-The Indian Express The recent proposal by the National Commission for Women to legalise prostitution has opened up an old debate. It is a misnomer that legalisation would lead to improving the lives of women in prostitution by way of reduced harassment by the police and provision of healthcare facilities. Advocates of legalisation should first examine the experience of countries where prostitution has been legalised. The mere fact that licensing has...

Far from being dead and gone, slavery exists in many forms and is flourishing. A disturbing report on modern slavery compiles facts and figures and documents data about new forms of slavery all over the world. Even more disturbing is the fact that India figures in very high on slavery index. It says that almost 61% of those living in modern slavery are in 5 countries: India, China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan...

-The Hindu A recent report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) indicate that there has been a significant rise in the number of registered cases of crimes against women and children in Delhi/NCR. Sample this: the number of rape cases has seen a spurt from 706 in 2012 to more than double at 1,636 last year, while cases of assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty have spiked...

-The Times of India Mumbai: Crimes against women in Mumbai soared 59% during April 2013 to March 2014 compared with the previous financial year while convictions in serious offences stood at an abysmal 8%. Data compiled by the NGO Praja concludes that understaffing and multiplicity of tasks in the police force are compromising investigation and, in turn, affecting conviction. A third of Mumbai's population feels unsafe living in the city, according to...

-The Hindustan Timess New Delhi: Shocking figures submitted by the police to the Delhi high court have revealed that of the 1,704 cases of rape registered in the Capital in the first 10 months of this year, 215 were instances of incestuous rape. More disturbingly, in 43 of these cases it was the father who committed the crime and in 27 cases it was the brother. In one case the accused turn...