Women Safety in India – Challenges & Impact – Explained Pointwise

“The day a woman can walk freely on the roads at night, that day we can say that India has achieved independence“- Mahatma Gandhi

Despite advancements in technology and urbanization, women in India continue to face violence and discrimination. It is deeply distressing that nearly 88 rape cases are reported daily in the country, with many more likely going unreported. Our rich cultural heritage and value system have failed to protect the very individuals who are the foundation of society.

What are the safety issues faced by women in India? What are the data regarding women safety in India?

• Women in India face safety challenges across public spaces, workplaces, homes, digital platforms and transportation. Major issues include:
  1. Gender-based violence: Crimes such as rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking and harassment remain major concerns.
  2. Domestic violence: Violence within households, including physical, sexual, emotional and economic abuse, can remain underreported due to social stigma and dependence.
  3. Sexual harassment in public spaces: Women may face harassment in streets, markets, educational institutions, workplaces and other public places.
  4. Unsafe public transport: Crowding, inadequate surveillance, poorly lit stations and insufficient last-mile connectivity can increase women’s vulnerability.
  5. Cyber harassment: Women increasingly face cyberstalking, online abuse, impersonation, image-based abuse, doxxing and threats on social media.

     

NCRB Report 2023 Data related to crime against women:

• Women’s Safety Indices: According to the Women, Peace, and Security Index 2023, India ranks 128th out of 177 countries. The index score for India is 0.58, which places it in the fourth quin tile for women’s safety.
• National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5): As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), around 30% of women in India between 15-49 years of age have experienced physical, sexual or domestic violence. The prevalence was around 31% in rural areas compared with 25% in urban areas. 

What are the reasons behind lack of women safety in India?

1. Prevalence of patriarchy: There is deeply entrenched patriarchal culture in India. This perpetuates the belief in male superiority and normalizes violence against women. For e.g. Prevalence of ‘Ladka hai Galti ho jaati hai mindset‘ in India.
2. Objectification of Women: The degenerated portrayal of women in media and entertainment reduces them to objects. This objectification often leads to increased instances of harassment and violence. For e.g. Increased objectification of sexuality in movies.
3. Cultural Stigma: Cultural stigmas regarding sexual violence and harassment, leads to underreporting of crimes, many women fear societal backlash on account of reporting of harassment issues. For e.g. Brushing off the child molestation issues under the carpet.
4. Victim-Blaming: Victims often face social judgment and victim-blaming rather than support. Questions about their clothing, choice of friends, time of outing, use of public spaces or lifestyle choices can shift attention from the perpetrator’s responsibility to the victim’s behaviour.
5. Economic Dependency: Feminization of poverty and high economic dependency on male family members, exacerbate the vulnerability of women. The lack of financial independence, makes it difficult for them to escape domestic abuses. For e.g. Increase in cases of domestic violence against housewives.
6. Lack of Awareness and Education: Many women in India are unaware of the legal protections available for women, such as the Domestic Violence Act, Sexual Harassment Act. This leads to a culture of violence and abuse against women.
7. Inadequate safety in public places: Inadequacies in public infrastructure, such as poorly lit streets, lack of safe transportation options, lack of CCTVs, increase vulnerability of women to crime. For e.g. Nirbhaya Rape in a public transportation and Kolkata rape in a public hospital highlights the lack of public safe spaces for women.
8. Weak implementation of laws: India has a comprehensive legal framework to protect women, including laws addressing domestic violence, sexual harassment at workplaces, sexual offences, child sexual abuse and trafficking. However, gaps in police response, investigation, prosecution, victim support and institutional compliance can reduce their deterrent effect.
9. Digital technology and cybercrime: The rapid expansion of smartphones, social media, digital payments and online communication has created new dimensions of safety risks for women. While digital technology has improved women’s access to education, employment and public services, it has also enabled perpetrators to harass, threaten and exploit women remotely and anonymously. For e.g. Cyberstalking & online harassment faced by women.

What initiatives have been taken by the Government to prevent crimes against women?

Legal Protection:

Central Government Initiatives:

1. Establishment of Nirbhaya Fund: A dedicated, non-lapsable fund was created to finance projects aimed specifically at women’s safety and security. It supports initiatives such as ERSS-112, Safe City projects, Women Help Desks, Anti-Human Trafficking Units, forensic facilities and Fast Track Special Courts.
2. Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112): The nationwide 112 emergency number provides a single point for emergency assistance. It integrates police, fire, health and other emergency services and accepts distress requests through multiple channels.
3. Women Helpline 181 (WHL): A toll-free helpline integrated directly with ERSS-112 across states to offer emergency intervention, counseling, and referral services.
4. Safe City Projects: Safe City projects use CCTV surveillance, crime-hotspot mapping, command-and-control centres, improved street lighting, women police patrols, panic buttons and safer public infrastructure. Projects have been approved for eight cities: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai.
5. Mission Shakti: Mission Shakti is the umbrella programme for women’s safety, security and empowerment. Its Sambal component covers One Stop Centres, Women Helplines, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Nari Adalats.
6. Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offenses: MHA has launched it to monitor and track time-bound investigation in sexual assault cases in accordance with Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018.
7. National Database on Sexual Offenders: MHA has launched it to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement agencies. NDSO has data of over 5 lakh sexual offenders.
8. National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: The portal provides an online mechanism for reporting cybercrime, with a specific facility for crimes against women and children. It also permits anonymous reporting for specified categories of sexually explicit content.
9. Establishment of One stop centers: Scheme of One Stop Centers has been launched to provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence.
10. Scheme for Universalization of Women Helpline: It has been launched to provide 24 hours emergency and non-emergency response to women impacted by violence.

State Government and other Initiatives:

1. Mission Shakti: It has been launched by the UP government to make improvements to women’s safety, and reduce the consequent violence and exploitation faced by them.
2. Police pink booths: Launched by the Delhi government, these booths are dedicated to addressing the grievances of women passersby.
3. Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Act: The Maharashtra Assembly passed the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Act to approve death penalty for heinous offences of rape and gangrape.
4. Meri Saheli Intiative: Launched by the Railway Protection force, this initiative ensures security of lady passengers that are traveling by train by a dedicated Mahila officers team.
5. Online Movements and campaigns:  #CallItOut because #ItsNotOK campaign, #MeToo movement, have been launched to facilitate knowledge transfer and coordinate efforts towards the prevention of harassment against women.

What are the challenges in ensuring safety of women despite the legal and policy initiatives?

1. Under-reporting of crimes: Social stigma, victim-blaming, fear of retaliation and family pressure may discourage women from reporting violence, particularly domestic and sexual violence. 
2. Under-Representation of Female Officers: Women make up less than 12% of the total police force in India, limiting the availability of gender-sensitive personnel at entry points.
3. Delayed Justice: The inefficiencies of the justice system, such as prolonged legal processes and lenient punishments for sexual offenders, undermines public confidence in law enforcement.
4. Laxity in conviction procedure: 39% of officers believe complaints of gender-based violence are baseless. Prevalent culture of prompt registration of FIRs, lack of time-bound investigations and ineffective collection of forensic evidence in sexual assault cases, lead to inordinate delays in conviction of sexual harassment cases.
5. Implementation Gap: SC has called out the ‘authorities/management/employers‘ for failing to ensure a “safe and secure work place” for women. It has been observed that the implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, Redressal) Act, 2013, has been half-hearted.
6. Ineffective utilisation of public funds: Even though the budgetary allocation of the Nirbhaya Fund has increased by 100% between 2013 to 2022, less than half of the allocation to the fund has been used.
7. Challenges in cybercrime enforcement: Cyberstalking, online harassment, impersonation, deepfakes and image-based abuse can spread rapidly, while identifying perpetrators and preserving digital evidence can be difficult.
8. Rural and regional disparities: Access to police stations, courts, forensic facilities, helplines, shelters and counselling services is not uniform across the country.

What are the implications of prevailing attitudes and crimes against women?

1. Restriction of women’s freedom and mobility: Fear of sexual harassment, assault, stalking and other forms of violence can significantly restrict women’s freedom to move and participate in public spaces. Over time, such restrictions can reduce women’s access to education, employment, healthcare, political participation and social opportunities.
2. Dissuades women from entering the workforce: Concerns about workplace harassment, unsafe transportation and commuting can discourage women from entering or remaining in paid employment, resulting in underutilisation of India’s female workforce. At the macro level, exclusion of women from economic activity limits India’s growth potential. 
3. The “Pink Tax” on Safety: Women spend significantly more money than men on safer transport options for e.g. opting for auto-rickshaws or cabs over cheaper public buses and trains, or renting apartments in expensive, gated localities purely for security.
4. Impact on education: Families may restrict girls from travelling alone, attending institutions located far from home or participating in activities outside regular hours due to safety concerns. These concerns can contribute to absenteeism, early discontinuation of education and reduced participation in higher education.
5. Reinforcement of patriarchal norms: Prevailing attitudes towards crimes against women can reinforce patriarchal norms by placing greater emphasis on regulating women’s behaviour than on holding perpetrators accountable. Such attitudes normalise restrictions on women’s freedom, reinforce traditional gender roles and weaken women’s agency.
6. Physical and Mental Health Consequences: Victims of sexual violence experience severe physical injuries, which can lead to long-term health issues such as chronic pain, reproductive health problems, and increased susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV.
7. Impact on Families and Children: Children who witness violence against their mothers often face the risk of developing emotional and behavioral problems. They may also become victims of abuse themselves, perpetuating a cycle of violence across generations.
8. Digital exclusion: Cyberstalking, online abuse and threats can cause women to withdraw from social-media and digital platforms, limiting their access to education, networking, entrepreneurship and public expression.
9. Challenge to India’s development goals: Persistent insecurity undermines gender equality, women’s economic empowerment and inclusive development, making women’s safety an important component of India’s demographic and economic dividend.

What Should be the Way Forward?

1. Ensure effective implementation of laws: India has a comprehensive legal framework to protect women, but effective implementation is essential for converting legal rights into actual safety. The focus should be on strengthening the entire justice chain – from reporting and investigation to prosecution, trial and victim support.
2. Police reforms: There should gender focused recruitment and training in police. Rapidly scale up female recruitment to meet the recommended target of at least 33% female representation across all ranks in state police forces.
3. Judicial reforms: There should be establishment of Fast track courts and enhanced punishment in grave cases like rape, as recommended by Justice Verma Committee. Further, the women representation in judiciary must be enhanced.
4. Training and capacity building: Manpower training and skill building programs for Investigation Officers, Prosecution Officers and Medical Officers must be stepped up. Gender-sensitive training and monitoring in criminal law procedures must be promoted to ensure that staff handle cases with a trauma-informed approach.
5. Make public spaces safer: Public safety should be integrated into urban planning, transport systems and local governance rather than relying only on policing after an incident occurs. Authorities should conduct regular gender-sensitive safety audits to identify poorly lit streets, isolated areas and crime hotspots.
6. Establishment of Rape Crisis Centres: Rape Crisis Centres like in countries like Australia, Canada, America, United Kingdom, etc, can be set up in India. These centres can provide the rape victims with medical help, counselling, and financial help by way of providing job opportunities etc.
7. Sensitivity on part of Media: The media must be sensitive to the plight of the rape victim and must not highlight the name or any inference leading to the identification of the victim. The media must highlight those cases where the offender has been convicted, as it will infuse the feeling of deterrence among the people.
8. Promote gender sensitisation from an early age: Gender sensitisation should begin in schools and families, where attitudes towards gender roles are formed. Children should be taught gender equality, mutual respect, consent, personal boundaries and dignity, along with the rejection of stereotypes that portray women as subordinate or responsible for preventing their own victimisation.

Conclusion: India needs to bridge the gap between laws and their implementation while transforming patriarchal attitudes, strengthening institutions and creating safer physical and digital spaces. A whole-of-society approach involving government, families, educational institutions, communities and citizens can help ensure that women can exercise their rights, mobility and opportunities with dignity and security.