Parliament Question: Violence against Women

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 953 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2025 VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN †953. SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT: Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state: (a) whether any special intervention has been made to reduce violence against women in the country during the last five years and if so, the details thereof; (b) the manner in which awareness about women rights is being promoted among the rural population in the country; (c) the details of the funds allocated for the purpose alongwith the names of the schemes implemented in this regard; (d) whether violence against women has increased in the country during the last five years; (e) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor alongwith the corrective steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard; and (f) the details of the schemes being framed by the Government to ensure safe environment for the women in the country? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR) (a) to (f): ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Responsibility to maintain law and order and protection of life and property of the citizens and investigation and prosecution in all crimes including those against women rests primarily with the respective State Governments; they are legally competent to deal with such crimes. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes statistical data on crimes in its publication “Crime in India”. The latest published report pertains to the year 2022 and is available at its website https://ncrb.gov.in/en/crime-india. As reported by NCRB,the number of crimes against women in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 were 378236, 405326, 371503, 428278 and 445256 respectively. Among other reasons, increased reporting of crime is attributable to the increased level of awareness among citizens due to various measures taken by government in the last few years including the operationalisation of helplines such as Women Helpline -181, Child Helpline - 1098 and Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112), concept of Zero FIR and e-FIR and provision of institutional support to the survivors. For safety and security of women and girls, Government has taken several steps. Some recent laws and policies that directly and indirectly cater to the safety of women are given below: i. The Government of India with an aim to modernize and improve the criminal justice system has enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) which came into effect from 1st July, 2024. In BNS 2023, the offences against women and children earlier scattered in Indian Penal Code, 1860 have been brought together and consolidated under Chapter-V of BNS. It has introduced new provisions to strengthen laws related to women and children, specifically, Section 111 related to “organized crime”, Section 69 related to sexual intercourse on false promise of marriage, employment, promotion or by suppressing the identity, Section 95 related to hiring, employing or engaging a child to commit an offence etc. In respect of the crimes related to buying a child for the purposes of prostitution (Section 99), gang rape (Section 70) and exploitation of a trafficked person (Section 144), punishment has been increased. Further, in respect of certain severe crimes against women like buying child for the purposes of prostitution (section 99 of BNS), organised crime (Section 111), kidnapping or maiming a child for purpose of begging (Section 139), mandatory minimum punishments have been prescribed. Also, Sections 75 and 79 of BNS 2023 provide additional legal protections against harassment, covering actions like unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks and also word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman. A woman facing sexual harassment at workplace has an option to file a complaint under these provisions.ii. Additionally, provisions under section 398 BNSS which introduce Witness Protection Scheme, acknowledging the critical need to shield witnesses from threats and intimidation and Section 2(1)(d) of BSA which now enables electronic or digital record on emails, documents on computers, laptop or smartphone, messages and voice mail messages stored on digital devices under definition of documents can also be referred for protection of women from harassment at workplace. iii. Further, the Labour Codes, collectively include provisions to promote participation of women in workforce in a dignified manner and with adequate safety measures adopted by the employers. Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020 consolidates and amends laws regulating the safety, health, and working conditions of workers, with specific provisions to ensure the safety of women at the workplace. iv. The Ministry of Women and Child Development recently launched the SHe-Box portal duly encompassing various provisions of ‘the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013’ (SH Act). This portal provides a publicly available centralised repository of information related to Internal Committees (ICs) and Local Committees (LCs) formed across the country, whether in government or private sector. It also provides a common platform to file complaints and track the status of such complaints. The portal includes a feature where complaints registered on it will be automatically forwarded to the IC/ LC of the workplaces concerned within the Central Ministries/ Departments, States/ UTs and in Private sector. The portal provides for designating a nodal officer for every workplace who is required to ensure updation of data/ information on a regular basis for real time monitoring of complaints. v. Under Nirbhaya Fund, upto the financial year 2024-25, projects amounting to Rs. 11,325.64 Crore have been appraised by Empowered Committee (EC). The Competent Financial Authority (CFA) has so far approved amount of Rs. 9058.68 Crore against the aforesaid appraised projects. The total fund provided by the Government under Nirbhaya Fund is Rs. 7712.85 Crore till the Financial Year 2024- 25 and as informed by the Implementing agencies, total Fund released and utilized out of Nirbhaya Fund is Rs. 6232.83 Crore. Under this fund, Government has taken several measures to improve safety of women some of which are detailed below:a. One Stop Centre (OSC) component of Mission Shakti Umbrella Scheme, which is fully funded by the central government is implemented across the country since 1st April, 2015. It provides integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence and those in distress, both in private and public spaces. It also provides an integrated range of services including medical aid, legal aid and advice, temporary shelter, police assistance, psycho-social counselling to needy women. 843 OSCs are operational across the country and over 11.19 lakh women have been assisted upto 31st March, 2025. b. To ensure that the Police Stations are more women friendly and approachable, as they would be the first and single point of contact for any woman walking into a police station, 14,658 Women Help Desks (WHDs) have been set up, of which 13,743 are headed by women police officers. c. To provide help and support to needy women and women in distress, Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112) has been established in all 36 States and UTs for various emergencies, with computer aided dispatch of field/ police resources. Since its launch, over 43 crore calls have been handled so far. In addition to ERSS, a fully functional dedicated Women helpline (WHL-181) is operational in 35 States/ UTs except West Bengal. The WHL has also been integrated with ERSS. So far, Women Helplines have handled over 2.30 crore calls and assisted over 88.24 lakh women. d. To ensure safety of public places where women work and live, various components under Safe City Projects have been implemented in 8 Cities (namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai). To ensure safe transportation for women, rail and road transport projects like Integrated Emergency Response Management System (IERMS), Video Surveillance System at Konkan Railway, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based Facial Recognition System (FRS) integrated with Video surveillance Systems, including Command-and-Control Centre at 7 major railway stations and tabs for safety of women passengers on board the train by Ministry of Railways, and projects like Vehicle Tracking Platform with command and control centre across States/ UTs, and some State specific projects like Uttar Pradesh Road transport Corporation (UPSRTC), Bengaluru MetropolitanTransport Corporation (BMTC), Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), etc. by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, have been implemented. vi. Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) has also undertaken several initiatives, which, inter-alia include training and skill development programs for Investigation Officers, Prosecution Officers and Medical Officers. BPR&D has also prepared Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) for ‘Women Help Desk at Police Stations’ to ensure their smooth functioning. Emphasis has been laid upon appropriate behavioural and attitudinal skills of the police in course of prevention and detection of crime against women and children and interaction with victims of crime. Webinars on women safety with sensitivity, gender sensitization of police personnel etc. have also been organized by BPR&D. vii. Further, the Ministry of Women and Child Development also administers scheme “Samarthya” under Mission Shakti in which the component of Shakti Sadan is for relief and rehabilitation of women in difficult circumstances. viii. The Government, through institutions like the National Commission for Women (NCW) and its counterparts in States has been spreading awareness through seminars, workshops, audio- visual, print and electronic media etc. to sensitize the people about the safety and security of women and also about various provisions of the legislation and policies etc. In addition, Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Home Affairs have issued advisories to States/ UTs from time to time on various issues pertaining to safety and security of women. In respect of the registered complaints, NCW takes up the matter with stakeholders especially the Police Authorities to ensure that the complaints are redressed and brought to logical conclusion. ix. The Ministry has launched the 'Mission Shakti Portal' with all functional features on January 22, 2025. This portal aims to enhance accessibility of various government services for women, establish quality mechanisms for rescue, protection, and rehabilitation, and build the capacity of functionaries and duty holders under various schemes and legislations. *****