Andhra Pradesh Cabinet clears Disha Bill to ensure rape verdicts in 21 days

Paper: GS II & GS-III

Topic: Social Justice, Governance, Crime against women.

For Prelims: Increasing rate of crime against women, Stand of the Government, etc., NCRB, Crime Data Report 2017

For Mains: Important Aspects of Governance, Crime against women, Government action to tackle the crimes.

Why in news: The horrific violence, gang rape and murder of the young woman veterinarian on a national highway close to Hyderabad has led to national outrage and protests in several States. Andhra Pradesh Cabinet clears Disha Bill to ensure rape verdicts in 21 days.

What does the NCRB crime data reveal about the crime against women?

• Since 2016, the annual National Crime Research Bureau (NCRB) reports have been suppressed. The 2017 report was released only in 2019.
• Apart from the deliberate omissions in reporting lynching cases and honour crimes, the report showed an alarming increase in registered crimes against women.
• Specifically, on an average, around 1,000 crimes were registered every day, over 3.5 lakh in the year. On average, 93 women were victims of rape every day. One-third of them were minors.
• Around 87,924 women registered cases of sexual harassment, an average of 241 a day. Every day, on an average, 28 women were burnt to death in cases registered as ‘dowry deaths’.
• The NCRB has introduced more than three dozen new categories and sub-categories of crimes under various heads.
• New heads: Categories for cyber-crimes against women and children
• Category of cyber-crimesagainst women, the NCRB has recorded 4,242 offenses where women were either stalked, blackmailed or their morphed pictures were uploaded on the internet.

Conviction rate in the cases of crime against women

• With a conviction rate of just 33.2%, the Capital(Delhi) recorded 92.9% cases of crime against women pending in various district courts, stated National Crime Records Bureau data for 2017.
• A total of 41,302 cases, including 10,120 cases in 2017, are pending for trial in six district courts of Delhi.
• NCRB data for 2017 reveal that convictions have taken place in 690 cases.
• The report stated that a majority of cases under crime against women (CAW) was registered under “Cruelty by Husband or his Relatives” (27.9%), followed by “Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty” (21.7%), “Kidnapping and Abduction of Women” (20.5%) and “Rape” (7.0%) in all 19 metropolitan cities.
• In 2017, a total of 11,542 cases of CAW were reported in Delhi.
• The next on the list was Mumbai 5,453 cases followed by Bangalore (3,565) and Hyderabad (2,272).

In the wake of low conviction rate Andhra Pradesh Cabinet clears Disha Bill to ensure rape verdicts in 21 days

• The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet cleared the A.P. Disha Bill, 2019 (A.P. Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2019) paving the way for awarding the death penalty for the offences of rape and gang-rape and expediting the verdict in trials of such cases to 21 days. The legislation is to be tabled in the ongoing session of the Assembly.
• The Cabinet also gave its nod for introduction of the A.P. Special Court for Specified Offences against Women and Children Bill, 2019, for dealing with offences against women and children, including rape and gang-rape, acid attacks, stalking, voyeurism, sexual harassment and cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
• The A.P. Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2019, envisages the completion of investigation and trial in seven and 14 working days respectively, where there is adequate conclusive evidence, and reducing the total judgment time to 21 days from the existing four months, government officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
• The proposed laws seek to amend relevant provisions in the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and to introduce Sections 354-E and 354-F in the IPC for dealing with harassment of women through social media and sexual assault of children respectively.
• ‘Strong message’: For speedy trial of rape cases to send the message that the A.P. government was in no mood to tolerate crimes against women and children.
• Under Section 354-E (harassment of women through social media, digital mode or any other form), it has been proposed to sentence the guilty to imprisonment for up to two years on first conviction and four years on subsequent convictions.
• Under Section 354-F (molestation / sexual assault), imprisonment is sought to be increased to a minimum of five years and a maximum seven years.

Measures taken to curb the crime against women

• Dynamic identification of crime-prone areas.
• Deployment of police resources,
• Dedicated women helpline no. 1091, exclusive women help desk at police stations,
• Anti-stalking services for women, stationing all-woman PCR vans in vulnerable areas.
• Concerted action against consuming alcohol in public places.
• Informing civic agencies regarding dark patches for rectification.
• Self-defence training for women/girls and special drives against tinted glasses in public transport vehicles.
• Registration without fear: The number of cases of CAW in Delhi is high because of registration.
• Through increased public action for social change and enforcement of a code of accountability and responsibility on the Central and State governments to implement the recommendations necessary to make India safe for its women and children.
• Financial Independence:Improving women’s access to paid employment.
• Developing and resourcing national plans and policies to address violence against women.
• Improve the system of collecting crime surveillance data on violence against women.
• Capacity building and training to service providers and law enforcement officers to handle cases of violence against women.
• Male Mediated Initiatives:Ensure male involvement in devising programs for abusers.
• Prevent recurrence of violence:Through early identification of women and children who are experiencing violence and providing appropriate referral and support

Way Forward

• Provide various channels for women to approach the police and any kind of complaint is dealt on a priority basis and an FIR is registered immediately.
• Gender-based legislation:It is important to enact and enforce legislation and develop and implement policies that promote gender equality by ending discrimination against women in marriage, divorce and custody laws, inheritance laws and ownership of assets.
• The cases should be dealt on a priority basis so, that crucial evidence could not be wasted in due process of time.
• Promote egalitarian gender norms as part of life skills and comprehensive sexuality education curricula taught to young people.

Mains Question

In the wake of increasing number of crimes against women, horrific violence, gang rape and murder. Is society responsible for this?  Critically evaluate.

Approach:

Question Demand: Question demands to write about Crime against women and corrective measures that can be introduced in the society.

Introduction: Why there is low conviction rate in the crime against women.

Body:

• Discuss the role of soiety in becoming gender-equal.
• Describe how important it is to be gender-sensitive, in development of India.

Conclusion: Corrective measures that can be adopted by the police,  government and society.