Women in India blame police mishandling of cases for persistently high sexual crime rate

NEW DELHI: For years, India has consistently been rated as one of the most dangerous places for women to live in.
At least 90 rape cases are reported across the nation daily – nearly four an hour – but many more go unreported.
Survivors like Meghna Prakash, who was raped, assaulted and abused by her partner a decade ago, say there is a reason for that: The way law enforcement handles such cases.
“When I went to the police station, a male police officer came. He spoke to me, he shamed me. He said: ‘Why did you even meet this person? What do your parents think about this? Do they know what you’ve done with this man?’” she recounted.
Meghna was only 16 years old at the time and had worked up the courage to report the crime. She said that instead of checking her wounds and finding out what had happened, police officers merely said they would call her partner to come to the police station.
“They slapped him twice and made me watch and then said: ‘The problem is solved. Now go and don’t contact each other again,’” she added.
This year, the role law enforcement plays in handling – or mishandling – sexual assault cases has come under growing scrutiny.
In August, when a medic was raped and murdered in a Kolkata hospital, police investigators were accused of deliberately trying to delay the investigation and destroying key evidence at the crime scene.
The case sparked nationwide outrage, with a volunteer policeman now on trial for the alleged crimes.
More recently, in September, a woman said she was physically and sexually assaulted in a police station in eastern Odisha state after trying to report that she had been sexually harassed. This ignited further anger in the country.
While the police denied the claims, questions emerged over how a force tasked to protect the public was doing the opposite.
In India, rules require that a female police officer must be present when a police complaint is recorded. But a 2023 report by the Ministry of Home Affairs found that women make up a mere 12 per cent of India’s police force.
The government admitted that this lack of policewomen is “posing serious challenges in dealing with crimes against women”.
Police officers have also said they are overworked, underpaid and understaffed. India only has 153 cops for every 100,000 citizens – far below the United Nations’ recommendation of 222.
Although the government pointed the finger at numbers, insiders told CNA that the problem is far more complex.
“The cult of masculinity that prevails in every police station needs to go,” said former senior police officer Vikram Singh.
“That requires a tremendous course correction for a department that has been essentially male dominated for almost 250 years. Do we give it all that we have, every ounce of what energy and talent to ensure that the rapist is punished?” he questioned
“I would say that we do not.”
While the Indian Supreme Court recommended police reforms nearly two decades ago, experts said the rollout of these reforms has been patchy and inconsistent.
Studies show that many people in India consider the police “unfriendly” and untrustworthy – and government figures show 99 per cent of women never report their assaults.
Lawyers as well as social workers at organisations like the Majlis Legal Centre for Women are working to change that.
Since 1991, the non-profit group has helped more than 80,000 women file police complaints and get legal representation.
The centre’s programme director Andrey D’mello said: “We need a sensitive police force, whether they are male or female, and we need very close monitoring of what is happening on the ground.”
She noted: “Every time there is a crime, we want to do death penalty for rapists, we want to make more stringent punishment … ‘Give them laws and then take a step back’ will not work. We need very, very clear standard operating procedures and then monitor them.”
Victims’ groups said it is critical for society to learn and understand that consent is key. Authorities, on their part, must properly deal with sexual crimes, they added.
Until mandates and mindsets change, fears remain that the very people tasked to protect vulnerable people like Meghna will continue to fail them.
Because the police failed to act, she said her partner immediately attacked her again.
“This person dragged me, broke my spine and threw me in a ditch for a few hours. I was so full of rage because I was a dancer. That was my living, and I could not practise dance anymore,” she added.
“I completely lost my living. I lost my identity.”