Patient of Coronavirus or Survivor of Lockdown?
Abstract
With the outbreak of coronavirus, social distancing is one of the significant advances taken by the all nations to forestall the spread of the infection. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, India has experienced a critical decrease in the crime rate. Nonetheless, the crime inside the four walls of the house such as domestic violence and child abuse has increased. This article helps to identify the reasons regarding the decrease of crimes like theft, molestation, murder, etc. and the increase of indoor crimes in relation to the four theories of victimology.
Introduction
The COVID-19, otherwise called the deadly “coronavirus” is changing the society in ways. The world health organization declared it as a health crisis or pandemic in February 2020. It has additionally expressed that perhaps the greatest advance that one can take to stop the spread of this malady is “social distancing”. Social distancing refers to avoiding contact with people around you which will aid in preventing the spread of the virus. Nations across the world have abided by this measure by implementing “lockdown” to ensure the health and safety of their citizens. India has been undergoing lockdown since 24th March 2020. The lockdown has restricted the people to step out of their houses unless it is a necessity. All shops and public places except the pharmaceutical, bank, hospital, and provisional stores have been shut down. Nevertheless, it has not only protected the people from the disease but has also protected society from various other threats. India is recovering from all the environmental damage brought about by the general population throughout the years; the crime rate in India has sharply declined. Various states like Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, etc. have observed a significant downfall in the crime rate during the lockdown period. It has certainly decreased the outdoor crime i.e. the crimes that take place outside a person’s house or within his/her personal space such as theft, sexual harassment at workplace or murder . Be that as it may, there is a fear that the crimes against women and children within the four walls of their own house may increase, such as domestic violence and child abuse. India’s National Commission for Women (NCW) has recorded 250 complaints relating to the offenses against women from 23rd March to 16th April 2020. Therefore, one can either be the patient of coronavirus or be the victim of lockdown. But why? Why has the crime rate suddenly fell? How has the lockdown affected a specific category of victims? Furthermore, why aren’t women and children safe in their own house? We can relate the answers to these questions to the four theories of victimology.
What is victimology?
The term “victim” refers to a person who has suffered harm or injury by the acts of another person. However, the term “victimology” was introduced by a French lawyer, Benjamin Mendelsohn, in 1947. He defined victimology as understanding the crime from the victim’s perspective. The study focuses on the pattern of victimization. It does not deal with the questions regarding the mindset of a criminal; instead, it deals with the questions relating to the mindset of the victims of the crime. It also explains who is likely to be a victim depending on the situation around him/her and what characteristics of a victim attract crime against him. Moreover, it creates a relationship between the victim and the accused which aids in understanding the psychological and sociological effects caused on the victims after the crime against them. This is because the psychology of the victim is directly connected to the behavior of the victim. Some great scholars have categorized the victims into four types.
The four theories of victimology:
1) Victim precipitation theory
2) Lifestyle theory
3) Deviant place theory
4) Routine activity theory
The Interrelation of the theories of victimology with COVID-19 lockdown
1) Victim precipitation theory:
This theory is laid down on the observation that many times, the victims themselves behave in a manner that may draw crime towards them. They incite or provoke the offender either actively or passively. Here, the victims become the primary cause of the offense committed on them. In the case of passive precipitation, a person unconsciously does an act that instigates an offense against them. They don’t do it on purpose or with an intention to provoke someone, but it results in a feeling of revenge or hatred in the mind of the offender. For example, love interests, job status, political activity, success, and job promotion.
For instance, a person’s promotion can ignite jealousy in the mind of his co-employ or when a working woman starts earning more than her partner, it can cause envy in his mind which can draw an offense against her or let’s say a man is the leader of a political party, his actions can contribute to provoking the opposite party members to commit a crime against him. In these cases, the victim doesn’t have the slightest idea about the reaction of a person around him/her who can commit a crime against them. Hate crimes are additionally a genuine case of passive precipitation theory.
On the other hand, active precipitation refers to an intentional provocation by the victim. It is the act of the victim (who was well aware of the outcome) that pulled in the crime. For instance, an individual enters into an argument with someone else who incites him to commit an offense. Secondly, it is a debated issue that sometimes in case of rape, the woman who is raped has an active contribution to it i.e. they might have a relationship with the accused or their words and actions are misread by the accused. However, it is important to note that mere flirting by women is not a “yes” for sexual intercourse.
Interrelation with the COVID-19 lockdown
With the execution of lockdown across the country, there are only fewer people who step out of their house at this moment. All the spots where individuals communicate like offices, cafes, bars, pubs have shut down. The possibility of provocation of a person to commit a crime has been decreased. People are maintaining social distancing that leads to a lack of communication between them, thereby leading to no arguments to commit an offense. The constant surveillance and patrolling by police and drone ensure that relatively few individuals are outside in the city.
The inspector of Delhi police has expressed that one of the significant reasons for violations is “provocation” but as the individuals presently don’t have the environment to blow up which implies, they can’t get incited. Consequently, the offenses that were caused as a result of provocation have sharply declined, “the reason for the decline is that one of the major reasons for a crime being committed is a sudden provocation which is a rare possibility at this time. “
The Crime of all categories diminished substantially from 15th March to 31st March, in comparison to the same period in 2019. Extortion cases from 13 to 3, Molestation of women reduced from 144 to 72, robberies from 109 to 53 and theft from 1982 to 1243. The records of Delhi police have indicated that the number of rape cases enlisted between 22nd March to 12th April under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code has witnessed a decay of 83.4%. It remained at 23 cases in 2020 rather than 139 cases at the same time in the previous year . Moreover, the data has also stated that the number of cases registered on charges of assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty has observed a deflation of 85.8% and stood at 33 cases as compared to 233 cases in 2019 during the same period time as of the lockdown.
Hence, on the application of the victim precipitation theory, the absence of active and passive precipitation has diminished the crime percentage.
2) Lifestyle theory
The lifestyle theory refers to the manner wherein an individual’s life can draw in crime towards him/her. In other words, the lifestyle of a person can attract crime. It is dependent on the people that he is surrounded by and the people with whom he is friends. It is believed that a person’s behavior and habits can be affected by the people he is with. For instance: A person might have a habit of going out alone at night or has the habit of drinking alcohol regularly or is a drug addict. Their lifestyle choices put them at a higher risk of being attacked than the remainder of the individuals in the general public.
Interrelation with the COVID-19 lockdown
During the lockdown, all the liquor stores have closed down and every single get-together within the society has been precluded. Consequently, people of this category won’t have the option to drink excessively or meet peers with the same habit, which at last declines the wrongdoings that can be caused against them. Be that as it may, this period of lockdown can be frustrating for them. Their dependence on liquor or drugs can make them vulnerable and desperate. Therefore, in this situation of lockdown, this theory can have an inverse effect. Instead of being a victim himself, he is more prone to be the offender. Unable to fulfill his needs, he may try to harm the people around him, mainly his family, his wife, and his children. This can cause a huge rise in the number of domestic violence cases and child abuse. The anger could change into aggression which might lead to alternative ways of releasing the frustration.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also stated that with the implementation of social distancing, the cases of domestic violence shall increase in the period of lockdown. According to the report of U.N. sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) , every three months of the lockdown period can cause 15 million more domestic violence cases globally. This can result in 7 million unplanned pregnancies if the lockdown continues for six months. The rate of child marriages and FGM (Female genital Mutilation) cases shall also rise with the extension in the period of lockdown internationally.
Due to the pandemic, the government is more focused on providing the best health facilities to the patients of the coronavirus. Most of the hospitals and clinics are engaged in dealing with the infectants of the virus. This makes it difficult for women to approach the doctors or the hospitals without the dread of getting contaminated by the infection. Additionally, with the decrease in the supply of all the products in the market, contraceptive measures have also declined that may give rise to numerous undesirable pregnancies. However, the medical services to deal with these pregnancies are extremely limited and risky at this point. Moreover, women are also dreading to report their complaints with police since they feel that once their husband will be out of jail, he may torture them again. The National Commission of Women (NCW) has received about 257 complaints of offenses against women within 25 days of lockdown through WhatsApp and emails. It is almost the double of the number of complaints they received before the lockdown.
Consequently, on the application of lifestyle theory, crimes and accidents taking place at