By Suresh Unnithan

In India every three minutes a case of violence against woman is registered. Every 29th minute a woman is raped.  Every day 50 cases of dowry related violence are reported.  We may feel ashamed to know that these hostilities against the weaker sex is happening in a country where worshipping women is part of the culture (yatra naryasthu poojyantee ramantee tattra deevata).

There are about 78 general laws (another one- Sexual Harrassment of Women at Workplace- in the making) having direct bearing on women in the country.  But the number of incidence of violence against women is swelling every day. Indian women are still mistreated and sexually subjugated in work places, in their own family and even in public places.

In fact, a society is judged by the way it treats its women and children and not by the literacy level or economic growth rate.

Kerala has the highest literacy levels, above 91 percent compared to the national average of 74 percent, and excellent social development indicators.  But the violence against women in general and sexual harassment in particular is on the rise. A report released by the State Police Department has indicated for the first four months of 2011 indicate that as many as 357 rape cases have been reported during the period as against 617 in the whole of 2010. A total of 4,318 cases were registered in the State during the period as crimes against women. These include 1,200 molestation cases, 62 kidnapping cases, 1,738 cases of cruelty to women from husband or his relatives, and 242 eve-teasing cases.

According to another report there was a nearly 50 percent increase in the violence against women registered at police stations in the state during the period 1998- 2008.  There was also a 50 percent increase in the larger category of violence against Kerala women in the same period.  More recently, the “rate of cruelty” by husbands in Kerala was reported more than twice the national average.

As per the data from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in India, over 7600 dowry related cases are reported every year. The incidents are endless and figures show an alarming rise in atrocities against women in India. However, no much effort has been taken to contain the abuses of women, both physical and mental.

In 1998 one case of violence against women took place every 4 minutes and one woman/girl was raped every 35 minutes.  But in 2010 every three minutes an unfortunate woman was attacked and a in every 29 minutes a woman/girl was raped in the country.

In 1998 there was one rape every 38 minutes and in 2010 every 29th minute a woman/girl is raped.

In 1998 there was one dowry death every 87 minutes and in 2010 every day 50 dowry deaths were reported from across the country.

If we take into account the instances of violence that do not get reported or registered with the police due to various factors the number of incidence of violence against women would be manifold.

Apart from domestic violence, the sexual harassment at work place is also seen tangentially increasing. Evidence suggests that sexual harassment in the workplace continues to be a common occurrence. Most of the victims do not report such incidents for fear of being losing their job or facing hostility in the workplace.

In 1997, the Supreme Court of India observed sexual harassment at the workplace as a violation of human rights. The landmark Vishaka (Vishaka v State of Rajasthan) judgement outlined a set of guidelines (Guidelines on Sexual Harassment at the Workplace) for the prevention and redress of sexual harassment in the workplace. The guidelines place the responsibility on employers to provide a safe work environment to their women employees and include both preventive and remedial measures to make the work environment safe for women employees.

The Supreme Court’s definition of sexual harassment includes “such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour (whether directly or by implication) as physical contact and advances; a demand or request for sexual favours; sexually coloured remarks; showing pornography; any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non verbal conduct of sexual nature”.

According to international legal luminaries the following unwanted behavior may constitute sexual harassment: leering, wolf whistles, discussion of one’s partner’s sexual inadequacies, sexual innuendo,  comments about women’s bodies, accidentally’ brushing sexual parts of the body, lewd & threatening letters, tales of sexual exploitation, graphic descriptions of pornography, pressure for dates, sexually explicit gestures, unwelcome touching and hugging, sexual sneak attacks, (e.g., grabbing breasts or buttocks ), sabotaging women’s work, sexist and insulting graffiti, demanding, “Hey, baby, give me a smile”, inappropriate invitations (e.g., hot tub), sexist jokes and cartoons, hostile put-downs of women,  exaggerated, mocking  courtesy’, public humiliation, obscene phone calls, displaying pornography in the workplace, insisting that workers wear revealing clothes, inappropriate gifts (ex. lingerie),  hooting, sucking, lip-smacking, & animal noises, pressing or rubbing up against the victim, sexual assault, soliciting sexual services, stalking, leaning over , invading a person’s space, indecent exposure.

In India the following crimes are identified under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

(i) Rape (Sec. 376 IPC), (ii) Kidnapping & Abduction for different purposes (Sec. 363 – 373 IPC), (iii) Homicide for Dowry, Dowry Deaths or their attempts (Sec. 302/304-B IPC), (iv) Torture, both mental and physical (Sec. 498-A IPC), (v) Molestation (Sec. 354 IPC), (vi) Sexual Harassment  (Sec. 509 IPC), (vii) Importation of girls (up to 21 years of age) (Sec. 366-B IPC).

There are laws to prevent violence against woman, there is police to keep a check on these events and there are seminars and symposiums to analyze the matter and make recommendation. However, on ground level nothing seems to be working against the ever swelling number of cases of violence against women in the country.