While Delhi is infamous for crimes against women, it is Assam, which has topped the chart for rate of crime against women in the country for the second consecutive year, as per the 2018 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures.
Rate of crime against women in Assam stood at 166 for 2018, almost three times the national average rate of 58.8 and marginally above Delhi’s crime rate of 149.6. Haryana was placed third on the list of shame with a crime rate of 107.5 against women.
Crime Rate is calculated as the number of crimes recorded per one lakh population.
In 2018, a total of 27,728 crimes against women were registered in Assam (in 2017 it was 23,082), which was 7.3% of all crimes against women in India that year.
A senior state police officer, however, said there was a silver lining to the cloud.
“The figures don’t portray a nice picture for Assam with regards to safety of women. But we need to keep in mind that the numbers could be a reflection of most victims in Assam turning up to file reports and the promptness with which police registers cases,” said the senior police officer on the condition of anonymity.
In 2017, the rate of crime against women in Assam was 143.3 against the national figure of 57.9. Delhi came second with a rate of 133.3, followed by Telangana at 94.7 and Odisha at 94.5.
Assam also recorded 66 instances of rape and murder – the highest joint figure for the two categories in the country for 2018. Madhya Pradesh came second with 46 cases and Uttar Pradesh third with 41.
In 2017, the Assam reported 27 cases, which was the second highest after Uttar Pradesh’s 64 cases.
“The number of cases registered is just the tip of the iceberg and the worrying thing is that the cases are increasing every year,” said Polly Vauquline, head of women studies at Gauhati University.
She also supported the theory that women in Assam are less hesitant to file cases of sexual abuse.
“The figures are also a sign that women from Assam feel more empowered to report crimes against them. And also the fact that they have more support from family, community and women groups to register cases,” she added.
Assam also topped the list for cyber crimes against women in 2018 with 295 cases. Odisha came second with 208 cases.
