Why is delhi the rape capital of India?

Описание: Today brought another grim reminder that Delhi, our capital, remains a dangerous place for women and girls. New figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau reveal that a shocking 1 in 4 rapes in Indian cities take place in Delhi. The city also saw almost two fifths of kidnappings or abductions of women, 15% of dowry deaths and 14% of molestation cases.

Among 35 mega cities in India, Delhi reported 404 out of 1,696 rapes. Among large cities, Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai accounted for 13.2%, 9.4% and 9.1% respectively of the total crimes — over one-third of the total crimes reported from 35 mega cities.

The new figures, reflecting the latest available data, show that despite efforts an increasing number of women in Delhi are the victims of rapes, assaults and other violent crimes. Unfortunately these new figures show that the increase in such crimes over the last 15 years is only continuing.

The number of cases of rape reported nationwide has grown at an alarming rate: from 15,031 cases in 1998, to 18,233 in 2004 and a shocking 21,397 in 2009. Delhi has seen the number of cases of rape reported dip since a high of 658 in 2005, but it remains the location of more than double the number of rapes than in other Indian cities, including Mumbai (182), Bhopal (117), and Jabalpur (76).

How can we account for such rises in the number of cases? Whereas some of this may be attributed to better reporting and more women feeling comfortable enough to come forward, other causes may be to blame. These include urban migration, skewed sex ratios due to female foeticide and the shockingly low level of convictions for those accused of rape.

Another possible cause may be the low number of police in the capital city. For a city of over 1.2 Crore people Delhi Police force consists of only around 57,000 officers. This means that there are only 362 police officers for every 1 lakh people. Overall India has less than one police officer for every 1,000 people, ranking it 47th in the world overall. Compare Delhi's level of policing with that of London, where a similar number of officers, around 52,000, police a population of only 0.74 crore, and you the can see the problem.