According to the statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2020 report, a total of 3,372 rape cases (IPC section 376) and 3,373 cases of assault with intent to outrage modesty of Scheduled Caste (SC) women and girls were reported. Analysis by the National Council of Women Leaders (NCWL) found that of the total 12,436 such cases under categories of assault with intent to outrage modesty and sexual harassment that were up for trial in the year 2020, including pending cases from the previous year, only 167 cases—merely 1.3 per cent—resulted in conviction of the accused.

The NCRB data revealed a 9.4 per cent increase in crime against SC community from the year 2019 to 2020. The latest NCRB data on crimes against Dalits and the recent case in Delhi’s Cantonment area, where a nine-year-old Dalit girl was raped by a priest leading to her death, once again brought into focus the role of caste in violence against women across India, rural and urban.