Women in Assam most unsafe at home

GUWAHATI: Women in Assam, especially married women, were found to be more unsafe not on roads but behind the closed doors of their homes. With an average of 32 cases of 'cruelty by husband' on a daily basis, Assam recorded 12,000 cases of domestic violence in 2018.
Every year, the number of domestic violence cases recorded have continued to surpass its previous years' figures.Recently released official records by the Assam Police show an increase in instances of domestic abuse from some 2200 cases recorded across the state in 2005 to 11,999 in 2018. According to the official records, the same figure was 10,580 in 2017 and 9327 in 2016.
An alarming number of cases relating to dowry-induced violence are also on the rise. Police records informed: "Another 166 women were allegedly killed by their in-laws for dowry in 2018. The numbers of dowry-related murders are also increasing in the state. There were some 150 such cases registered in Assam in 2017 and 2016 each."
A previous study in 2017 led by the State's Women Commission shows that around 83.7 percent women, mostly in rural areas of the state, were physically abused by her husband and family members. Besides being physically abused, women in rural Assam have been found to be facing verbal abuse from their husbands or in-laws for not bearing a child, especially a male child. Moreover, some 34.1 percent of women were even coerced into sexual intercourse.
Police records revealed that among the instances of domestic violence recorded in the state, the majority were reported in the districts of Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Tinsukia, Darrang, Udalguri, Kokrajhar and Sonitpur.
However, the police department attributed the high numbers to a growing awareness of women's safety as well as to a growing number of 'false' cases reported. "In many cases, we have also found the victim allegedly misusing the law," said a senior police officer.