The number of crimes against women and children has gone up in 2021 when compared with previous years, according to the statistics submitted by the State Government in the Legislative Council.
Minister for Women and Child Development Halappa Achar submitted the statistics in a written reply to a question raised by Congress member U.B. Venkatesh during the question hour on Tuesday. Since 2018, there has been a steady increase in the cases of rape reported in the State. So far in the current year, 507 rape cases have been reported.
Incidents of sexual assault on children and rape have increased at an alarming rate. So far 1,761 cases of rape of children have been reported in the current year.
When schools and colleges were closed owing to COVID-19, many girls were forced to get married before they attained the age of 18. As many as 223 cases of child marriage were reported in the State this year.
