RTI reveals 51.9 per cent hike in sexual violence cases

According to the RTI document, “There were 1,627 incidents of sexual violence against women and children, registered in 2017 and the number increased to 2,069 cases in 2018. However, in 2019, till September, 1,855 cases of sexual violence have been registered,” Kathir, Executive Director, Evidence, said that if the total number of cases for the entire year of 2019 is calculated it will come around approximately 2,473 cases which is 51.9 per cent jump when compared to 2017.

“The increase in number of sexual harassment cases has been uniform as in 2018 there was 26.7 per cent hike when compared to 2017 and it was close to 52 per cent in 2019,”said Kathir.

The RTI document also reveals that in 2019, Krishnagiri district has registered the highest number of cases as 124 cases have been registered. Tirunelveli, Madurai, Villupuram and Vellore districts follow Krishnagiri with 123, 117, 97 and 96 incidents respectively.

In 2018, Tirunelveli district has registered the highest number of sexual violence incidents registered with 152 cases. Madurai, Villupuram, Salem and Tiruvannamalai districts are not far behind in the number of sexual violence incidents. In 2017, Villupuram registered the highest number of sexual violence incidents with 113 cases.

Recently, the state government was chosen as the best state in Good Governance Index by the Central government. In the index, the state was ranked first in law and order and public infrastructure, but opposition parties citing various reports criticised the state and the report.

The RTI documents adds power to the opposition parties as it states that as not just sexual violence has increased but also the conviction rate is very poor in the state. According to the document, so far in only 165 cases the judgment has been given which is just 3 per cent of the total incidents registered.

“In 2017, accused in 3.9 per cent of the cases got convicted whereas in 2018 it dipped to 3.3 per cent and in 2019 it further dipped to mere 1.8 per cent. Coimbatore is the only district where there was no conviction in the last three years,” the report stated.

Kathir said that after the Nirbhaya case there were strict guidelines to complete the sexual violence cases quickly, but the data shows that many cases are pending forseveral years.

The National Commission for Women should take special care in sexual violence cases and should take steps to speed up the trial.