Three men posing as police officers allegedly gang-raped a 17-year-old girl in a public park in India's capital city. A teenage girl was allegedly groped and assaulted by a group of men while her friend was beaten in Bihar's Jamui; a 16-year-old was allegedly gang-raped and murdered in Delhi; a teenage girl was allegedly gang-raped in a moving bus by the conductor and driver in Greater Noida. The first three incidents happened in September 2026; the fourth took place in August. The list could go up, as these are just the cases that have been registered and caught the mainstream media's attention.
Each time such a case happens, hashtags are created, protests are held, authorities responsible for taking action are called out, and, in the same breath, questions are raised about what the girl was wearing. Who was she with? Why did she go out at that time? And so on.
Case, vigil, protest and victim-shaming… the loop continues.
The irony is that in a land where women are considered goddesses, where the land itself is considered a mother, the daughters are not safe.
Reporter World looks at the latest available figures on crimes against women recorded by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Let the numbers speak
When the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) published its data for 2024, India recorded 4,41,534 cases of crimes against women. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of such cases among the states, with 66,398, followed by Maharashtra with 47,954, Rajasthan with 36,563, and West Bengal with 34,360. Delhi recorded the highest number among the Union Territories, with 13,396 cases, followed by Jammu and Kashmir with 3,366.
The data also recorded 29,536 cases of rape in 2024. Of these, 784 cases involved girls below the age of 18. The NCRB's victims data records 792 child victims in these 784 cases, showing the distinction between cases and victims.
But these figures do not capture the wider scale of sexual violence against girls. NCRB's Crimes Against Children data recorded 67,809 cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2024. This included 43,313 cases of penetrative sexual assault, involving 43,675 girls.
The largest share of crimes against women was related to cruelty by the husband or his relatives, with 1,20,227 cases, accounting for 27.2 per cent of the total. Other major categories included assault or use of criminal force against women with intent to outrage their modesty, with 48,303 cases; stalking, with 9,865 cases; and assault or use of criminal force against women with intent to disrobe, with 8,409 cases.
India recorded 4,44,256 cases of crimes against women in 2022, 4,48,211 in 2023, and 4,41,534 in 2024. The 2024 figures are not strictly comparable with earlier years. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced the Indian Penal Code in July 2024, and the NCRB advises caution when comparing data across the change.
According to the NCRB, there were 266 cases of murder with rape or gang rape recorded in India in 2024. Madhya Pradesh recorded 55 such cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 23. Cases related to attempts to commit rape stood at 2,561 across the country in 2024, while 64 cases involved girls below the age of 18.
The equation of marriage equals safety
In the 2024 NCRB data, the total number of dowry deaths reached 5,737, along with 1,20,227 cases of cruelty by a husband or his relatives. A total of 28,949 cases of abduction, kidnapping or coercion of women into marriage were registered. Of these, 13,192 cases involved minor girls.
Equality preached
Rape cases reported against women and girls belonging to Scheduled Castes in India in 2024 came to 4,262. Likewise, 1,268 rape cases were registered against women belonging to the Scheduled Tribes.
What we have to keep in mind here is that NCRB data captures reported and registered cases. It does not capture incidents that never reach the police or cases that may subsequently be withdrawn or otherwise not proceed through the justice system. Access to justice is also a matter of concern.
Justice delayed is justice denied
According to the 2024 NCRB data, the police investigated 6,23,377 cases of crimes against women, including 1,81,717 cases pending investigation from the previous year. Of these, 3,36,609 cases were charge-sheeted, with a charge-sheeting rate of 77.2 per cent.
At the end of 2024, 26,40,698 cases related to crimes against women were pending trial, of which 23,04,089 were carried forward from the previous year. During the year, courts convicted 72,126 persons and acquitted 2,01,350 in these cases.
The NCRB data presented here is not intended to scare anyone, but to make us all consider what action can be taken to address these crimes. Rather than discussing them or raising our voices for a short while, it is important to address their root causes.
If that requires restructuring laws, educating minds from a younger age, conducting awareness campaigns at regular intervals, or introducing technological aids and safety measures, the work needs to begin. Women should not have to bear the consequences of what patriarchy does to the wider system.
(This article is compiled by Shyama Sarangadharan)
