“This incident is alarming, especially because this woman was with her partner, but is India more dangerous than any other country? I doubt it,” says Jonny Bealby, the proprietor of Wild Frontiers, which has operated in India for 20 years. “You just need to be aware of the dangers and be sensible and take precautions in India, as you would travelling anywhere.” 

India’s report of crimes against women and girls is historically high, with the prime minister Narendra Modi repeatedly calling on his nation to fight misogyny. Throughout India, the FCDO warns of the chance of sexual assault, together with assaults on overseas feminine guests in vacationer areas and cities. But whereas the figures quoted this week – that 90 rapes happen every single day in India – are certainly alarming, their influence is lessened when put into context. 

According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau, there have been 31,516 instances of rape in India in 2022, in opposition to a inhabitants of 1.408 billion. While the true quantity are more likely to be a lot greater, as many rapes go unreported, the identical is true of the UK, which recorded double that quantity – 68,949 rapes – in 2022/23, in opposition to a a lot smaller inhabitants of 67 million. 

Crimes in opposition to foreigners in India additionally went up from 150 in 2021 to 192 in 2022 – a rise of 28 per cent. But there have been additionally extra vacationers: 6.19 million in 2022, up from 1.52 million in 2021, because the nation opened to travellers after the pandemic.