99% of rapes in 2016 committed by persons known to victims

BENGALURU: Instances of sexual assaults on women committed by people known to them has been on a rise. The recently released data by the National Crime Records Bureau for 2016 shows that between 2014 and 2016, sexual assault cases in which the victim knew the assaulter has increased from 86% to 99.2% across the state.

The NCRB data also shows that in most of the cases, the offenders are neighbours or people who promised to marry the victim. Of the total 1,655 rape cases reported in 2016, 1,642 cases fall under this category.
K S Vimala, a women’s rights activist, said this showed that the mindset of people needs to change. “Rapes do not happen due to the attire or due to women roaming outside alone at nights. This report substantiates what we have been demanding for long. There must be awareness created in society.”

Former DG&IGP S T Ramesh said,“The depravity of the Indian male, power relations and the patriarchal nature of our society are some of the reasons. These can be changed by changing the mindset through gender sensitisation and by a zero tolerance policy on sexual assault crimes.”

Explaining the reasoning behind the increase in the numbers, psychiatrist Dr Satish Ramaiah said, “It can be due to a behaviour mechanism where the rapist thinks that it is easier to offend people who are related, since they think that the risk of getting reported is lesser as the victim would not do it in fear.”