New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) Girls below 18 years of age have been the victims in most of the rape cases in the capital and the majority of such cases have happened in residences or involved men known to them, says a study by Delhi Police.
The study was undertaken following a rise in rape cases in the national capital.
In a whopping 81.22 percent of the rape cases, women were assaulted inside their homes or at the place of the accused, and around 46 percent of rapes were committed on girls below 18 years, a police official told IANS, citing the study.
While neighbours have committed 21 percent of the rapes, friends and acquaintances were involved in 41 percent of the cases.
The study found that in 2.25 percent cases, the woman’s father was involved, in 1.25 percent cases the step-father, in 0.6 percent cases a brother, in 1.34 percent cases the ex-husband, in 1.8 percent cases an uncle, in five percent cases a brother-in-law, in 0.3 percent cases a servant and in 3.5 percent cases an employer.
The official, who did not want to be named, said the study looked at rapes that took place between January 2013 and June this year.
Girls in the age group of 16-18 years were attacked in 14 percent cases, in the 12-16 age group in 19.25 percent cases, between 7-12 years in 6.5 percent cases, in the 2-7 age group in 7.75 percent cases.
At least 0.3 percent of the rapes were committed on girls below two years, the official said.
The study said women in the 18-25 age group were targeted in 27.27 percent cases and those above 25 years in 25.48 percent cases.
The assaults took place in shanties (4.5 percent cases), vehicles (1.5 percent), parks (three percent), shops and offices (1.2 percent), hotels and restaurants (2.5 percent) and school and college buildings (0.75 percent).
The study said in 99 percent cases, the rapists were first-timers, while in 1.16 percent cases the accused allegedly committed the crime for the second time.
A total of 1,647 rape cases were reported in Delhi in 2013 while 984 such cases have already been registered in the capital this year.
The study said that in 86 percent of the rapes, a single person was involved while in two percent of the cases two people were involved.
In just 1.5 percent of the rapes, more than two people were involved.
About 64 percent of the women attacked belong to lower income groups.
The police official said the study will help the force take further measures for checking assaults on women.
The city police had taken a series of steps to prevent sexual assaults on women after the gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman student in a bus in December 2012, but the capital continues to record a large number of rapes.
National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Mamta Sharma told IANS that Delhi Police should also start a sensitization programme, following the study.
“We have been running many programmes on sensitization, in schools and colleges. Police should also start such programmes,” she said.