Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 5.1
Women's safety in Delhi - realizing the Right to the City
In December 2005, the NGO Jagori (the term means 'awaken women') conducted
its first stakeholder consultation on the issue, involving the police, residents'
associations, Delhi government, urban planners and various vulnerable groups.
Clearly, while all categories of women (as defined by age, socio-economic status,
and profession) faced problems of sexual harassment in public spaces, some were
more vulnerable than others. In the Focus Group Discussions, women from lower
socio-economic backgrounds - domestic workers, hawkers, homeless women and
other women working in the informal sector - emerged as being acutely vulnerable
as regular users of public space. The homeless women shared horror stories of how
they and their children faced harassment from multiple quarters, at any time of the
day or night. Students from north-eastern states reported facing discrimination due
to different physical features, and misguided perceptions about their nature and
character. School and college-going students were regular victims of stalking but
hesitated to confront the perpetrator due to lack of confidence, or even to report the
incidents at home, for fear of being stopped from pursuing their education. Women
working during night hours stated that taking public transport was not an option at
all; in fact, they don't feel safe in their BPO taxis or even in their own cars. Visually
disabled women noted that the lack of maintenance of public spaces was a huge
impediment to their mobility, and reported being harassed on the pretext of providing
help.
Key infrastructure recommendations to improve women's safety include:
•
good or at least adequate street lighting;
•
proper maintenance of public spaces;
•
clean, safe and adequate toilets for both men and women - male public toilets
should be redesigned so that they don't open out on the street;
•
well-designed bus stops with voice announcements;
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Women
Men
Common witnesses
No concerns
Sexual
harassment
Sexual assault/
rape
Violent
attack
Robbery
Murder
Figure 5.1
Main concerns regarding women's safety in public places in Delhi, India
Source: adapted from Suri (2010: 7).
