1Department of Forensic Science, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab.
2Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur (Pb).
Sex related offences are one of the common causes of crime in any society. In many countries, sexual offences are too common, but it remains an underreported crime, since many victims cannot or do not press charges against their attackers. The current study estimates the percentage of sexual offences happened in Punjab from 2003 to 2007. Data have been collected from various districts of Punjab and used to calculate the number and percentage of sexual offences like rape, sodomy and bestiality among the different age groups. The main thrust of this paper is to understand the phenomenon of sex related offences, their magnitude and prevalence. Substantial contributions have been made to advance the state of knowledge for law enforcement agencies, health professionals and criminal justice system. Such information has potential to impact substantially on the effectiveness of the investigative interview, the collection of forensic evidence, and the prosecution of cases.
