broader definition of rape. It used the phrase ‘sexual assault’ to encompass specific acts, of sexual inherent to a culc including disrobing (indecent exposure), conducting acid attacks, stalking, and voyeurism towards women.4 ture that often condones or overlooks Jail terms were increased in most cases, and the death sentence was made applicable for repeated offences sexual harassment on the street (Jagori of rape, or rape that results in the victim being left in a permanent coma. and UN Women, 2011, p. 43). To address underreporting of crimes against women, the 2013 law included provisions for punishing police who fail to record a complaint. Information about crimes against women is to be recorded by a female In an attempt to understand vioc officer. To accelerate India’s lethargic judicial process, fast-tracked courts were introduced to process rape lence against women in urban public trials (OHCHR, 2013a). spaces, some international organizations The reforms were received as steps in the right direction, but also as highly insufficient (OHCHR, 2013b). and NGOs have conducted independent In response, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women reported:

surveys. In 2010, a survey supported [T]he opportunity to establish a substantive and specific equality and non-discrimination rights legislative framework for by UN Women regarding the barriers women, to address de facto inequality and discrimination, and to protect and prevent against all forms of violence against to making New Delhi safer for women women, was lost (OHCHR, 2013b). and girls found that the ‘fear of being Subsequent attacks which garnered significant media attention—such as the group rape of a 22-year- harassed’ in public spaces was as seric old female photo journalist on 22 August 2013 in , and several other such rapes and murders in rural areas suggest that India’s reform process has only just begun and its impact is yet to be seen ous a problem as the ‘experience of — (BBC, 2013). being harassed’. More than 85 per cent

Figure 5 Reported rapes in India, 1994–2013, per 100,000 population

Reported rapes per 100,000 population 6

5

4

3

2

1

0 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998* 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 YEAR Note: * NCRB data was not available for 1998. Source: Annual crime reports, NCRB (1994–2013)

10 Small Arms Survey Issue Brief Number 5 October 2015 of women surveyed reported fears of sexual harassment in public (p. 15). Map 1 Reported rape rates in India, Reported rapes per 100,000 Almost two-thirds reported having by state, 2013 people by state faced incidents of sexual harassment— 15.01–20.00 10.01–15.00 from obscene comments to being groped, JAMMU & KASHMIR C 5.01–10.00 stalked, or sexually assaulted—between 6.57 h 2.01–5.00 i two and five times in the previous year. HIMACHAL n PRADESH a Not surprisingly, large proportions of 7.38 6.74 PUNJAB Chandigarh women said that they avoided public 6.78 UTTATARAKHRAKHANDAND Pakistan HARYANA 4.53 places, especially at night (pp. xii, 15, 8.02 DELHI 14.58 13.74 18.63 Ne ARUNAARUNACHALCHAL PRADPRADESHESH 29 pal ). The extraordinary magnitude of 12.42 their experiences may explain the RAJASTHAN UTTAR PRADESH Bhutan 3.09 9.78 ASSAM intensity of the public reaction to the BIHAR 12.65 2.82 group rape and murder of 2012 in Delhi 2.32 (see Box 4). MAMANIPUNIPUR MADHYA PRADESH 5.77 7.64 WEST 2.54 12.11 BENGAL 3.79 17.80 Rape and sexual assault CHHCHHATTISGARHATTISGARH 11.08 Thus far in this Issue Brief, rape in India DAMAN & DIU 12.84 8.00 5.52 8.91 Myanmar has largely been examined in terms of DADRA & Bay the inadequacy of available data and NAGAR HAVELI 2.75 of approximations of its actual occurrence. ANDHRA Bengal While reporting appears low, the numc PRADESH GOA 3.80 ber of reported incidents has risen 9.67 Arabian KARNATAKA sharply in recent years, from 24,206 in 3.44 Sea 2011 to 33,707 in 2013—a 39 per cent increase in two years (NCRB, 2014, TAMIL PUDUCHERRY 2.40 KERAKERALALA NADU p. 81) (see Figure 5). 2.71 ANDAMAN & 6.86.800 NICOBAR ISLANDS This increase in reporting comes 5.13 10.67 after decades of stable and very low reporting. Existing NCRB data does Sri not reveal whether the increase is due Lanka International Maldives to a new willingness among victims boundary State or Union and families to report the crime, to a 0km 400 INDIAN OCEAN Territory boundary change in the willingness of police to record such crimes, or to a rise in the Source: NCRB (2014, p. 387) rape cases themselves.

Figure 6 Relationship of reported rape victims According to NCRB data, 93 women reported rapes (less than six per cent and perpetrators, 2013 are raped in India daily (Philip, 2014). of all cases) were stranger rapes (NCRB, The states of Madhya Pradesh and 2014, p. 399). These figures indicate Raja­sthan­ recorded the highest number that for many women, their home and of cases in 2013 with 4,335 and 3,285 immediate neighbourhood are the most respectively. The highest rates of rec dangerous places for them, with risks ported rape were in the Delhi national of violence from partners, relatives, or capital territory and the north-eastern neighbours far surpassing the risks of state of Mizoram (NCRB, 2014, p. 387; sexual assault by a stranger. Legend: see Map 1). Whether these states stand Offenders were other known persons (18,171) out because of higher actual instances Offenders were neighbours or more comprehensive reporting is Vulnerable communities: (10,782) Offenders were parents, close family, and relatives uncertain. scheduled caste and tribal (2,854) A major issue in rape cases is the Offenders were unknown identity of attackers. Of the 33,707 communities (1,900) rapes formally recorded in 2013, the National averages tend to conceal the Note: The total number of rapes reports for which the perpetrators were known to the victims was 31,807. victim reportedly knew her attacker degree to which violence is concenc Source: NCRB (2014, p. 399) in 31,807 cases (see Figure 6); only 1,900 trated against ostracized social groups.

www.india-ava.org 11 Figure 7 Reported crime against Scheduled Castes, 2007–13 affected in conflict too, but generally

Number of incidents of crime reported more as a result of their direct combat 50,000 roles and displacement (Lindsey, 2001, pp. 36–37).

40,000 In armed conflicts, all sides are typic cally accused of atrocities, including violent attacks on women. Allegations 30,000 against state forces stand out because they are ostensibly responsible for proc 20,000 tecting non-combatants and civilians. In India, a culture of impunity rooted 10,000 in the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act protects security personnel from 0 most prosecution.5 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 India has no mechanism for sysc YEAR Source: Annual crime reports, NCRB (2007–2013) tematically gathering gender-specific data on violence against women resultc ing from conflict. Human rights organic Reported crimes against historically communities. Police can be reluctant to zations have documented reports of marginalized people, known as Schedc deal with caste-related violence, regisc rape and gender-specific violence uled Castes and Scheduled Tribes ter cases, or respond to requests for during times of conflict in Jammu and (SC/ST), increased by 31 per cent from assistance. An investigation of violent Kashmir (Asia Watch and Physicians 2007 to 2013 (see Figure 7). Scheduled crimes committed by non- against for Human Rights, n.d., p. 3; Pal, 2013), castes and tribes make up 16.2 and 8.2 Dalit women revealed systematic the North-east (C-NES, 2004), and per cent of India’s population respecc delays or an outright failure to accept regions affected by Maoist rebellion tively (Census of India, 2001). Members reports of alleged crimes, to investigate, or Naxalism (CAVOW, 2006).6 of scheduled castes and tribes are espec or to prosecute perpetrators (Navsarjan In the conflict-stricken areas of North- cially at risk of violence inflicted by Trust, 2011, p. 13). upper-caste communities. Women in Tribal women have been targeted in east India, allegations of routine rape these communities are particularly the same way as lower-caste women, and sexual harassment committed by vulnerable. most visibly in sexual assaults. This security forces seized national attention Of fundamental concern are Dalits was illustrated by an incident in 2007 in 2004. In protest, the Meira Paibis (‘oppressed’ in Hindi and Marathi, prec in the Assam capital of Guwahati. (a group of local Manipuri women) viously referred to as ‘untouchables’), A girl from the Adivasi indigenous stripped naked before a banner that at the bottom of India’s caste hierarc group participating in a demonstrac read ‘Indian Army rape us’, at a cantonc chy. Dalits appear much more likely tion was stripped on the street by ment of the Assam Rifles in Imphal (Sen, to be victimized, and much less likely male rioters as they tried to disrupt 2014, p. 337). In Kashmir, at the peak to see their allegations taken seriously the event. Despite a police presence, of the Indian army’s anti-militancy by the judicial system. A prominent local groups attacked Adivasi particic campaign there, NGOs reported that study of violence against Dalit women pants, men, women, and children, there was ‘no doubt that the use of found them to be as much at risk from leaving 300 injured and a 12-year-old rape is common and routinely goes violent attacks within their community boy dead (Telegraph, 2007). unpunished’ (Asia Watch and Physic as from non-Dalits (Navsarjan Trust, cians for Human Rights, n.d., p. 3). 2011, p. 6). Family discord is often a Support of this can be found in a surc cause of the violent death of a woman Conflict situations vey of border districts of Kashmir, in among Dalits. The social dimensions Research situates violence against which 11.6 per cent of the female rec of violence against Dalit women were women along a continuum, from trauc spondents reported they had endured exposed by a study that found that some mas experienced in daily life to the sexual (Rehman Siddiqui, 2006). may perceive rape as ‘ordained’ due heightened violence of armed conflict. In Naxal (Maoist) affected states to their double disadvantage of being Gendered inequality is exacerbated (especially those in the so-called Red Dalit and female (Sengupta, 2009). during armed conflict. Women become Belt), reports are widespread that Justice is routinely denied to Dalits, the direct victims of physical violence, government security forces and Salwa despite legal reforms such as the Schedc sexual assault, mutilation, abductions, Judum (government-supported militia uled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and displacement, and the indirect vicc members) raped local villagers during (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, tims of traumatic loss and impoverishc their operations (CAVOW, 2006, pp. 18– intended to empower authorities to ment (Lindsey, 2001). As the principal 19). Yet crimes committed by security deal with violent crimes against these combatants, men and boys are greatly forces are not recorded in NCRB data.

12 Small Arms Survey Issue Brief Number 5 October 2015 The Annual Report of the UN Secretary- Legal reform, such as policy change Conclusion General on children and armed conc and protective laws, has grown in This review of research on violent flict for 2013 also mentioned the risk recent decades, including the followc crimes against women in India stresses of sexual violence against girls and ing parliamentary acts: the lack of comprehensive official data women living within Naxalite ranks Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; available to inform policy-making and (IBNLive, 2014). This risk of sexual e Pr -Conception and Pre-Natal interventions. In lieu of better official attack, from all sides in armed conc Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994; reporting, large-sample surveys are flict, makes women living in contested Protection of Women from Domesc the most promising tool for establishc regions particularly vulnerable. tic Violence Act, 2005; and ing the outlines and nuances of the Prohibition of Act, problem. Although surveys are time- Towards change: beyond the 2006. consuming and expensive, they can law alone Catalysed by the 2012 the Nirbhaya serve as a baseline to guide planning, case, other reforms are under considc to assess the effectiveness of intervenc There is no panacea for violence eration, including changes to the IPC. tions, to provide insights into percepc against women in India. The multiple Legal reform alone, however, is of tions and attitudes, and to guide in forms of violence and their many causes limited value without broader social the allocation of resources and design reviewed in this Issue Brief show the reform—a key finding of the Justice of interventions. need for a multi-faceted approach Verma Committee (Verma, Seth, and The National Family Health Survey directed at all aspects of the problem. Subramanium, 2013, pp. ii–iv). (NFHS), a report published by the Minc Ultimately, it may be necessary to Discussion of violence against istry of Health and Family Welfare of redefine notions of masculinity and women in India invariably turns on the Indian government, exemplifies femininity in contemporary India in particularly high-profile cases, such as the power of large-sample, detailed order to challenge traditional practices the Delhi case. Such incidents elevate surveys (IIPS and Macro International, and norms of female subjugation, to conc these issues from obscurity and build 2007). The following edition, NFHS-4, front , and to promote gender up public pressure for action. Simulc for 2014–15, offers an opportunity to equality. While current responses may taneously women are acting individc gain better insights into violence against be promising, they need to be reinforced ually, taking new measures to help women since public demand for action by forceful public policy, reforms to protect their personal safety. One was galvanized by the various high- policing and the judiciary (including significant example is the changing profile rape cases. female staff throughout), and greater dynamics of female gun ownership in Surveys can guide policy; they are diligence by the state. Above all, a India (see Box 5). While global trends not a solution to individual crimes. consolidated approach that treats the and domestic activism are influential A reliable response to crimes against many issues of violence against women in bringing about change, the pace of individuals includes policing and on- systematically is required to make reform will continue to be affected by the-ground services to help individual significant progress (see GoI, 2012). framing incidents. victims. So long as women and girls are afraid or unable to report these crimes, effective action will be spor­ Box 5 India’s nascent female gun culture adic and inadequate. Comprehensive India’s gun culture has traditionally been male dominated. The emerging female gun culture remains much police reform—bringing in more police smaller, poorly studied and underreported. For the purposes of this analysis it is useful to distinguish who are free of corruption and dedic between rural and urban environments in assessing the motives for female gun ownership, and how they cated to serving survivors—is essential have changed in recent years. In the rural context, feudal traditions prevail in gun ownership: typically land owners possess firearms to suppressing violence against women. that are passed onto their heirs, whether male or female (Singh, 2012). Women who inherit guns can usually The incomplete data, anecdotal acquire licences to keep them in the family. That said, many applications from women may really be proxies reporting, and survey research highc for men trying to evade the law (Pathak, 2012). A case in point is the state of Punjab, where a weapon in the lighted here demonstrate the imporc home is often a feudal tradition (Singh, 2012). Since systematic licensing was initiated, presumably after the 1959 Arms Act, the Punjab police have issued a cumulative total of 31,300 arms licences to women (Singh, tant role NGOs play in drawing public 2012). These are primarily for inherited guns (Burke, 2012) but could also be proxies for male ownership. attention to violence against women, Alternatively, the figures could indicate a burgeoning trend of gun ownership among women in rural areas. in sustaining concern, and in promotc Women’s insecurity in urban areas is associated with their growing visibility in public spaces, which has ing policy responses. In lieu of stronger triggered a kind of backlash. The Delhi group rape case was followed by a spike in numbers of women leadership from the central or state applying for firearms licences. Before this crime, 20–22 per cent of applicants for licences in Delhi were women. Immediately after, the percentage rose to around 35 per cent (Ghosh, 2013). Whether similar increases governments, NGOs appear to be were seen elsewhere in India or sustained since is not known. the most effective at responding to As concerns regarding the safety of women grow, applications for firearm licences in urban environ- the needs of survivors, but their ments are likely to increase. Indian Ordnance Factories the country’s only legal firearms manufacturer has — — reach is limited in both the cities been quick to adapt to the market, in offering a lightweight revolver designed for women (Pandey, 2014). and the countryside.

www.india-ava.org 13 The research reviewed here shows been declared necessary (Republic of CAVOW (Committee Against Violence On that the ultimate solution to violence India, 1958, art. 3). It grants legal immuc Women). 2006. Salwa Judum and Violence nity from prosecution for actions of the on Women in Dantewara, : against women in India must incorpoc armed forces (Republic of India, 1958, Report of a Fact-finding by an All India rate social change. Attacks on women art. 6) and is regarded as a key symbol Women’s Team. December. : need to be understood in the context of state repression and arbitrary use of CAVOW. of a culture that condones violence power with impunity. CCS (Committee on Crime Statistics). 2011. Report of the Committee on Crime Statistics. and links the vulnerability of women 6 Naxalism or the Naxalite movement refers to the Maoist insurgency that began as a New Delhi: Ministry of Statistics and directly to their undervalued status. peasant uprising in 1967 in the village of Programme Implementation, Central Enhancing equality and empowering Naxalbari, West Bengal. Over the years, Statistics Office. 29 June. women will be crucial to reducing it has developed into a protracted conflict CensusInfo India. 2011. ‘Delhi Profile.’ Census of India 2011 (Final Population Totals). their victimization for the long term. and violent agitation mostly by the poor New Delhi: Office of the Registrar Genc (made up of agricultural labourers, peasc eral and Census Commissioner, India. ants, and tribal peoples) against wealthier Census of India. 2001. ‘Census—2001 Data social classes and the government. Maoist Summary.’ New Delhi: Office of the Regc Notes violence seems to be increasing in India istrar General and Census Commissioner, 1 Group rape, the term used throughout in terms of both the number and dead­ India. this Issue Brief, is an informal term for liness of attacks. The government has Chowdhry, Prem. n.d. Redeeming ‘Honour’ multiple-perpetrator rape, which can be described the movement as the country’s through Violence: Unraveling the Concept defined as ‘coerced sex where two or more gravest internal security threat (Acharya and Its Application. New Delhi: CEQUIN men sexually penetrate’ (Jewkes et al., and Karp, 2011, p. 6). (Centre for Equity and Inclusion). 2012 11 , p. ). It is also referred to as gang Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of rape. In the Delhi case of 2012, the victim Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). was referred to as Nirbhaya, meaning References 1979. Convention on the Elimination of All ‘fearless’. 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About the India Armed Violence Assessment Credits The India Armed Violence Assessment (IAVA) ran from Authors: Aaron Karp, Sonal Marwah, and Rita Manchanda 2010 to 2015, striving to promote research and to support Fact-checker: Mia Schöb India’s social science communities dedicated to studying the Copy-editors: Estelle Jobson and Emily Walmsley causes and consequences of armed violence. Developed in Proofreader: Stephanie Huitson coordination with Indian partners, the IAVA has explored wide-ranging issues related to the instruments, actors, Design and layout: Rick Jones, StudioExile and enabling institutions that shape security. It served to ([email protected]) catalyse evidence-based debate in India and to facilitate Indian contributions to global policy and programming on related issues. The project has been supported by the Contact details Small Arms Survey. Small Arms Survey Maison de la Paix IAVA Issue Briefs review the state of knowledge on key Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2E themes associated with armed violence. Commissioned 1202 Geneva by the Small Arms Survey, Issue Briefs summarize major Switzerland findings and insight into issues related to conflict and t +41 22 908 5777 crime-related violence, perpetrators and victims, prevenc f +41 22 732 2738 tion and reduction, and strategies to contain violence. They stress data-based research findings on the scale, forms, and severity of armed conflict, contributing forces, and the impact of policy responses.

IAVA Issue Briefs can be downloaded at:

http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/focus-projects/india-

armed-violence-assessment.html A project of the Small Arms Survey

16 SmallSudan ArmsIssue BriefSurvey NumberIssue Brief 6 April Number 2007 5 October 2015