Crimes against women - Legal perspective
Crimes against women - Legal perspective
The difference between a man and a woman has certainly taken a form of a
monster which is now feeding on the female strata of society. There would be no
women in India if we do not act now. The National Crime Records Bureau has
recently published the figures of crimes against women. Acc to the figures 100
women are subjected to rape each day approximately. The most numbers are in the
state of Madhya Pradesh. In M.P. there is a rise of 358% in rape against women
during 2013-14 i.e., 14 crimes each day. On the other side Uttar Pradesh excels
in murder and kidnapping of which 300 murders were due to love affairs. Delhi
excels in theft. In India nearly 2.5 lac matters were reported of kidnapping in
5 years, most of which did not demand extortion but was for marriage purpose.
Crimes against women (Glimpses of Indian Penal Code,1860)-
1. Kidnapping (Sec
359,360,366)
2. Eve Teasing (Sec 509)
3. Chain snatching (Sec 378)
4. Rape (Sec 376,376A,376B,376C,376D)
5. Sexual Harassment (Sec 354A)
6. Domestic Violence (Sec 498A)
7. Honor Killing
8. Cyber Crimes (Bullying, Abuse, Violence, Pornography)
9. Dowry deaths
10. Acid Attacks (Sec 326A,326B)
11. Stalking (Sec 354D)
12. Assault to outrage modesty (Sec 354,354B)
13. Women trafficking (Sec 370,370A,372,373)
Kidnapping -
The term kidnapping refers
to either kidnapping from India or kidnapping from lawful guardianship. Sec 360 of the IPC states that whoever
conveys any person beyond India without his consent is said to kidnap that
person from India and whoever takes a away a minor (16yrs in case of male and
18yrs in case of female) without his consent or the guardian’s consent is said
to kidnap that person from lawful guardianship (Sec 361). The punishment for this purpose is upto 7 yrs and fine. Sec 366 of IPC defines kidnapping,
abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage and forceful sexual
relations for which the offender can be punished with imprisonment upto 10 yrs
and fine.
Eve Teasing -
Eve Teasing is a euphemism
used for public sexual harassment or molestation of women by men. It is a
problem in the current youth. It is a form of sexual aggression that ranges in
severity from sexual remarks, brushing and catcalls to groping. Sec 509 of the IPC states that whoever
intending to insult the modesty of any women, utters any word, makes any sound
or gesture or exhibits any object which intrudes upon the privacy of such woman
shall be punished with imprisonment upto 3 yrs and fine.
Chain Snatching -
Theft against women
confines to chain-snatching and other valuables. This is a common problem of
modern society. Old-age women are the most affected class of these crimes. The
offenders also disguise themselves as police officials and ask women to give
their valuables for the purpose of safety. It is subjected to Sec 378 of IPC.
Rape -
Rape is a much broader
term to be defined and its scope is of wider perspective. It is the most common
crime against women and the Indian society and system has failed to end this
heinous crime. The world is seeing India as a nation of rapists. The numbers
have increased tremendously. The law system has failed purely. The offence can
be categorized in various aspects as a rape of a minor girl, rape of a woman (Sec 376), rape with murder (Sec 376A), rape in families, rape by
public servants (Sec 376C) ,
gang-rape (Sec 376 D), marital rapes
(Sec 376B). The punishments for these offences range from
imprisonment upto 7yrs to 20 yrs or Life imprisonment and also fine.
Sexual harassment -
Sexual harassment can be
defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other
verbal or physical harassment of sexual nature.
It includes a range of actions from mild transgressions to sexual abuse
or sexual assault, showing pornography to women against her will etc. Acc to Sec 354A of IPC if any person commits
an act of sexual harassment, he shall be rigorously imprisoned upto 3yrs and
fine.
Domestic Violence -
Domestic Violence is yet
another term which is common in our country as women were and are considered to
be the inferior strata of human society. The psychology was that the man earned
and worked outside so he had the right to do anything with his wife. But with
time, the trend changed and now women equally work. These acts of violence
include beating, rape, forced sex etc. Sec 498A of Domestic Violence Act, 2005 defines 1yr punishment and fine.
Honor Killing -
A spate of murders
and dishonourable crimes in the name of ‘honour’ whether of a family or caste
or community are continuing to be reported. Though most of these killings and crimes
are being reported from various states of India. A crime in the name of ‘honour’ is one of a range
of violent or abusive acts including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and
other coercive acts. The panchayats or associations, through various kinds of
coercive and punitive actions, want to create terror and stop marriages and
associations on the basis of choice from taking place. These actions are also
violative of certain fundamental rights in the Constitution of India, including
the right to life, and liberty which includes the right to bodily integrity,
and the right to choose whom to associate with.
Cyber Crimes -
In the world of
technology, India too had advanced itself in technology and the women are an
equal part of it. But the diseased minds have not left any chance to offend
women in the cyber world too. There are several cyber crimes such as bullying,
abusing, pornography etc which are happening each day against women. These
crimes have several punishments under the Information
Technology Act, 2000 which ranges from imprisonment upto 3yr to L.I. and
fine.
Dowry Deaths -
The evil practice of taking
dowry in marriage is still common in the rural areas of India which if opposed
results to deaths of women gradually. The number of such deaths has increased
in the recent years.
Acid Attacks -
However sale of acids
without proper information have been banned by the government of India, Acid
attacks are still in trend to threaten women and hurt them. Sec 326A and 326B of IPC states that whoever voluntarily throws acid for
grievous hurt or an assault shall be punished with imprisonment upto 7yrs to
L.I. and fine.
Stalking -
Stalking is a new crime in
trend against women. Stalking means breaching the privacy of women by following
or regular contacts or monitoring on internet or any other electronic
communication. Whoever does so shall be punished with imprisonment upto 3yrs to
5yrs and fine.
Assault to outrage modesty -
Whoever assaults or uses
criminal force intending to outrage her modesty (1yr-5yrs imprisonment) or
disrobing her or compelling her to be naked (3yrs-7yrs imprisonment) are liable
under Sec 354 and Sec 354B respectively.
Women Trafficking -
The concept of women
trafficking started in the late 20th century in India and is still
in existence. Sec 370 describes
various modes of trafficking which includes trafficking of minor girls,
trafficking for the purpose of exploitation etc. Sec 372 and 373 states
the buying and selling minor for the purposes of prostitution. The imprisonment
term varies in each offence and ranges from 3yrs to L.I. and also fine.
These were several offences and their punishments under Indian Penal Code
related to women. The government of India have made efforts in favor of women
by bringing several act like Sexual harassment of women at workplace Act, 2013
; Protection of children against sexual offences Act, 2013 etc recently. It has
also amended the IPC and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The government is keen
to bring laws for Dowry related offences and for Honor Killing. Cyber crimes
would be tackled sooner or later. In the recent years due to changes in society,
women are now, ready to fight for themselves and they are getting a huge
support. We wish to change our society but first we have to change our
thinking.
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