Femicides at a twenty-year peak across globe

Context: In India, femicide is still primarily caused by dowry-related factors.

Femicide:

• Femicide, also known as femicide, is the intentional act of killing women or girls solely because of their gender. This form of crime is rooted in deeply ingrained societal beliefs and prejudice against women.
• Femicide is a form of homicide that specifically targets individuals because of their gender. This often occurs when women are killed by their partners, family members, or individuals who hold misogynistic beliefs, engage in gender-based violence, or adhere to cultural beliefs that devalue women.

Femicide in India:

• Based on the findings of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, it was revealed that out of the 19 major cities in India, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi City, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Indore, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Pune, and Surat, a distressing number of women lost their lives in 2021. 
  • Specifically, the report indicates that 179 young women, aged between 18 and 30 years, suffered untimely deaths due to various reasons. Additionally, the data shows that another 149 women, falling within the age bracket of 30 to 45 years, were also victims of fatal crimes during the same year.
• According to the report, there were 7739 adult women who were murdered in 2021, and a total of 8405 female victims, including both adults and children.
• In 2021, there was an increase in reported crimes against women, with 428,278 cases compared to 405,326 and 371,503 cases in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
• In 2021, there were a total of 284 cases reported involving murder with rape or gang rape, 6753 cases of dowry deaths, 5292 cases of abetment to suicide of women, 136234 cases of cruelty by husbands or relatives, and 507 cases under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.

Femicide is influenced by various factors:

Various factors are include:

• Gender inequality

• Patriarchal norms

• Limited access to resources 

• Inadequate support services 

• Stereotyped gender roles

• Discrimination towards women and girls

• Unequal power relations between women and men

• Presence of a culture of violence

• Impunity 

• Poverty

Concerns related to femicide:

• Femicide is a complex issue in India and around the world due to varying gender relations and cultural factors. 
• In India, it manifests as different forms such as honour crimes, dowry murders, killings of women for marrying outside their caste or religion, abortion of female foetuses, and discrimination and abuse leading to the death of girls.
• The National Crime Records Bureau in India has had inconsistent methods of collecting and categorising data over time, making it difficult to compare data from different years.
• The worrying rate at which women in India experience violence, harassment, and discrimination is made worse by the absence of accountability and transparency.

Way Forward:

• There is a need for collaboration between government representatives, scholars, and activists to properly categorise and consolidate femicide cases.
• This will help in effectively responding to and preventing homicides of women. 
• The Crime in India bulletin already has categories such as homicides, murder with rape, dowry deaths, female foeticide, female infanticide, and suicide, but these categories need to be consolidated to understand the extent of violence against women. 
• Initiatives such as education campaigns, stricter laws and enforcement, and increased support services for survivors should be implemented to hold perpetrators accountable and provide assistance to victims.

Source: TH

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