No let-up in crimes against women in Assam

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Aug 2: Despite tall claims of enhanced security, the swelling number of incidents of crime against women continues to show the Tarun Gogoi government in poor light.

Even cases of dowry-related deaths, once unheard of in the State, are showing a steady increase, from 99 in 2005 to 188 in 2014, as per statistics provided by the Assam Police.

Rape cases nearly doubled in the last decade, from 1,217 in 2005 to 1,980 in 2014. In the first four months of this year, 557 cases of rape have already been reported.

 Painting a sad picture of the deteriorating face of Assamese society, moral values, ethics and social norms, cases of cruelty more than quadrupled from 2,206 in 2005 to 9,626 last year.

Incidents of molestation also shot up from 899 in 2005 to 4,222 in 2013, though coming down to 3,883 in 2014.

Activists say the statistics are an understatement as many cases go unreported.

“Violence against women is on the rise due to impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of violence. There are loopholes in implementation of gender-based laws for women. Lack of sensitivity on the part of the public, families and the police is another reason. All these factors lead to women having a subordite status in society and hence vulnerable to abuse within homes and in public places,” says Anurita P Hazarika, project coorditor of North East Network.

Advocate Aparajita Bhuyan alleges that the State government “lacks sincerity” in addressing the issue. “The government has never acted responsibly when it comes to issues regarding security for women. We are yet to see the government come up with a proper action plan to deal with the problem,” she rued.