Workplace grows more unsafe for women in Maharashtra, reveals RTI

A Right to Information (RTI) query reveals that crimes against women in Maharashtra have gone up by 140 % in the last five years. The RTI also discloses that the nature of crime patterns against women has also changed. The data given by the Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) shows that there were 6,659 complaints in 2017-18 and in 2022-23 it increased to 16,012

According to the MSCW data, complaints of harassment and sexual harassment in the workplace have witnessed a significant increase in Maharashtra. There has been a 139 % increase in workplace harassment of women, with 396 cases in 2017-18 rising to 950 cases in 2022-23. However, there is a positive note as no dowry death complaints have been recorded in the last four years, whereas 35 such complaints were registered in 2017-18.

The data further highlights a substantial increase of 217 % in complaints related to social atrocities and rape. The number of pending cases for action in 2017-18 was 1405, whereas it had more than tripled to 4462 in 2022-23.

The data was obtained through an RTI application filed by Jeetendra Ghadge, who sought information on pending complaints with the commission, among other details.

Ghadge received information in eight categories, including marital problems, court matters, dowry deaths, social problems (harassment, rape, etc.), property-related issues, sexual harassment in the workplace, workplace harassment and others.  The RTI reveals that complaints related to marital and social problems accounted for the highest share of total complaints, each representing over 25 per cent of the total complaints in 2022-23. The marital problem complaints reached 2,819 out of a total of 10,146 complaints, while social problem complaints stood at 2,803.

A senior official from the MCSW said, “The increase in numbers of marital problems is not necessarily a big issue. Sometimes the couple (husband-wife) have disputes over in-laws also. We are taking and addressing every case, that’s why the increase is evident.” The official also mentioned that the counselling process can prolong cases, contributing to the backlog of pending complaints.

Ghadge expressed concern over the growing number of pending cases and urged the Women's Commission to focus on providing justice and assistance to the complainants.