Unfortunately, across the globe, this heinous crime is increasing with every passing day.
I think the crime has always persisted more or less* at the same level (% of victims/total population) for human civilisation generally. Pre-civilisation, by the anthropogenic studies of Amazonian tribes etc, it (along with violence in general) was much higher. Comparing from civilisation/society to another one shows difference levels too (but the research is ongoing and somewhat stalled in todays PC culture though)...but within one (society)...whatever the society/civ... more or less the levels persist the same rate even in long time spans.
What we are seeing today is confluence of mass media (incl social media) and more shock value reporting of the instances (which I do welcome if done honestly with good faith, but rarely is sadly). i.e a lot of this stuff would have been repressed decades and centuries ago....but it is not like they happened much less frequently. The observation is just more acute now compared to then...and the speed of discourse much faster too.
* There are however data to support your point its increasing now compared to before given:
a) culture itself being "shocked" at ever increasing pace due to globalisation etc (i.e social stability/norms eroding) b) Large populations of single young men (specifically in lower classes given women can marry upwards easier when they are fewer in number) due to gender selection birth control in India, China and many others. This is linked to a) but a more general civilisation "shock" due to advent of birth control tech and availability. Disgruntled young (esp poor) men who are doomed to not have a bride is a really serious demographic problem.
Both a and b are
not being researched well (with good quality empirical data), because govts generally dont want you know these structural problems that have just started to expand. Thus they deflect (when pushed) more to the more generalised conversation of "rape culture" and the typical new age feminist talking points (patriarchy etc etc).....rather than the serious studies of the underlying (and growing) problems.
We need much more open debate and open neutral and scientific study and complete rational discourse....rather than accept and submit to the current and "neat" controlled channels which is really the agenda of the mass media on cue from the govts and elitists....because this topic is not a simple one to explain in just one or two twitter hashtags.
