Goa women's panel finds chinks in claims on security

Goa women's panel finds chinks in claims on security
JOSEPH JOHN

Panaji, July 17: Terming as `mythical' a general perception that women in Goa hardly faced any atrocities, the state commission for women has concluded that they were rather downplayed or had not been properly documented.

Commission chairperson Pramod Salgaocar regretted that this trend not only led to creating serious obstacles to the cause of women's empowerment in the state, but interfered with the creation of a counter-mechanism as well.

Pointing out that the unprecedented delay in fulfilling a decade-long demand for setting up a special cell to deal with crimes against women was a `glaring' example, she told UNI here that many crimes against women were either not taken cognisance of or at best were recorded as non-cognisable offences.

``In this background, the commission supported a study on registered crimes against women in Goa. It exposed the myth that hardly any crime against women existed in the state, instead highlighted various issues including prevalence of child abuse. The study also revealed that domestic violence occurred in all communites irrespective of religions, economic, educational and social status,'' Dr Salgaocar pointed out.

The study, conducted by Sabina Martins, a member of the commission, found that official records on statistics on crimes against women in the state was based only on cases registered as cognisable complaints. As the crimes against women registred as non-cognisable complaints did not figure in these records, it failed to reflect the true picture of crimes against women.

Quoting the national crime record bureau report of 1995, the study pointed out that this tiny coastal state ranked twelfth in the list of highest rate of crimes against women. The average crime rate against women for Goa is 11.3 as compared to the national average of 11.6.

The study, which dwelt specifically on the cases registered in 1998, threw light on the magnitude of the problem of marital violence, revealing that 46 per cent of the complaints lodged by women and registered as non-cognisable offences were of domestic violence.

However, only 14 cases were registered under 498-A of the IPC (cruelty by husbands and in-laws), which is a cognisable offences, as against 1,063 non-cognisable offences registered in 20 police stations and outposts. This indicated that marital violence were seldom registered as cognisable offences instead as non-cognisable complaints, it added.

The study also revealed that 71 per cent of the cases registered under Section 498-A were related to dowry while 46 per cent of the cases under this section were registered on death of women.

The study also exploded the myth that violence takes place only in poor families and found it existed irrespective of domestic, educational or social status. It found that 41 per cent of women complainants were Hindus, 35 per cent Catholics and 18 per cent Muslims. Besides 28 per cent of cases were of women who hailed from outside the state but were settled in Goa.

On sexual violence, the study found that in 46 per cent of the cases, minors were involved and 30 per cent of rape cases fell in the category of ``date rape'' in which the accused had promised marriage and eventually refused. These cases were registered after the girls, most of them minors, got pregnant.

The study also pointed out that domestic helps and tourists as a group were more vulnerable to sexual assaults in the state. About 69 per cent of the victims did not report the matter on the same day while 30 per cent reported after months, as a result of which important evidences were lost.

Although some of the cases were failed rape attempts, the study pointed out that a large number of cases were found to be registered under molestation or eve-teasing. The study recommended setting up of a special cell to deal with crimes against women and to monitor and coordinate action.

Besides it also called for initiating steps for gender sensitisation of all people working in departments dealing with crimes against women, including police stations, hospitals, judiciary, jails, remand homes, shelters and counselling centres.