By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Dec. 26: The incidents of rape, a heinous crime, is on the rise in Nepali society. There are victims from children to young and grown up women. Even the people with physical disabilities haven’t been spared.
Rape cases have seen an upsurge in Nepali society, as of late. From children to young adults to grown-women to the differently abled, the victims have been growing, as per Former Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Nepal Police Nawaraj Dhakal.
According to Dhakal, incidents of rape are taking place in Nepal especially against minors, girls, and adolescents.
Dhakal says, "Lack of access and education among lower and middle class adolescents, as well as lack of concern and awareness among parents, has led to an increase in the number of rape cases."
Amidst the pile of rising cases, a disturbing revelation has been the fact that most rapists have been identified as a family member, a relative or an acquaintance.
According to the statistic of the Police Headquarters from the last two fiscal years on rape incidents, 2,254 women were raped in 2075/76 across the country. In the fiscal year 2076/77, there were 2,167 women including children reportedly raped.
The headquarters has already registered 637 incidents of rape cases in the last seven months of the current fiscal year.
As per Nepal Police spokesperson and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basanta Bahadur Kunwar, children belonging to the age group 11-16 have become the most targeted group.
In this age group, every year about 800 to 900 children become victimised. In the fiscal year 2075/76, nearly about 900 children between 11-16 years of age were raped out of 2,254 cases.
In the fiscal year 2076/77, out of total 2,167 rape cases, more than 800 children of the same age group had to suffer the same plight.
The second highest age group of the rape victim is 19-25, where annually about 400 girls become the victim.
Insecure from relatives
According to the police, most of the rape cases in Nepal involve relatives and their acquaintances. Police spokesman Kunwar states, "Analysing the data so far, the perpetrators are mostly identified as close relatives, neighbours and acquaintances."
The data analysed by the Nepal Police confirms the involvement of relatives in the rape.
According to the statistics, in the fiscal year 2076/77 BS, there were 2,167 incidents of rape across the country with 915 incidents by relatives and associates. After relatives, annually about 450-500 cases were committed by unidentifiable men.
Six rape cases a day
According to the statistics of the Police Headquarters, an average of six women are raped every day all over the country. Police spokesperson Kunwar informs, "Analysing the incidents of rape of the fiscal year 2076/77, it is seen that an average of six girls/women are raped daily."
Rape is the least reported crime
Rape is one of the least reported crimes in Nepal, according to former AIG Bigyan Raj Sharma. He says, "Most of the teenagers become rape victim. Adolescents do not consider themselves safe to complain. Fear of family, relatives and society makes them reluctant to file a complaint. When they disclose the incident, they face the brunt of social stigma in spite of the horrific ordeal they endure.”
Victims are not convinced that the perpetrators will be punished according to the law, he elucidates. Tendencies such as abuse of power, political patronage, economic temptation, nepotism have been the main obstacles to justice for the victims.
Former DIG Hemant Malla, who had also handled the charge of the Special Bureau of Nepal Police, says that the number of rape cases has not decreased as the accused have not been punished as per the law.