The State Crime Records Bureau of the police has logged an encouraging dip in the number of cases of harassment of women in the state in 2015, against a steady increase in such cases in the previous years till 2014.
Barring Kozhikode, all other police jurisdictions in Kerala reported a fall in the number of such cases last year. However, there is a flip side too. The State Women’s Commission says it actually had an increase in harassment complaints reaching it, during the same period.
The total number of harassment cases registered by police in the State in 2015 was 12,034, against the 13,886 cases the previous year. The total number of cases recorded in 2012 was 12,915 and it rose to 13,867 the following year.
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According to the State Home Department, as many as 61,867 cases of harassment of women have been reported in the State between May 2011 and February 2016, and charge sheets were submitted in 52,227 cases. A total of 70,458 people were arrested in such cases, of whom 1,563 were convicted. Malappuram topped the chart with 6,381 cases while Ernakulam city had the least number of cases, at 2,001.
The total number of cases in the first one-and-a-half months of 2016 was 947.
The State police attributed the falling numbers to rising awareness. “Women are no longer hesitant to visit the police station and file cases against those who harass them, either mentally or physically. There is definitely a positive change though the police can claim no key role in this,” a top official said.
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But K.C. Rosakutty, chairperson, State Women’s Commission, observed that the number of cases might not reflect the ground reality. “The number of petitions has only increased since we assumed the office,” she said, adding that the likelihood of many such cases going unreported was high.
Most number of cases registered in Malappuram — 6,381
‘Number of cases may not reflect ground reality’