#WhatTheFAQ: Ten years since Nirbhaya rape case, where does India stand on women safety?

On the night of December 16, 2012 a physiotherapy student was gang raped in Delhi in a moving bus when she was travelling with her friend. She succumbed to the injuries days later. The case which was since then referred to as the Nirbhaya (meaning fearless in Hindi) case had triggered massive protests in India. Ten years later, are crimes against women in the country taken up more seriously? Today's FAQ will look into this.

What triggered the protests in 2012?
Following the rape incident in 2012, people took to streets to protest against the rising cases of rape and the ineffective response by the concerned officials. People called for better measures to ensure women's safety. The outrage intensified after comments from certain politicians who held the women (in this case, Nirbhaya) responsible for the crime. To recall, according to reports, Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, had said that, "boys will be boys", in response to the incident. Seven years later in 2020, the rapists were hanged after the Supreme Court turned down multiple petitions by the convicts to stall their execution.

What measures were introduced following the rape case?
In the wake of widespread protests after the rape case, and calls for addressing women's safety, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013, now known as the Nirbhaya Act was introduced. The Act made several amendments to the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act. It widened the definition of rape, defined consent and changed the phrasing of the law that lifted the burden from the woman, according to a report by The News Minute.

Moreover, a Nirbhaya Fund was also created in the 2013 budget which allocated Rs 1,000 crore towards measures and schemes to ensure women's safety. Under this fund, Fast Track Special Courts were set up to dispose of cases pending trial for rape and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) across the country. Additionally, under the Safe City project, several cities like Bengaluru used the Nirbhaya Fund to install CCTV cameras in sensitive locations across the city.

Have crimes against women reduced?
Despite all these measures, the number of crimes committed against women do not seem to be coming down. As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report 2021, there has been a rise of 15.3 per cent in crimes against women in 2021 compared to the previous year. Moreover, India registered 31,677 cases of rape in 2021 — an average 86 daily — while nearly 49 cases of crime against women were lodged every single hour, reported PTI.

Two minor girls were raped every day last year in the national capital, which was the most unsafe metropolitan city for women across the country, according to NCRB data. Delhi also recorded 13,892 cases of crimes against women in 2021, a significant surge of more than 40 per cent compared to 2020 when the figure was 9,782, the data showed, as per a report by PTI. In fact, just two days ago, a 17-year-old girl was hospitalised after incurring serious injuries following an acid attack in Delhi, according to reports.

Are the allocated funds being used appropriately?
The Indian Express had originally reported on December 15 that “220 Boleros, 35 Ertigas, 313 Pulsar bikes and 200 Activas” were procured by the Mumbai Police under the Nirbhaya fund in June, 2022. Out of these, 30 vehicles were allotted to leaders belonging to Eknath Shinde’s faction of the Shiv Sena. These leaders had received the ‘Y plus with escort’ category of security after they formed the government.

Additionally, a report by Oxfam India showed that the government’s current spending on women-specific interventions that address violence against women is not even 25 per cent of the actual requirement. "Women-specific allocations for VAWG, including inter-alia schemes like 181-women helpline, One Stop Centre, Swadhar Greh (Shelter Homes), and Fast Track Special Courts, which are specifically targeted for women and girls and wherein 100 percent of the funds benefit them, formed less than 0.07 percent of the total Union Budget allocations in 2020-21," the report stated.