Victim knows the offender in over 95 per cent rape cases in India: Report

In all the rape cases reported in 2021 in India, over 95 per cent of victims knew the offender, data from a report showed. This holds true in the case of both rape of women and children. A total of 65,025 such cases were reported in 2021. 96.8 per cent of the victims knew the rapist beforehand, the data revealed.

In Rajasthan, which reported the highest number of rapes against women at 6,337 in 2021, 95.8 per cent of victims knew the offender. In child rape cases, Madhya Pradesh reported the maximum cases at 3,515. 99.1 per cent of the victims knew the offenders, the Crime in India 2021 report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows.

In five states, 100 per cent of the women raped knew their rapists beforehand. These are Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim. In six states, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Odisha, Punjab, and Telangana, over 99 per cent of the victims knew the offenders.

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The highest number of rapes against women were reported by “Family friends/ Neighbours/ Employer or Other Known Persons”.

In child rape cases, all the victims from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Rajasthan, and Tripura, knew the offenders. While in five states, namely, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, over 99 per cent of victims knew the rapists.

Here, the highest number of child rapes were reported to be committed by “Friends/ Online Friends or Live in Partners on Pretext of Marriage”.

Delhi recorded the highest number of rape cases against women and children in union territories at 1,250 and 845, respectively. For women, the maximum rapes in Delhi were perpetrated by “Friends/ Online Friends or Live in Partners on Pretext of Marriage / Separated Husband.”

In child rape cases in Delhi, the maximum was committed by “Friends/ Online Friends or Live in Partners on Pretext of Marriage.”

On the other hand, out of all the states, the highest number of rapes by unknown people were committed in West Bengal. According to data, out of 1,123 rape cases against women, 212 or nearly 20 per cent of offenders were unknown to the victims. In child rape cases, too, almost 20 per cent of victims did not know the offender beforehand.

Among the UTs, nearly half of the rape victims, women and children, in Puducherry did not know the offender.

In India, rapes against women are charged under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In the cases of child rape, the offender is charged under sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act.