Not all places are equally secure for women in the Capital. Some places are more secure than others while some others are relatively more vulnerable. After careful examination of the registration of cases for crime against women, the Delhi Police have identified 17 hotspots which are vulnerable and most affected in terms of lack of women's safety in the national capital.The offences taken into account include rape, molestation, outraging the modesty of women and sexual assault.So which are these hotspots that are marked as vulnerable for women's safety?The police have identified Bindapur, Dwarka North, Dwarka South and Uttam Nagar from Dwarka district; Sagarpur from South West district; New Usmanpur and Khajuri Khas from North East district; Sultanpuri and Nihal Vihar from the Outer district; Samaypur Badali from Outer North; Prem Nagar and KN Katju Marg from the Rohini district among the vulnerable hotspots. The other hotspots identified by the police include Anand Parbat from Central Delhi; Laxmi Nagar and Mayur Vihar from East Delhi; Govindpuri from South East Delhi and Bharat Nagar from North West Delhi.This list doesn't mean that crimes against women are not happening in other districts or police stations in Delhi but in comparison, the crime in other police stations is less as compared to the 17 police stations mentioned above.
However, overall, the number of crimes against women in the national capital saw a decline in 2020, with rape cases going down by 21.63 per cent, molestation by 25.16 per cent and insult to modesty of women by 12.32 per cent.According to the Delhi Police, the incidence of involvement of strangers in rape cases has been 1.77 per cent in 2020 as against 2.20 per cent in 2019. The police said that in rape cases, 44 per cent of the persons involved were either family members or family friends while in 26 per cent cases they were other known persons. In 2 per cent of the rape cases, the employer or co-workers were involved, while in 12 per cent of the cases, the neighbours were found to be involved.The Delhi Police said that the Special Police unit for women and children is monitoring women's safety committees in police stations consisting of school principals, colleges, RWAs, women NGOs and other personalities. There are also Social Service Units in 20 Police Stations: 60 social workers or counsellors and four Capacity Support Officers appointed under the 'Nirbhaya Scheme. There is also a CAW Cell created in all 15 districts - headed by ACP.The Delhi Police also said it has taken proactive measures to prevent crime against women in the Capital. These measures include identification of hotspots, identification of dark stretches, installation of CCTV at hotspots, instructions to MNCs and BPOs to ensure transport for women to be dropped at home under escort of security guards. This is besides stranded women at night dropped home by PCR Vans and the Himmat Plus App installed on mobiles for speedy action.