Crime against women such as rape, acid throwing, dowry killings, honour killings, and the forced prostitution of young girls has been reported in India. Police records in India show a high incidence of crimes against women. The National Crime Records Bureau reported in 1998 that by 2010 growth in the rate of crimes against women would exceed the population growth rate. Earlier, many crimes against women were not reported to police due to the social stigma attached to rape and molestation. Official statistics show a dramatic increase in the number of reported crimes against women.A Thomas Reuters Foundation survey says that India is the fourth most dangerous place in the world for women to live in. The survey itself has been criticized for bias. Women belonging to any class, caste, creed or religion can be victims of this cruel form of violence and disfigurement, a premeditated crime intended to kill or maim permanently and act as a lesson to put a woman in her place.

Bipin Bhatt is an author, journalist, filmmaker and activist from the region of Assam. He has also authored Child and Human Rights: Concepts and Reality, Crime Against Women, Crime and Punishment in Ancient India, Crime in Tribal Setting. Bhatt was born in 1964 in Shillong. He is a Consulting Editor for the Statesman, and has previously worked for Associated Press and The New York Times. He has created many documentary films on the north eastern region.