An RTI query revealed that there has been a steady rise in the number of complaints related to harassment of women at the workplace received by the panel.
In addition, the number of cases pending with the Maharashtra State Women’s Commission (SWC) has skyrocketed by 140 per cent over the past five year.
The data was obtained through an RTI query filed by Mumbai's Girgaon-based social activist Jeetendra Ghadge. It also revealed that the number of missing women cases and unresolved/pending cases in the state has increased over the past few years.
A total of 16,012 complaints were registered between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, up from 6,659 complaints between April 2017 and March 2018. Meanwhile, 12,512 complaints were registered between 2021-22. The data also revealed that there were 3,977 pending complaints in 2017-18, with the number increasing to 5,840 in 2022-23 (up to March), as per SWC.
Further, the data showed a 139 per cent increase in cases of women being harassed at work, from 396 in 2017-18 to 950 in 2022-23. Meanwhile, no complaints of dowry deaths have been reported in the last four years, but 35 such cases were pending in 2017-18. There has been a sharp rise in rape and social atrocity allegations, which have soared by 217 per cent. In 2017-18, there were 1,405 such active cases, which surged to 4,462 in 2022-23.
The SWC withheld information regarding the number of cases in which women received justice, assistance, or help.