Context

• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in collaboration with the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Chair, Department of Sociology, University of Lucknow, successfully organised a National Symposium on ‘Women’s Safety at Work and Public Spaces.

About the Symposium Recommendations

• There needs to be a concerted and targeted effort to address the issue of women’s safety on all three fronts of policy-making, implementation and raising awareness.
• There is a need for inclusion of the informal sector in conversations about women’s safety and the need for targeted awareness campaigns especially in the informal sector.
• There is a need for sensitisation at the individual and family level so that there is a transformation of attitudes towards women’s safety at work and in public spaces.
• It is recommended that the state ensure creation of inclusionary spaces for women, especially in decision-making bodies, so that structural transformations can be brought about.
• It is recommended that educational institutions take proactive steps to ensure that students are made sensitive to various gender-related issues, as well as aware of how to conduct themselves in situations involving the opposite sex.

Women Safety in India: A Pressing issue

• There is still a problem concerning the harassment of women in India even after so many measures put in place across the years. 
• The ghastly acts of crime on women which has occurred recently like the gang rape and murder of a young doctor in Kolkata has reasserted the need for gender safety. 
• Nevertheless, various laws and growing awareness, there are horrific examples of violent crimes against women: domestic violence, sexual assault, and offences related to dowry. India has carried out several law reforms in a bid to try and curb crimes that target women. 
• Thus, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 was a significant step in increasing severity of punishment for the rape and reform in the sentencing standards that regulate sexual crime.

Issues Related to Women Safety

• Physical Assault: Physical violence such as, domestic violence, sexual assault, assaults involving throwing acid at people continue to unfold.
• Harassment: The second manifestation of gendered innovation is related to marches and perception of women as objects, objectification through street harassment, stalking and unwanted attention in public spaces.
• Dowry-Related Violence: It exposes married women to harassment, abuse and is a major cause of killings related to dowry known as dowry deaths.

Limited Mobility and Freedom

• Social Norms: Patriarchal norms minimize women’s opportunities for movement particularly in the rural settings. They’ve written “for their hearts and their minds” they cannot roam as they are afraid of being judged and/or persecuted.
• Safety Concerns: Panic of being harassed or even attacked puts women in a dilemma of not being able to move around especially at night alone.
• Education Gap: However, there are still deep-rooted problems in the field of education and minorities are mostly affected. The girls are still constrained by factors that hinder them from going to school.
• Workforce Participation: India ranks lowly among the nations in terms of employment of women in the labour force.

Lack of Safe Public Spaces

• Poorly Lit Areas: Lack of proper lighting in the streets increases risk factors particularly when it is in the evening.
• Inadequate Public Transport: Public transport such as buses, trains and the metro are also a danger to woman passengers.
• Lack of Clean and Safe Toilets: There is still no ready provision for Safe Public Toilets especially being women.

Healthcare Disparities

• Maternal Health: This is so because; there remain high maternal mortality rates attributed to poor health care, particularly during pregnancy and childbirth.
• Access to Reproductive Health Services: Lack of use of FP/RH services has consequences on women’s health.

Steps by Government to overcome these Issues

• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save the Daughter, Educate the Daughter:these campaigns were initiated by the government of India and form part of its on-going fight against all forms of gender discrimination, especially as regards education for girls. It highlights the need of providing support to girl child from the time they are young.
• Ujjawala Scheme:this scheme launched in the year 2007 to put a stop on the trafficking and exploitation of women. These are a social reintegration and source of livelihood for women who have been trafficked. In indirect manner, by overcoming the risks, it supports the protection of women.
• NIRBHAYA Fund:Created after the Nirbhaya gang rape case of 2012, it funds programmes towards improving the physical security of women. Among others, it supports the establishment of crisis centres, the development of forensic services, and increased police work.
• Ministry of Women and Child Development Initiatives: these are programs to deal with the security of women. These Programs aim to create awareness campaigns and provide legal assistance to victims facing violence. These endeavours are meant to ensure that women’s security is enhanced.
• Safety Measures in Public Transport:182 Helpline a toll free number for women travellers who face any sort of discomfort during travelling by trains.CCTV Surveillance with use of security cameras in railway stations and compartments.‘R-Mitra’ App a mobile application that will provide women with a button, in case there is a need for them to contact some authority during train travel.
• Safety for Women Tourists:Incredible India Help Linea helpline number provided for women tourists if they are in any problem.
• Safety Measures in Metro Systems:
  • Women-Only Coaches: Women too have the problem of harassment in public transport, thus in Metro trains there is a reserved compartments to ensure their safety.
  • Reserved Seats: Accommodations for women passengers so as to provide for their comfort and convenience to reduce cases of abuse and harassment.

What More Can be Done to enhance security of Women

• Promote Respect and Equality: Armed with this guide, teach boys and young men on how they can respect all women. Promote the sense of justice and sense of acceptance.
• Be an Active Bystander: If you see any aggression or bullying, either in its crudest form or in its subtlest of manifestations, then you need to act safely. The long struggle for women’s rights led to creating a tool to fight and report sexual harassment. Be with women through this process of harassment or assault.
• Educate people: teach about the concept of consent, as well as healthy and unhealthy relationships. This knowledge should be shared.
• Challenge Gender Norms and Roles: men can engage themselves in cleaning activities, taking care of children or even caring for the elderly. This is very effective in eliminating stereotyping of gender roles in the society. Promote women’s right in decision making at home as well as in other social aspects.
• Promote Safe Workplaces: If you are in the management or a committee charged with organizational affairs provide for women safety at the workplace. Encourage those policies which protect the employees against workplace harassment and discrimination.
• Advocate for Legal Reforms: Encourage and call for proper enforcement of laws as much as they protect the women. It will help in legal awareness and enable people to report cases hence reducing cases of criminal activities.