India
- Delhi - Safe City Free of Violence
Against Women and Girls Initiative:
A Collaboration of
Delhi Government, UNIFEM, JAGORI & UN HABITAT
Women in the national capital of Delhi
feel unsafe in many public spaces, and at all times of the day and night.
Cutting across class, profession, they face continuous and different forms of
sexual harassment in crowded as well as secluded places, including public
transport, cars, markets, roads, public toilets and parks. School and college
students are most vulnerable to harassment, particularly rampant in public
transport, particularly buses.
To address the issue, a joint action research
initiative was undertaken by the Department of Women and Child Development,
Government of Delhi, JAGORI, UNIFEM South Asia Regional Office and UN Habitat.
Titled Safe City Free of Violence for
Women and Girls, this baseline survey is based on a sample of 5010 women
and men, undertaken during the period January - March 2010 by New Concept
Information Systems, New Delhi and
JAGORI to identify factors that create greater safety and inclusion for women
in public spaces around the city.
The survey gathered and analyzed information
about the nature and forms of gender-based violence and/or harassment faced by
women, role of governing agencies and the police in safeguarding women’s
rights, and societal perceptions and attitudes to sexual harassment.
Survey methodology
The study used purposive sampling methods to
collect information from respondents belonging to diverse occupational categories
spread across public places such as bus stops, markets and shopping malls in
all nine districts of Delhi. The
survey covered a total of 23 areas and 50 interview sites. The total sample of
5,010 included 3,816 women, 944 men and 250 common witnesses (see below). Men
and women above 16 years of age were part of the sample group.
In the report, the term ‘common witness’
refers to men and women who, by virtue of being located physically closer to
public places, have a high probability of witnessing acts of sexual harassment
on women, like bus conductors, shopkeepers, auto drivers, etc. Each of the
respondent categories was further divided into groups, broadly based on their
occupation and nature of work, such as senior and mid-level workers, factory
workers, home makers, students and others.
The study is unique in eliciting the
perception and experience of men regarding the issue. Men felt very strongly that women are unsafe
in the city and reported witnessing incidents in all parts of the city.
Major
highlights
- Women of all classes have to
contend with harassment as part of their daily lives. School and college students in
the 15-19 age-group and women workers in the unorganized sectors
are particularly vulnerable.
- Harassment occurs during day
and night and in all kinds of public spaces, both secluded and crowded.
- Public transport, buses and
roadsides are reported as spaces where
women and girls face high levels of sexual harassment.
- The most common form of
harassment reported is verbal (passing comments) and visual (staring and
leering) and physical (touching/groping, leaning over etc.) This view was
shared by women, men and ‘common witnesses’.
- Almost two out of every three women reported facing incidents of
sexual harassment between 2-5 times in the past year.
- Three out of every five women reported
facing sexual harassment not only after dark but through the day time as
well.
- Higher proportion of men and ‘common
witnesses’ – that is almost nine out of every 10 respondents – have
witnessed incidents of sexual harassment of women after dark and during
the day time.
-
- Poor infrastructure (including poor or absent streetlights), unusable
pavements, lack of public toilets, open usage of drugs and alcohol are
major reasons behind the lack of safety.
- The burden of ensuring safety
remains upon women. They try
to ensure their own safety by not visiting certain places, staying indoors
after dark, maintaining a dress code, and carrying pepper spray and safety
pins etc.
- A high percentage of women,
around 68 % dealt with harassment in some way ; such as: confronting the
perpetrator, seeking help from family and friends.
Strategic
Framework
The findings of the
survey and its recommendations, and stakeholder dialogues are part of the
Strategic Framework that will guide interventions to make Delhi
a safer city for women, especially those from vulnerable groups. A large number
of stakeholders have been consulted in the process of preparation of the
strategic framework to date, and many more are planned. This includes the
Departments of Education and Transport of the Government of Delhi, DTC, the
Bhagidari cell, DDA (UTTIPEC) and the Delhi Police. In addition, civil society
organizations involved in education and gender issues, men’s groups, legal and
human rights groups, and other urban organizations have also been consulted.
The outcome of the
study is expected to feed into further dialogue and planning for improved
gender-sensitive infrastructure, mechanisms and programming.
The key areas of the
strategic framework include:
- Urban planning and design of
public spaces: While urban planning and design
interventions can help in developing women-friendly spaces, better
maintenance of infrastructure can improve women’s mobility, access and
perception of safety, as well as deter perpetrators.
- Provision and maintenance of
public infrastructure and services: this includes effective lighting and
walk-able pavements, accessible to all including the aged and the
disabled.
· Public transport (including modes of transportation as well as waiting
areas) can be improved through design, installation of CCTV cameras, increased
monitoring and wiith safety measures such as helplines for passengers, immediate
response by the crew and a system in cases of distress and support within the
buses. Training of transport crew to respond and support
victims is essential. JAGORI has undertaken training of more than 3600 DTC crew
in 2007 and recently of 50 DTC Instructors, with the aim of reaching out
extensively to thousands of the DTC staff.
- Civic awareness and educational campaigns
can help in building an understanding of women’s safety concerns. Special
focus on the youth and students is needed.
- Improving trust in the police and effective gender sensitive responses to calls for
assistance and support.
- Effective implementation of Legislations and speedy access to justice and support
to victims/survivors.