In over 96% cases rapists are known to victims, shows data

NEW DELHI: For a city believed to be unsafe for women, a study of the rape cases in Delhi shows that most of the rapists are known to the victims. Out of the 2,199

NEW DELHI: For a city believed to be unsafe for women, a study of the rape cases in Delhi shows that most of the rapists are known to the victims. Out of the 2,199 rape cases reported from across the city last year, in 96.61% cases the accused were neighbours, relatives or friends of the victims.

HT Image

In 74 cases, the arrested men in rape cases were strangers. Police said neighbours such as the one involved in the Gandhi Nagar rape case were involved in 21% cases, while a majority of the arrested men (71%) were relatives, family or friends.

Police said this has always been the trend in Delhi rape cases over the years. Sources said that this year, the police have planned to tie up with NGOs and conduct a sociological study on the rape cases in Delhi. Senior officers said the study would focus on the reason for the high number of rapes by relatives and the social profile of both the accused and the family.

The man who raped and murdered the minor girl in Gandhi Nagar was known to her and one of them was stalking her for one month. Sociologists say that the problem with our society today is that it teaches us to ignore sexual harassment, which happens across the city.

Kavita Krishnan, secretary, All India Progressive Women’s Association, “Our system and society teaches us to ignore sexual harassment but then it happens again and gets worse. We are expected to make light of these things. We don’t see acts like stalking as serious crime.” The process of reporting a sexual crime, according to experts, discourages women from going to the police.

“The very act of getting an FIR registered is full of harassment. The police will ask you a thousand questions and will ask them repeatedly so that you live through the trauma over and over again. On top of that, the process of getting justice is slow and uncertain,” said a counsellor who works with Delhi Police.

Another woman counsellor said that some cases, they come across are startling. In many cases, the family members tend to cover up the crimes within families.

“We get cases where sexual assault by a father went unreported despite the mother knowing as he was the only earning member in the family,” said another counsellor who refused to be named as she is not authorised to speak to media.