Delhi neither safe nor secure for women

In a joint survey on women's safety released last week, state minister of women and child development Kiran Walia suggested among other things, the use of CCTV cameras in buses to curtail the menace of harassment in public spaces

Nikita Katyal, Shephali Subhi and Srishti Kamal Delhi

In a women's safety survey conducted from January to March 2010, 3,816 women, 944 men and 250 common witnesses (to harassment), above the age of 16 years were interviewed in public places across nine districts of Delhi. The survey was conducted to ascertain the nature and incidence of Violence Against Women (VAW) that is generally accepted as a 'normal' part of city life. 

The 'Safe Cities Baseline Survey' was conducted by Jagori and New Concept in partnership with Delhi government, UNIFEM and UN HABITAT.  Some findings from the study reveal high incidence of VAW, which could take the form of verbal harassment, staring, touching, sexual harassment or assault, stalking, making lewd comments etc. Maximum insecurity and harassment was experienced by women on roads and in public transport, waiting at bus stops, stations and at market places according to 85 per cent women, 87 per cent men and 93 per cent witnesses to the harassment.

Most interviewees say that crowded places and presence of persons under influence of alcohol or drugs makes women feel most unsafe. Lack of proper toilets in public spaces or reliable policemen in case of emergency also add to women's anxiety while on the move. There is also a fear that police might trivialise the issue so a large number of women don't prefer to approach them anyway, almost 99 per cent of them! But the good news is that roughly 65 per cent women have confronted the perpetrator directly or have told their family about the harassment.

All three categories of people interviewed overwhelmingly believe that being from this state or another, normal or differently-abled, of a certain age or of a certain religion is not a pre-requisite for VAW. Majority opinion suggests that 'being a woman' is the most important criterion for sexual harassment to occur, over and above everything else.  

Interestingly, a large number of men and common witnesses feel that harassment of women happens more at night while a large number of women say that day time is when maximum harassment occurred in their experience. In a nutshell, the sense of feeling vulnerable on roads of Delhi is high, whether in daylight or at night.

In terms of dealing with this feeling of insecurity faced by women in Delhi, Kalpana Viswanathan from Jagori feels that since in this context harassment is taking place in public places, so the participation of bystanders when it occurs also become vital. "Yes, the role of police is important too but women themselves and people who witness harassment need to step in at the right time," she told Hardnews. 

"Also, institutional mechanisms to deal with sexual harassment  should be put in place like within the DTC, Metros, market associations, schools and so on," she opined.

"Harassment is high in buses so we have just completed a 3-day training of trainers from DTC so that they are equipped to subsequently train and sensitise drivers, conductors and bus depot managers with regard to sexual harassment. Minister Kiran Walia has suggested and also endorsed our demand for CCTV cameras in buses," she added. Walia released findings of the survey at a press conference held at Delhi Secretariat on July 8, 2010.

In another safety audit done recently by Jagori, Gender Inclusive Cities project and UN Trust Fund in Delhi University's North campus area, one in two girls said they faced sexual harassment and for a majority of them, the incident occurred in broad daylight.