The covid-19 pandemic also known as the coronavirus pandemic has brought immense damage to human civilization. Pandemic has brought our life to almost a stand still. The coronavirus, one of the most infectious and lethal viruses in the world, is currently spreading at a tremendous rate. All our medical groups are trying their best to control the virus spread. This situation has made all of us isolate ourselves in our own homes. In India, the government has imposed lockdown to control the infection. Which initially began on 24 March 2020, and things are currently going back to normal with fewer restrictions as compared to the initial days. We can say Coronavirus induced lockdown has helped to limit the spread of infection to some extent. But additionally, it has brought serious harm to the economy of the country.
Crime rates amid lockdown on average have considerably dropped to 20-30%. We saw a 40% fall in murder cases in March and April this year in comparison to last year and a 70% fall in rape cases. But that’s not the whole picture.
What’s the latest news?
- Horrifying Global Surge in domestic abuse/violence amid Lockdown.
- Cybercrimes have soared to 86% in the months of March and April.
- Crime rates spiked as lockdown rules ease, July crime rates 22% more than June.
- 50 Lakh Salaried Jobs Lost in July, nearly 2 Crore Since April due to Covid-19
- Unusual increase in theft and snatching cases.
Crime rates for murder, rape, and kidnapping may have dropped. But crimes associated with domestic abuse, cybercrime, and snatching cases are increasing on a daily basis and plenty are nevertheless not registered. Experts have suggested there is a decent chance for a rise in overall crime rates with the ease in lockdown restrictions. Cybercrimes have also become a serious problem worldwide and have shown a rise amid lockdowns, particularly in India.
India has more than 550 million internet users. This makes India more prone to cyber-attacks owing to its high market value. Cybercriminals are coming up with different traps and techniques to trap the user. Some send malicious links in order to steal personal info and blackmail the victim. Whereas some make fake calls to get sensitive info from the user.
However, during lockdown fake websites or fake versions of donation platforms were the main traps to entice online users and plenty of people fell into their trap and gave their money to the fake websites. Experts have said that with the digitalization of the world, cybercrimes may shoot up in the future. Therefore, it’s important people should download apps from a safe browser and keep their mobile/ computer safe by downloading anti-virus softwares. Cross-checking a website and not falling prey to fake news and traps on the web is necessary.
A tremendous rise in domestic violence cases can also be witnessed on the basis of statistics made available by police amid coronavirus induced lockdown. Victims are trapped inside with the abuser and this has made their life even more miserable because now being trapped with wrongdoer they have to bear the violence or abuse. Domestic violence involves a pattern of psychological, physical, sexual, financial, and emotional abuse. Violence also includes assaults, threatening behaviour, humiliation, and intimidation.
According to India’s national family health survey, an exhaustive household government survey, from 2015-16, around 33% of women have experienced spousal violence, which includes physical, sexual or emotional abuse and just 14 % of women who experienced violence have come forward for help and stopped it. These statistics are frightening to look at, and they solely shock us to our core that someone who is harassed, and physically abused still not gathers some courage to take a stand for them.
Yes, one could say fear of society, fear of judgment or fear of abuser might be the reason for their silence but if you’re a victim of any kind of abuse or violence, stand for yourself. Police can only help you if you speak out for yourself. Staying silent and tolerating the abuse is a much bigger crime. Break the silence!
One of the major reasons for increasing incidents of crime is the increasing unemployment. The Covid-19 epidemic has significantly harmed India’s economy and increased the country’s unemployment rate. The lockdown has had a significant negative impact on daily wage earners, workers, and street sellers. Shortage of food and supplies has made people self-conscious that have raised the sensation of “me” before others. These severe circumstances have made an adverse impact on the psychological state of people. Due to which they are not able to think properly and simply make poor decisions. Their approach has narrowed all the way down to following their survival instincts because of that there is increment in aggressive behavior among people in lockdown.
This aggressive behavior and short temperament is mainly responsible for a spike in domestic violence cases. Lack of employment opportunities led many people, particularly youngsters, into choosing crime as a medium to earn money. Fear of death from starvation has outgrown that of death by infection. Youngsters are blindfolded by the responsibilities they are carrying on the shoulders of their families and are being pushed to the brink to rob people so as to satisfy their basic amenities. Provisions of employment opportunities and basic amenities are the need of the hour. Otherwise, as predicted by experts, things may take a violent flip in the future if things do not get better.
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