– Safe on paper, silence in reality?
By Moa Jamir
Back in October this year, when the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) *Crime in India 2023* report was released, this column argued that Nagaland must look beyond the comforting ‘safest’ tag for women. It noted that while official numbers appear reassuring, they conceal complex realities, and questioned how completely the State’s safety is being captured by official data.
The recent 16 Days of Activism events across Nagaland, particularly in Dimapur on November 26 and in Chümoukedima on November 29, have only reinforced those concerns. Frontline workers highlighted the structural gaps with stark clarity. At the Chümoukedima event, it was revealed that Women Helpline 181 has logged over two lakh calls since 2016, but only around 3,400 were converted into formal cases. One Stop Centres have assisted more than 1,700 survivors, yet formal registration remains low.
At the level of law enforcement, the Women Police Station in Dimapur converted just 11% of domestic violence complaints into FIRs in 2025, a statistic that speaks less to the absence of violence and more to a culture of “compromise” that routinely pushes survivors’ rights into oblivion.
Meanwhile, at the Dimapur event, a state-wide survey by the Sisterhood Network placed empirical weight behind these realities. Conducted from May to July 2025 across ten districts, the survey collected 742 responses, of which a staggering 50.8% reported experiencing gender-based violence.
Even more concerning, 59.8% of survivors faced violence before the age of 18, and 40.3% said it occurred at home. Perpetrators were rarely strangers: 55.2% were family members, intimate partners, relatives, or male cousins. Despite such prevalence, 64% of survivors did not report their experiences, citing stigma, fear, distrust, and uncertainty about where to seek help. This is the silence that statistical safety obscures.
At both events, speakers stressed that Nagaland stands at a delicate intersection between tradition and modernity. While customary practices and Christian social life offer women a degree of freedom, entrenched patriarchal attitudes still shape what is spoken, reported, forgiven, concealed or silenced. Responding to the SN findings, a NSCW Member noted that these are not “make-up stories” but daily realities, especially for marginalised women who often bear the brunt of violence while lacking the means or social acceptance to report it. Economic dependence, fear of legal procedures, family honour, community pressure, and even a lack of empathy within law enforcement continue to suppress survivors’ voices.
The convergence of these reports underscores a fundamental message: Nagaland’s safety cannot be measured by police records alone. The lived experiences of women, often unreported, underreported, or quietly endured, tell a different and far more troubling story.
Moving forward demands a cultural, institutional, and community shift. Events like the 16 Days of Activism must move beyond symbolic observance and evolve into sustained grassroots mobilisation. Incidentally, men seldom attend such programmes, barring customary official representation. It is vital that they participate not as protectors or spectators but as partners in reshaping gender norms.
Among others, churches, village councils, youth groups, and men’s collectives must meaningfully engage in conversations on rights, respect, and accountability. Strengthening law enforcement, improving support services, establishing local rehabilitation centres, and promoting economic empowerment are equally vital. Sustained awareness at all levels of decision-making, in community forums, and within educational institutions remains essential. Adequate sensitisation of all stakeholders on the legal dimensions of these issues is also imperative.
If Nagaland is to be truly safe, safety must mean more than low numbers; it must reflect lived experience and a society willing to confront what it would rather not count.
For any feedback, drop a line to jamir.moa@gmail.com
