Only handful of stalking cases end in FIRs: SHE Team

HYDERABAD: In 2018, the SHE Team received 926 cases of women harassment, including stalking. But of them, only 64 were converted into FIRs. This year too, less than 10 of the 42 cases that have come to their notice so far, have ended up in police complaints. Reason: the fear of social stigma among families of young women, say officials.

Referring to the recent case of a 17-year-old who, after being harassed for months on end, was brutally stabbed by her stalker in Barkatpura on Wednesday, SHE Team members said her family members too were asked to file an FIR when they reached out to them in January. “We had repeatedly insisted that they lodge an FIR, but the family was hesitant owing to social concerns,” said Narmada, assistant commissioner of police, SHE Team Hyderabad. She added: “Our team counselled Bharath (the accused) and also asked the victim to contact the police in case of any suspicious movement of the boy. But there was no word from either of the families for a month. Then this incident came to light.”



Around the same time, the team also received a complaint from Neelam (name changed) and her family. They said that the student was being followed by her 22-year-old neighbour while her way to school, for several weeks. “The family wanted us to warn the boy against harassing her. But when we asked them to file an FIR, they refused. They weren’t comfortable with divulging details about the girl,” a police source said.

It is this issue that often hinders cops from taking any action against these stalkers. “Unless a victim files an FIR and records her statement, we cannot conduct any investigation. Hence, most of these cases go unattended. But when cases are severe in nature, we stress on families filing FIR and help the victim file case in local police station also,” said Narmada adding how every 20 of the 100 cases received by her team are of stalking.

So when Neelam’s stalker stopped her on her way back home a few days later and verbally abused her, the team ensured that a case was registered against him in the Shabad police station under the POCSO Act.

Change in attitude needed to deal with stalking

“To curb this menace, there is a need to change the attitude towards women and issues faced by women. Stalking has been glorified in movies, and this has had a huge impact on society. If a woman talks about being stalked, often times people treat it as a compliment, as shown in movies. 'Oh! that guy likes you that why is why he is stalking you', is the usual retort. This attitude needs to change,” said Sara Mathew, trustee Sankalp Women’s Support Alliance (SWSA). She also called for a change in attitude of the police towards a victim. “People are still scared of the police, more than going for trial in court. Social stigma is attached to the process of going to the police station and getting involved in court cases. Police needs to be more sensitive about such cases to tackle this,” said Mathew.

Sounding a word of caution, city-based psychiatrist Dr Praveen Kumar said how stalking is a traumatic experience and can lead to depression among victims, at times. “Victims feel they are constantly being watched and followed. Due to this they develop a problem of trust paranoia," said Dr Kumar, a clinical psychiatrist from Apollo Hospital. He added that it can also led to lack of confidence among victims in the long-run .