The following posts speak of crime against women and victim shaming. Reader discretion is advised.
Crime has been happening all around us since we can remember, and it has been on a rise over the years, having a drastic impact on not only those who are targeted but also others who witness or hear about it.
Many of these crimes are against women, and there are several types:
Domestic violence/Domestic abuse - This is violence committed against the intimate partner in order to gain control of the relationship, it can be mental as well as physical. In both cases, it is one of the most common crimes against women and often leads to lifetime trauma.
Some examples of domestic violence include:
Economic (making the partner financially dependent by maintaining control of finances and money)
Psychological (threatening the partner to cause fear in them, or emotionally blackmailing them)
Emotional (Criticising and belittling the partner in order to make them feel unworthy about themselves, or damaging their relationships with their family and children)
Physical (hitting the partner, or causing them any physical harm)
Sexual (forcing the partner to take part in non-consensual sexual acts)
Femicide - This refers to murders and killings of women and girls. Most of the time these murders are committed solely due to the gender, and are done by partners, ex-partners or family members.
The most common type is honor killing. (Killing the female to save the respect and honor of the family)
Sexual violence - Any sexual act done to a female which she hasn't given consent to.
Examples include harassment and rape.
Human trafficking - Exploiting women or children through force, fraud, coercion, and deception.
Female genital mutilation - These are procedures which cause injury to a female's genital organs for non-medical reasons, such as preparing them for marriage in certain cultures.
Child marriage - The marriage of any child before they reach the age of consent, usually under the age of 18.
Online/digital violence against women - Any crime committed against women with the use of technology such as mobile phones, internet, or social media.
Some examples:
Cyberbullying (bullying a person through the internet, usually with intimidating or threatening messages to instill fear in them)
Non-consensual sexting (sending explicit messages or photos without the recipient's consent)
Doxing (releasing information about the victim in public without their consent)
These are some of the most common crimes happening against women that we hear about everyday, sometimes on social media, sometimes from family or friends, sometimes in the news, and we may even personally know some women who have been through it.
Let's look at some cases that made headlines:
Jyoti Singh (2012), also referred to as "Nirbhaya" meaning fearless, was returning home accompanied by her male friend who went to watch a movie with her. She was gang raped and assaulted to the point that she was left to battle for her life. Unfortunately, she lost the battle, but even if she had survived, her injuries were so severe that she could have never led a normal life. Even though she lost her life, she is still remembered and talked about to this day due to her strength and courage to fight for survival until her last breath. Many documentaries have been made worldwide to cover her story.
Kiranjit Ahluwalia (1989) burnt her husband in UK after enduring 10 years of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. She was initially sentenced to life imprisonment on account of murder, but later dismissed as manslaughter and lack of counselling. In 2006, a movie titled Provoked was made which was loosely based on Ahluwalia's story.
Malala Yousafzal (2012) was just 15 years old when she was shot in the head along with two other girls by the Taliban, over her campaign for girls' education. She survived the assassination attempt and came out even stronger, continuing to fight for the rights of other girls and earning herself the Nobel Peace Prize.
Liz Williamson (2015) told her story of human trafficking. She was sold by her own mother at the age of just six years old. For twelve years, she was sold and recorded for child p*rnography. She escaped in adulthood with the help of a bus driver.
Rachel Musa Aron (2017) says she was just seven days old when she became a victim of FGM (female genital mutilation) by the elders in her African community. Six decades later, she is now the mother of three daughters, yet she still wonders: Would life have been different if she hadn't undergone this procedure? Would childbirth have been different? Would her sexual relationship with her husband have been different?
Nasoin Akhter (2015) was fifteen years old when she was married off to a 32 year old man. The wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of a girl's life, but this girl couldn't be more miserable as she was forced into the marriage in the culture where marriage under tha age of 18 is considered to be the norm.
Menna Abd el Aziz (2020), a TikTok sensation, was gang raped by her friends. She posted a video of her bruises which led to victim shaming and negative comments towards her. Her rapist (Ibrahim) and his accomplices even shared a video of her being sexualy assaulted on social media.
According to the report released by NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau), rate of crime against women (number of incidents per 1 lakh population) increased from 56.5 per cent in 2020 to 64.5 per cent in 2021 and majority of these crimes are commited by the husband or the family members.
The conviction rate in cases of crime against women in India stood at a measely 26.5 per cent in 2021, down from 29.8 per cent in 2020.
Globally, 81,000 women were killed in the year 2020.
These may seem like numbers, on the surface. But, as we step in 2023, we need to stop and reflect.
Are these cases and numbers telling us something? Or have they been screeching at us, and we have turned a blind eye? Are we failing our women and children? What are we doing to stop this? How can we make this world a better place for women? Most importantly, how long will women have to live in fear?
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