More than 12 months after passing a law for tougher sanctions with regard to sexual crimes, rapes are still occurring "and are even on the increase". According to Rishi Kant, a militant for women’s rights in India, "many sexual crimes are committed in India because there are fewer girls than boys. Young men have no marriage prospects, especially in Northern India. This is due to female foeticide and infanticide”.

Over the last thirty years, the World Health Research Centre based in Toronto has noted that twelve million female foetuses have been aborted in India. Prabhat Jha, epidemiologist at the World Health Research Centre explained: "We have seen a decrease in the number of births in households with a higher social status compared to poorer households lacking in education. In India, this is truly a phenomenon that concerns educated, affluent people". 
The United Nations estimates that approximately 500,000 abortions are carried out every year in order to get rid of female foetuses.