Mumbai: By and large, in popular perception, Mumbai is considered a safe city for women but a report published by a non-governmental organisation, Praja Foundation, should make residents reconsider this perception.
The report reveals an alarming increase in the number or crimes against women and children. Specifically, there has been a 22 per cent spurt in rape cases and 51 per cent in sexual assaults between 2014-15 to 2018-19. More disturbingly, 69 per cent of victims in cases reported were minors, according to the Praja report.
The report paints a disturbing picture of an increasingly unsafe city, especially for women and children. In 2018-19 (April 2018-March 2019), 784 rape cases were registered, of which 540 victims were below 18 years of age.
Further, in 90 per cent of POCSO (Protection of Children against Sexual Offences) cases, the offenders were known to the victims. Elaborating, Nitai Mehta, founder and trustee of Praja Foundation said, “In over 527 of the 540 cases, offenders were known to the minor victims.
It is a matter of introspection for us as a society, that our children are being abused by people known to them. Urgent steps must be taken to address the matter at several levels.”
The highest number of rape cases were registered in northwestern Mumbai (Jogeshwari, Goregaon, Andheri and Malad) - 244 - followed by north central Mumbai (Vile Parle, Kurla, Bandra and Chembur) at 211, a hike of 58 per cent.
Surprisingly, the only part of Mumbai which saw a decline in the number of rape cases this year was south Mumbai, with 93 cases — a decline of five per cent from the previous year.
On the other hand, as many as 2,533 cases of sexual assault were registered in Mumbai, of which 352 victims were minors, revealed the report.
Activists said the jump in the number of rape and sexual assault cases could be the result of more women coming forward to report the crime. Among the sexual crimes registered under the POCSO Act in 2018-19, 69 victims were less than six years of age.
The number of cases registered under the POCSO Act has risen by 17 per cent from 2015-16, going from 891 in 2015-16 to 1,039 in 2018-19, of which 1,058 victims were girls and 82 were boys. The POCSO cases include penetrative sexual assault, sexual assault and sexual harassment of minors.
