79% of Indian women in India have faced public harassment: UK-aided study

The reputation of the Indian sub-continent when it comes to the safety of women, is not one to be boasting of. But according to a ActionAid UK report released on Friday on occasion of the International Safe Cities for Women Day, the situation is abysmal, to say the least. The study has found out that 79% of Indian women have, at any point of time in their life, faced public harassment. That amounts to nearly 4 out of 5 women in India. Another astonishing fact that came out during the report study was that nearly 39% of the Indian women have been groped or touched in public. India is third among four countries surveyed which includes UK, Thailand and Brazil. The YouGov poll, which surveyed 2,500 women aged 16 and over in major cities across India, Brazil, Thailand and the UK, found that in India 84% of the women who experienced harassment were in the age group of 25-35 years, 82% of them were full time workers and 68% students. & quot Shockingly, 89% of women in Brazil, 86% in Thailand and 75% in the UK have faced harassment or violence on the streets. The research highlighted that across the four countries, women in the lowest social economic groups most likely to experience violence or harassment in cities,'' the report said. Over a third of women (39%) in India have been groped or touched in public, compared with 41% of women in Brazil, 44% in Thailand and 23% in the UK. The research found that more women in the UK (43%), Brazil (70%) and Thailand (62%) felt at risk on the streets, whereas in India women felt more at risk on public transport (65%). ActionAid India director (programmes and policy) Sehjo Singh said, & quot The fear of harassment and violence has a crippling effect on women's abilities, and in itself it is an attack on women's rights.& quot

OUR TAKE

It does not really require an international study to confirm the state of being the Indian women are in at this point of tie. We all know that the situation is dismal and it brings shame to each and every one of us. But what is important is that we take steps to improve upon the current situation. Public awareness is all well and good, but more than that, we should be doing something about the ones who are behind these hideous crimes. Because of them, India has lost its prime position in the eyes of the international community.