give people an idea of what kind of harassment they are
likely to expect in a particular neighbourhood. For e.g.
our data for Delhi shows that in Connaught Place the
dominant issue is touching and groping, but in Rohini it
is chain snatching. The solutions for both are going to be
different. Also if one were to use the metro line, instead
of alighting at the Nehru Place metro station which is
crowded and prone to sexual harassment like touching/
groping, it might be a better idea to alight at Kailash
Colony which is relatively incident free.
Therefore transparency in accessing data in my
opinion is the first step towards being situationally
aware regarding your own safety.
Apart from that you can use the data to hold
institutions accountable. For eg. in Lal Kuan, Delhi, our
data identified a hotspot where women were getting
assaulted because of lack of access to toilets. But there
were community toilets except they were under lock
and key as someone didn’t want to clean and maintain
them. However armed with the data and pressure from
the media, the authorities could hardly ignore the issue
and now they have opened up the toilets and maintain
and clean them. In this manner, we have done safety
sprawls in Mumbai and Delhi where we have pressured
municipal authorities to fix street lighting. In Mumbai,
we presented data to the police along with another
NGO and citizen group and the police changed their
beat patrol timings. In Kathmandu with a partner NGO
they were able to prove that women needed better
transportation options as they were being assaulted in
crowded buses. They were able to obtain women only
bus licences.
Data is powerful and cannot be ignored and it
can be used successfully to hold institutional bodies
accountable.
WHO ALL ARE YOUR BUSINESS PARTNERS IN THIS
VENTURE
We were three women who cofounded Safecity though
I have been full time on this effort. Our two other
cofounders have full time jobs and provide support from
outside. Our director, Supreet Singh and is very involved
in our work.
Apart from that we work with several other NGOs, the
police in Mumbai, Delhi and Goa, Mumbai University
NSS division, student groups, volunteers and corporates.
WHERE DO YOU SEE SAFECITY 5 YEARS FROM NOW?
I would love to see us redundant, as our aim is to
make public spaces safer for all. I would like to see
this achieved. But realistically speaking, i would like
more citizens to be actively involved in neighbourhood
community action and more women reporting sexual
violence without fear to their own safety. I would also
like the police to be more sensitive, proactive and
involved in women’s safety.
HOW MUCH IS SOCIAL MEDIA SENSITIVE TOWARDS
WOMEN SAFETY? HOW FAR IT HAS CONTRIBUTED
TO THE SAME.
Social media can be leveraged to create awareness and
advocacy. We use it a lot on Facebook and twitter.
However there are a lot of trolls who are very insensitive
towards people often insulting and shaming them. But I
like to look at the brighter side of it where social media
gives us the platform to reach thousands of people we
would not otherwise have been able to.
editor@wcrcleaders.com
Up Till October 15, 2015
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