Crime against women shoots up

BANGALORE: While the rest of India may look up to Bangalore as the ultimate IT and BPO destination, most are unaware of the horrors that women face in the city.
In 2004, the city police registered 118 cases of murder (mostly for dowry), 247 for dowry harassment, 151 molestation, 32 cases of rape and 35 eve-teasing cases.
"It is not a day to celebrate.It''s time to sit up and look at the possibilities of improving the situation. The government has a key role in this matter," says a member of a women''s organisation.
A voluntary counselling centre — Vanitha Sahayavani — run from the City Police Commissioner''s office receives up to a dozen cases every day apart from telephone calls. Most of them pertain to domestic violence and sexual harassment.
The incidence of dowry deaths, often termed by the police as ‘stove blast'' case when the victim succumbs to burns, too is on the rise.
At the specialised burns ward in Victoria Hospital, on an average, six women are admitted every day, of which atleast three of them succumb every 24 hours.
Says a policeman at the hospital: "The victims seldom give a declaration holding their husband or in-laws responsible for fear of ill treatment to their children."
Most cases are taken up as ‘unnatural death registered'' (UDR) by police and not murder or dowry death.
"There has been an alarming increase in newer forms of violence against women. Sexual harassment at workplaces specially in call centres and the garment industry are increasing. Most cases go unreported," says Donna Fernandes of Vimochana.
While misuse of technology has helped in selective abortion and eliminating female foetuse, it has also led to the sex ratio declining to an alarming 800 mark in many pockets of the city, she said.