Why Women’s Police Stations in India Fail to Mitigate Violence Against Women
Why Women’s Police Stations in India Fail to Mitigate Violence Against Women
Violence against women (VAW) is a persistent problem in India because of the country’s long history of rigid gender roles that are ingrained in cultural norms. When women are subjected to VAW crimes, they are hesitant to contact the police for fear of societal retaliation, social stigma, low conviction rates and maltreatment of female victims by the predominantly male police force. To address this, women’s police stations (WPSs) — staffed by only female police officers — were established. WPSs intend to provide a safe space for women to access formal legal services. They also aim to play an important role in shifting the prevalent attitudes and behaviours within both Indian women and the society at large regarding victims of VAW. Although WPSs have contributed to increased reporting rates of VAW crimes, our analysis of national surveys and statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau revealed that these strides in increased reporting rates are overshadowed by the societal and judicial context within which WPSs operate.
In their objective to reach women, WPSs have failed to make justice accessible to women of lower classes and castes. Contrary to their motivations, WPSs exclude a significant proportion of the public, leaving women without formal avenues to manage their grievances or improve situations of violence in their homes. Even for women who access WPSs’ services, the outcomes remain bleak. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 32.3 per cent of reported VAW cases in 2016 were not investigated during the year and were transferred to the following year instead. In 2017, 89.6 per cent of VAW cases in the court systems were still pending adjudication at the end of year. The sheer volume of cases overwhelms the law enforcement and judicial systems, creating an excessive backlog that persists year after year. Given the delays in police investigations and court hearings, the increases in reporting rates fail to translate into substantial increases in the court-mediated resolution of VAW cases.
The reality of this fractured system has ripple effects across Indian society. In 2015, only 3.5 per cent of women who experienced domestic violence reported seeking help from the police, which suggests an inherent distrust of the policing system. Furthermore, 35 per cent of women surveyed believed that wife beating is justified under some circumstances, which speaks to widespread endorsement of VAW in Indian culture.
To address the barriers that prevent women from accessing their services, it is imperative that WPSs consider the underpinnings of VAW as well as the broader societal and judicial context. Until then, the increase in reporting rates alone will not put an end to the brutality that women experience throughout the country.
Researchers
Kanishka Sikri
Ayushi Thakur
Betelhem Araya Tadele
Daniel Cowen
Faculty Mentor
Raji Jayaraman