There has been a surge in crimes against women in Jammu and Kashmir. Crimes against women have more than doubled over the past ten years, according to latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau. As many as 2.24 million crimes against women were reported over the past decade: 26 crimes against women are reported every hour, or one complaint every two minutes, reveals an India Spend analysis based on the last decade’s data. The semantic meaning of “crime against women” is direct or indirect physical or mental cruelty to women. Crimes directed specifically against women and in which only women are victims are characterized as “crimes against women”. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is not encouraging . According to the latest official data revealed in the Legislative Council, there has been a 41 per cent increase in crime against women over the last eight years. In 2008, 2087 cases of crime against women were registered in the state while in 2019 this figure went up to 3535. Kidnapping and domestic violence have witnessed an increase of over 40 percent and 58 percent respectively during the period. Molestation cases have also gone up by around 35 percent. Cases related to rape have also increased with 312 cases reported in 2019 as against 221 in 2008. It has become customary for us to debate on issues like women empowerment and problems faced by them only on occasions like International Women’s Day. We are used to hearing elaborate speeches about the achievements of women in different fields of life and the need to address their problems. But when it comes to ground, the situation is quite disturbing. The issue can also be seen in the larger global perspective. The problem of gender-based violence is getting worse. Various studies have tried to document the atrocities faced by Kashmiri women both on the account of domestic violence and also the armed conflict. According to a 2005 study by Medecins Sans Frontieres, Kashmiri women are among the worst sufferers of sexual violence in the world. Elaborate legislations enshrining various rights for women are useless unless they are safeguarded. The women activists have also been demanding setting up of hospitals exclusively meant for treating women who have been subjected to physical and mental torture. There are host of other measures which the government can take for the betterment of the women victims. Having said so, the onus cannot be put entirely on the government. Society has a pivotal role to play in uplifting the subjugated women. We all share the responsibility of raising our voice against any injustice meted out to women and to give them the due place they deserve in the society.