Decadal change in patern and demography of female victims of sex offence examined at Burdwan Medical College, Burdwan, West Bengal, India: Myth versus reality

Sexual assault on women is an important social evil. The increasing number of such cases is alarming. It is grossly underreported due to several social and culture specific reasons. National and regional reports document the facts. In the strict sense the cases of sex offence amounting to rape is notably less than cases where the ‘victims’ were consenting partners. The paper analyses the change in pattern of sexual assault over a period of ten years in a district of West Bengal. Inference is drawn and hypothesis is tested from the results. The paper contends that the available figures obtained from police cases reported for forensic examination do not reflect the true crux of the problem. The work asserts the relevance of the question marks used in the title of the paper. This however, does not undermine the problem of sex offence in our society where women are still at the receiving end and hapless victims of gender discrimination.