If only transgender lives were as rosy as depicted in NCRB data

Data from the National Crime Record Bureau shows a suspiciously low rate of crimes against transgender persons. Activists assert this is gross underreporting and not something to celebrate. 

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IN February, Raju, a 50-year-old transgender person from Telangana's Nizamabad district was lynched by a mob after rumours of child kidnapping spread.

Earlier, Heena, a transgender person from Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor, was killed by five people, including a transgender person, on January 1 over a dispute.

Many members of the transgender community have raised concerns over the rising crime rates against them. They allege that the cases that come out into the public domain represent a minuscule fraction of the total number of crimes against them.

They claim that occurrences of crimes against the community are underreported for a variety of reasons, including the lack of trust in police, the inability to register as transgender on documents such as death certificates, and a lack of understanding and sensitivity displayed by police forces and largely due to the prevailing stereotype against the transgender community.

National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB)'s report Crimes in India: 2022 released in December last year, recorded only nine transgender persons as victims of murder out of a total of 29,356.

Only one transgender victim was identified among the 11,0140 cases recorded for adult victims of kidnapping and abduction. NCRB data registered no cases of rape, sexual or physical assault or mob lynching in which transgender persons were victims.

Members of the transgender community assert that the report shows a 'low crime rate' than what it actually is, and does not adequately reflect incidents of crime against them.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act was passed on November 26, 2019, to provide protection to the rights of transgender people, their welfare and other related matters. The Act recognises the following offences against transgender persons: forced or bonded labour (excluding compulsory government service for public purposes); denial of use of public places; removal from the household and village; and physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse.

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Penalties for these offences vary between six months and two years, as well as a fine. In the NCRB's annual report, only one case has been registered under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act in the country. The case was registered in Tamil Nadu.

"The NCRB statistics not only indicate a low crime rate for this year, but they also show a fall from previous years, which is even more alarming," says Tripti Tandon, an advocate for transgender rights.

"One main reason why transgender people do not approach the police is due to their lack of confidence in the system. They feel that if they report the death or murder of another transgender person, they will be blamed and not heard properly," added Tandon.

"Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), which defines rape, provides that only 'women' can be the victims, thus excluding transgender persons. Therefore, sexual assault against transgender persons can only be reported under Section 377 of the IPC (unntarual offence). This results in inaccurate documentation," she further adds.

Rudrani Chhetri, a transwoman and project director of Mitr Trust (an LGBTQIA+ community-based organisation that works with the objective of empowering all LGBTQIA+ individuals) in Delhi, said that the majority of instances of sexual assault against transgender persons are not reported in the appropriate category due to the stigma associated with being identified as transgender.

"As in most cases, our family shuns us, and even if we die, they refuse to recognise us as transgender; therefore, the case is filed under the other sex," said Chhetri.

"Transgender people face a multi-level barrier: first, their identity is stereotyped; second, they are demographically and geographically marginalised; and third, the majority of them are sex workers. As a result of all of these factors, approaching police is extremely difficult," she adds.

"Police are also unwilling to file a complaint when we are the victims since there is no one to pursue the complaint. Transgender people, whether living or deceased, do not have equal human rights," she says further.

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"Rapists face a maximum sentence of two years if the victim is transgender, but up to ten years if the victim is female. The entire law is discriminatory. So, how do we attain justice? When we go to the police station, the question they ask is, 'Are you a real one or a fake one?'" Chhetri laments.

She said that it was crucial for all stakeholders, including police officers, to become sensitive, aware and informed about transgender concerns. The issue stems from societal stereotypes as well as the approach taken by police officers when dealing with transgender people.

According to Hyderabad-based transgender person and activist Rachana Mudraboyina, NCRB data show a decrease in crime records against the community, refuting ground reality.

"There is an underlying issue of how the data is collected and how reliable this data is pertaining to the transgender community," Mudraboyina said.

"We are doubtful that police reports are genuinely being sent to the NCRB statistics," she added.

Mudraboyina points out that, in terms of data collection, the most recent census was taken in 2011, and since then, there has been an increase in the number of transgender people in the country, resulting in a complete distortion of the data. Transgenders are victims of an array of crimes, including sexual molestation, rape and violence against transmen, which is not mentioned in the report.

"Even a death certificate does not include the term 'transgender person'; that is the reality," she says.

Philip C. Philip, a queer rights activist, says, "Assume a transgender person dies from natural causes or due to assault. After the postmortem, the gender ascribed is either male or female, and if the family is transphobic, the case will not be registered under the transgender category; this is what happens most of the  time."

"There is a huge lapse in how our criminal justice system works. A major identification document is the gender ID card issued by the district magistrate. The card upholds the Supreme Court's judgment on the right to self-identify one's gender as male, female, or transgender.

"The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act states that it should be issued within 30 days of applying for it, but it often takes months and years," Philip says.

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More than 3,200 applications for transgender ID cards remained pending for more than 30 days, according to data presented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in Parliament during the last winter session.

The national portal for transgender persons received 24,115 applications and granted 15,800 certificates, according to data disclosed in Lok Sabha in December, reported the Times of India in December.

He further added that incidents of police brutality against transgender persons in the form of harassment, physical assault and money extortion abound.

Although the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act has been passed, data indicates that only one case has been reported under this Act, making it unclear how many transgender persons benefit from it. The lack of awareness among citizens, especially stakeholders such as police officers and government officials, contributes significantly to this problem.

"The transgender community continues to experience discrimination and violence from the very system that should protect them. This serves to further suppress them," says Philip.

The Union home ministry did not respond to requests seeking comment on the issue.