The US Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that female citizens of the US do not have a constitutional right to choose abortion, stripping off their rights on their own bodies. Since this judgement was announced, Indians on social media have hailed our nation’s well-established abortion laws. 

Nonetheless, just when you conclude that India is progressive on all fronts, spare some time and take a look at these horrific statistics.

1. As per the 2020 report, seventy-seven rape cases were reported across India everyday. 

It accounts to 28,046 rape incidents occurring in India during the year.

India Legal

2. One-fourth of women in their reproductive ages are undernourished. 

These young women have a body mass index (BMI) under 18.5 kg/m (Source: NFHS 4 2015-16). It is a fact that an undernourished mother will always give birth to an undernourished child, continuing a cycle of undernutrition across generations.

CSR Mandate

3. Sex education has been outlawed in many states in India since it was launched. 

When the idea of sex education inclusion in the curriculum was first floated in India in 2007, it encountered strong criticism. However, sex education became a required part of the nation’s school curriculum in 2018. However, it was referred to as a “school health programme” rather than “sex education.”

News18

4. Around 6% of adults are affected with sexually transmitted infections and reproductive tract infections each year.

This translates to the country experiencing roughly 30-35 million STI/RTI episodes annually.

The Well Project

5.  The pandemic witnessed a spike in the number of cases registered for crimes against women.

The most recent information indicates that 659 cases would be reported as serious crimes against women in 2022. Since the 2020 lockdown, there has been an increase in the cases. The most egregious crimes include rape, assault on women, kidnapping and abduction, brutality by husbands, and domestic abuse, among others.

www.youthkiawaaz.com

6. Nearly half of Indian men and women believe that domestic abuse is acceptable if the woman neglects her ‘duties’.

According to information made public by the union ministry of health and family welfare, this includes over half of Indian men and women who don’t consider domestic abuse objectionable. This includes 76.3 percent of women and 81.9 percent of men in Karnataka, whereas 44.5 percent of women and 44% of men nationwide agreed with the notion.

Soroptimist International

7. Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number of cases of crime against children in India.

A shocking 11.8% of all child rapes in the country—3,259 out of 27,001—have occurred in MP.

Deccan Herald

8. As per a 2019 report, India is among countries where women face most violence by intimate partners. 

Up to 38% of all deaths of women are committed by a male intimate partner worldwide. The WHO South-East Asia area has the highest rate of partner violence, at 37.7%, which makes it worse for nations like India.

Forbes

9. Though there is an estimated 40% of domestic abuse, but less than 8% of incidents are reported.

Bihar, Karnataka, and Manipur appear to be the three states with the most underreporting.

theguardian

10. India declared the most dangerous country for women in 2018 by Thomson Reuters Foundation. 

According to a survey of international experts, India is the most unsafe country in the world for women because of the high risk of sexual abuse and being coerced into forced labour.

DNA India

We need to do better, way better.