UP and Delhi record highest harassment cases

The latest National Commission for Women (NCW) statistics on female harassment for the year 2015-16 shows that it received maximum number of complaints from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) with 10,522 complaints and counting. This number has increased from 9,384 complaints received in 2014-15 and 10,205 complaints received in 2013-14 from UP.
Second on the list is the capital of the country. NCW received 2,087 complaints from Delhi in 2015-16, which is the lowest of the capital in last three years. In 2014-15 number of complaints from Delhi was 3,620 and in 2013-14 were 3,573. Other states to make it to the top five in terms of crime against women in 2015-16 are Haryana with 913 complaints; Rajasthan with 754 complaints and Madhya Pradesh with 454 complaints. Bihar ranks sixth with 445 complaints.
The minimum number of complaints filed by women in any state in 2015-16 is one. These states are Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Over the last three years, these five states have consistently ranked lowest in terms of harassment against women. The “nature-wise report” of NCW i.e. categorizing  a complaint by determining its nature and also the sections of the law which will be evoked upon the alleged,  further reveals that the maximum number of complaints were registered under the Right to live with dignity in 2015-16  with 5,216 complaints. Last year 6,946 complaints and in 2013-14, 4,703 complaints were filed under it. In 2015-16 the following categories received the most complaints: Police apathy against women,  4,790 complaints; violence against women,  1,970 complaints; Outraging modesty of women, 1,838 complaints; and Dowry harassment/dowry death, 1,493 complaints. These categories are among the most-filed categories over the last three years.
Whereas only three complaints were categorized under “women’s right of custody of children in the event of divorce”, which was the least number of complaints filed under any category in the nature-wise report.
There were 438 complaints filed under “right to exercise choice in marriage” and 380 complaints filed under “sexual harassment including sexual harassment at work place”.
Surprisingly enough there were 11 complaints filed under “Traditional practices derogatory to women rights i.e. sati pratha, devdasi pratha, witch hunting etc”. However, this was the lowest number of complaints in last three years under “Traditional practices derogatory to women rights”. In 2014-15, there were 28 such complaints. There were 186 complaints filed under “bigamy/polygamy”, 172 cases under “cybercrime against women” and 25 complaints under “sex selective abortion/female foeticide/amniocentesis” in 2015-16.