Crimes against women on rise in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The city witnessed a sharp rise in crime against women in 2021, with all three commissionerates reporting increase in rape cases last year. It was also noticed that in 90 per cent of the cases, the accused were known to the victims.

The Hyderabad city police’ annual report showed that out of the 328 rape cases reported in the commissionerate, only in seven cases, the accused were strangers to the victims. Even in Cyberabad commissionerate, out of the 356 rape cases reported in 2021, 354 cases had known accused committing the crime. Similarly, 368 out of the 377 rapes committed in Rachakonda commissionerate were by known accused. More disturbing fact is that these figures might not be the actual ones since many cases go unreported.

Police commissioner of Rachakonda, Mahesh Bhagwat, said out of the 368 known perpetrators, 257 were friends, 48 were neighbours, 20 were family members, 53 were other acquaintances, including servants, drivers, gardeners and employers or co-workers.

In Hyderabad, in 2020, 265 rape cases were registered, which increased to 328 in 2021. Meanwhile in Cyberabad, in 2020, the number of rape cases was 310 whereas in 2021, it is 356 cases. In Rachakonda, rape cases increased from 329 in 2020 to 377 cases in 2021.

However, officials from the city police, revealing the percentage of known offenders in rape and sexual assault cases, said, “We also included the cases wherein a man sexually assaults a woman by promising to marry her and others who do it in the name of love etc.”

On July 21, 2021, the Kacheguda police had arrested a man from Ratna Nagar of Nallakunta area for allegedly misbehaving with his minor daughter. Similarly, on September 23, 2021, a 45-year-old man was booked for allegedly raping his minor daughter at his home at SR Nagar.  

Speaking further on this, consulting psychiatrist Purnima Nagaraja said such offenders got the courage to exploit the child as they could silence the victim by giving them chocolates and gifts. “They groom the kids by smiling at them and making them feel loved and choose their victims carefully as not every child falls prey to such tactics,” said the doctor.

“Though sexual abuse is a traumatic and life-altering experience, recovery is possible. A compassionate therapist who understands the trauma, especially sexual trauma, and its effects will often be able to help those who have experienced rape and other forms of sexual abuses. Research has consistently shown that the relationship between the therapist and the person in treatment is the most significant predictor of recovery,” said Dr. Diana Monteiro, a psychologist.

“The incident scars them, traumatises them emotionally and also makes them less social, leading to anger management issues and other stress related disorders like PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). I once had a patient who was a victim of sexual abuse and had an eating disorder and was obese. When asked, she simply said she did not wish to look good anymore,” added Dr. Nagaraja.