When it comes safety of women, friend or foe, does it even make a difference anymore?
According to the Delhi Crime Report there were a total 2,049 cases of rape reported in 2017 and 72% of those rapes were committed by people the victim knew i.e. her friends, neighbors or relatives.
Of the total reported cases, 69 cases or 3.37% were committed by strangers, and 508 cases or 24.79% by men the victim refused to marry or was in a live-in relationship with.
While presenting its annual crime report, Delhi Police shared that in the last 4 years, the number of rape cases reported were the lowest in 2017 and even molestation cases saw a substantial dip of 19%.
As per a Hindustan Times report, Delhi Police chief, Amulya Patnaik, said that the police has shifted the focus on preventive crimes where focus is to increase women safety and prevent the crime in the first place, rather than react after the crime has been committed.
The police also shared statistics on how there has been an improvement in success rate for rape cases, where the police managed to solve 92% cases in 2017 as compared to 86% in 2016.
Deependra Pathak, Delhi’s Police’s chief spokesperson admitted that trends and complaints filed against male family members including fathers and brothers show that “protectors are becoming violators”. However, he also stressed that “this trend will go down when fear of being prosecuted sets in.”
With a total of 2,275 people arrested for rape in 2017, we can hope that swift and sure action by the police does not stop anytime soon. Because when it comes to rape cases, the picture presented by reported numbers is only half the reality.
Going by these numbers we can acknowledge that though measures have been set in place, it is still a long walk till Delhi sheds the tag of India’s rape capital.