there has been an increase in the reporting of rapes since the December gang rape and murder of an Indian student in Delhi, including several cases involving foreigners
KOLKATA, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An Irish woman who alleged she was raped by an Indian businessman nearly two weeks ago was rushed to hospital over the weekend after taking an overdose of pills, hospital authorities said.
The 21-year-old woman, who is working with a Darjeeling-based charity, told police earlier this month that she had been raped by a man she met at a party on May 31 in a hotel in the eastern city of Kolkata.
Police registered her complaint and detained the alleged rapist. The woman, who was staying in a Kolkata hotel, was found unconscious in her room on Saturday after consuming a cocktail of sleeping pills, painkillers and anti-depressant drugs.
"She is stable now and out of danger. But she needs to be in the Intensive Care Unit for another day or two. This is definitely a suicide attempt and the local police station has been informed," a hospital official said.
Sex crimes are widespread in India. The National Crime Records Bureau says more than 24,200 rapes were reported across the country in 2011 -- about one every 20 minutes.
Experts say there has been an increase in reports of rape, including some involving foreigners, after the high-profile gang rape and murder of a young Indian woman in New Delhi in December, which has helped throw a spotlight on violence against women in the country.
Earlier this month, an American tourist was gang-raped in the northern hill resort of Manali when she hitched a ride in a truck with three men.
In March, a Swiss tourist was raped by six men while camping in a forest in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. In the same month, a British woman was reported to have jumped from her hotel balcony to escape a feared sexual assault in the city of Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located.
A February survey by travel website TripAdvisor found that 94 percent of the 500 Indian women polled felt unsafe travelling alone in India, the Times of India reported.
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