By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: A recent research by UK-based advocacy group ActionAid has once again highlighted the grim situation of women’s security, with a study that has revealed that 79% women in India had reported harassment and abuse.
The survey conducted by multinational advocacy group in four countries – United Kingdom, Thailand, Brazil and India – has found that nine per cent of city women have “experienced” rape in India besides 21 per cent of women complaining that they faced “another form of physical sexual assault”.
The situation is the worst in North India, where according to the survey, 89 per cent of women said they had experienced harassment of some sort, with 50 per cent experiencing unwanted bodily or physical contact of a sexual nature.
The report also reveals that 43 per cent of women in India have experienced ‘insult/calling names’ and 44 per cent of women having experienced “wolf whistling” also, 38 per cent of experienced sexual comments.
The research has found that three in four women have been subjected to harassment and violence in cities across the world.
“A third of all women and girls experience violence in their lifetime – often on the streets of cities and towns. Every day women and girls face violence, intimidation and sexual harassment on their way to school, work or hospital. Women living in developing countries are even at risk when accessing vital public services, such as communal toilets, water points or public transport,” reads the ActionAid Research Report.
The report was launched ahead of the charity’s International Safe Cities for Women Day, in a bid to tackle the urban violence that women and girls struggle with globally.
Describing the situation as an “epidemic”, the advocacy group said, “the constant threat or experience of violence prevents women and girls from moving freely about their cities. This can mean sacrificing educational and work opportunities, as well as leisure and community activities, including participating in decision-making about their urban environment.In this way, women and girls are prevented from enjoying their full range of human rights, including their ‘right to the city’.Women from poor communities are at greater risk, often facing additional discrimination based on their caste, age, occupation, migrant status or sexual orientation.”
The figures came to light after ActionAid conducted a YouGov poll and surveyed 2,500 women aged 16 and over in major cities across India, Brazil, Thailand and the UK.
Report here: safe_cities_for_women_may_2016.pdf