Pages: 18

This chapter carefully envisages the significance of the study of the very emerging societal issue of crime against women and determines the study objectives. It stipulates the contextual scenarios and facts of crime against women in West Bengal by reconnoitering the secondary information and reviewing in-depth literature. This chapter makes a profound understanding of the existing theoretical consent of criminogenic nuisance to comprehend the behavioural, social, and ecological backcloths of criminogenic settings and meticulously envisage the significant contribution of the study to society and policymakers.

Pages: 21

The present study aims to make an in-depth understanding of the most egregious form of human rights violations, that is, trafficking in women in West Bengal. The chapter particularly envisages understanding the trafficking scenario in a specific pocket of West Bengal that has been demarcated as a trafficking hotbed based on available secondary databases and existing literature. A focus has been given to understanding the environmental vulnerabilities and associated threats to intensify susceptibilities among the poor women in the remote areas of South-24 Parganas, specifically in the deltaic Sundarbans region. The study findings reveal that the area is environmentally and socio-economically too vulnerable and has emerged as an important trafficking hub in the last few decades. This study also executed a micro-level assessment of anti-trafficking measures and suggested some strategic situational measures. This study aims to contribute to society and might be helpful for policymakers to suppress such organised crime efficiently.

Pages: 21

The present study has been carried out in a very systematic way on the very emerging criminogenic issue of acid attacks against women in West Bengal, India. This study focuses on understanding the magnitude of acid attacks in West Bengal, illustrates the various socio-psychological as well as socio-environmental factors responsible for such notorious criminal offence, and recognises perception variations among the respondents. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has been conducted to determine the most valuable factors responsible for such vengeful acts. t-Test and/or one-way ANOVA has been done with the key factors (dependent) and various demographic factors (independent) to justify the assumed hypothesis. The results of this study revealed that the rejection of marriage and love proposals, easy and cheap availability of acid on the open market, marital disputes, domestic violence, high demand for dowry, and low educational level are the significant determinants of acid attacks against women in West Bengal. The results of the t-test and ANOVA signify (<0.05) gender, age, and occupation-wise perception variations for factors 1 and 3. Yet, most of the respondents agree with the fact that the easy and cheap availability of acid in the open markets (sig. >0.05) is highly accountable for such interpersonal violence in West Bengal. This study might draw the government’s attention to take immediate measures to stop such merciless nuisance and ensure gender equity in society.

Pages: 19

This chapter focuses on the burning criminogenic issue of rape in West Bengal, India. This study aims to assess the magnitude of rape crisis in the West Bengal’s society, understand the perceptions of existing rape myths, and illustrate the most robust behavioural, socio-economic, and physical environmental determinants of men’s rape proclivity in West Bengal. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has been executed to determine the underlying factors structures accountable for such vengeful criminal nuisance. This study reveals that these days women are not safe in West Bengal. The existing patriarchal ideologies inherently act as a significant determinant to exacerbate sexual violence in society. In addition, individual perpetrators’ attitudes, socio-economic adversity, poor legal interventions, and the adverse physical environmental design are eventually accountable for enhancing the situational environment of rape in West Bengal. This study also made a micro-level assessment of anti-rape measures, and a model-based situational crime prevention measures have also been provided. This study aims to contribute to society and might help the stakeholders to address this burning issue more efficiently.

Pages: 18

This chapter aims at providing an in-depth understanding of the most pervasive form of gender-based atrocity, that is, domestic violence against women in West Bengal, India. It focuses on the commonalities of domestic violence against women in the society of West Bengal and its most likely determinants. Bivariate analysis (chi-square test) has been performed to assess the association between violence types and the perpetrators engaged and to measure the differentials of victimisation by background characteristics. To assess the strength of the association of the factors that stimulate the likelihood of domestic violence and victimisation, multivariate analysis in the form of binary logistic regression has been done. The study findings exhibit that about 69.68% of study respondents throughout West Bengal have experienced some form of domestic abuse in their lifespan. Often, the traditional patriarchal ideology and societal beliefs endorse vulnerability among the ever-married women in the family environment. Nonetheless, some other determinants such as socio-demographic, sociocultural, and situational factors are highly associated with the victimisation of domestic violence among the ever-married women in West Bengal’s society.

Pages: 18

In this chapter, multivariate mapping and spatiotemporal visualisation of crime against women have been done. This chapter systematically analyse the complex crime patterns that exists in West Bengal that involve multiple perspectives. The geovisual analytic tool examines the spatial and temporal patterns of different crime types perpetrated against women in West Bengal, including rape and sexual assaults, domestic violence, and dowry deaths based on comprehensive crime datasets available from 2002 to 2015 (https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="https://data.gov.in">data.gov.in). This chapter deliberately visualises multiple dimensions of crime (both spatiotemporal extents of varying crime types) simultaneously and establishes substantial facts through a variety of collective perspectives that might help the policymakers to take necessary measures in the most potential vulnerable areas considering the situational socio-economic and environmental circumstances.

Pages: 6

This chapter meticulously concludes the entire study and thoroughly discusses how advanced GIS is used to curb crime against women in West Bengal. This chapter makes a comprehensive discussion to explore how the existing socio-economic and physical environmental backcloth creates the situational environment that intensifies insecurity among women throughout West Bengal. This chapter also envisages how the traditional patriarchal ideology in society nurtures women’s subordination, promulgates large-scale gender discrimination in society, and stimulates women’s victimisation in West Bengal’s society. This chapter advocates to make major transformation in societal attitudes towards women to lessen gender discrimination in society. Thus, by giving a glimpse into the entire situational environment, this chapter contributes to a better understanding of crime patterns in West Bengal in order to support better policing to the practitioners in a strategic way.