The safety of women in Indian cities has been a pertinent issue as violence has become a recurrent phenomenon. The Nirbhaya gang rape in the city of Delhi in 2012 is a testament to the unsafe nature of Indian cities’ safety infrastructure. India’s nation’s ranking in the 2018 World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Gender Gap Index (GGI) was a dismal 108, same as in 2017. To make cities our ‘engines of growth’ it is important to make cities safer, more secure, and comfortable for women.

Safety Of Women In Cities Through Institutional And Infrastructural Factors

1. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has set up a new Women Safety Division’ on May 28, 2018, to strengthen measures for the safety of women in the country.
2. The Ministry of Telecom mandated a physical panic button on all mobile phones in the country in 2015. It was noted that such a panic button must be backed by an emergency response mechanism through the local police when the panic button message would alert the specified family members etc. of a woman in distress. Now a dedicated Emergency Response Centre has been established through which the entire system will be operated.
3. An online Safe City Implementation Monitoring (SCIM) portal has been developed by The Ministry of Home Affairs. The projects include the creation of ground assets & resources and mindset safety of women implemented across pre-identified 8 cities.
4. SCIM will enable online tracking of deployment of assets and infrastructure created under the Safe City projects. SCIM facilitates an evidence-based online monitoring system. SCIM also creates a digital repository of assets, infrastructure, and social outreach programs, as well as best practices achieved in each City.
5. MHA has approved a scheme to assist States and UTs for setting up of women’s help desks, of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh) per police station.
6. Measures have been taken to prevent crimes such as acid attacks such as banning over the counter sale of acid/corrosives unless the seller maintains a logbook/register recording the sale of acid which will contain the details of the person(s) to whom acid(s) is/are sold and the quantity sold.
7. The MHA is assisting the state governments in modernizing its state police forces with equipment such as CCTV cameras, radio tetra sets, etc.
8. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 was enacted for effective deterrence against sexual offences. Further, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018, was enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including the death penalty for rape of a girl below the age of 12 years.
9. Emergency Response Support System which provides a pan-India, single, internationally recognized number (112)-based system for all emergencies, with the computer-aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress.
10. The MHA has launched on September 20, 2018, National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) to facilitate the investigation of sexual offenders across the country.
11. One Stop Centre (OSC) scheme has been implemented across the country since April 1, 2015, which provides integrated services such as medical aid, police assistance, etc.
12. A dedicated DNA analysis facility is proposed to be created in the forensic science laboratories on a mission mode due to complaints of delay in cases of sexual assault investigations. Timely testing of DNA samples from the crime scene is the quickest process of obtaining forensic evidence in cases of sexual assault on women.
13. The Government of India has set up a non-lapsable corpus Nirbhaya Fund for enhancing the safety and security of women. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is also implementing Schemes including Mahila Police Volunteers‘ under Nirbhaya Fund Framework.

Women Safety Needs To Be Strategically Produced

1. Acknowledging the differential usage of space by men and women– be it public, private, or transitional to debunk the notion that what works for men will also work for women. To build a safe city, gender-sensitive city planning, implementation and enforcement go hand-in-hand.
2. The change in the mindset of people is essential for the safety of women. It is essential to inculcate the values of respecting women and encouraging support for survivors instead of stigmatising them.
3. Urban planning being a design and infrastructure prerogative – has traditionally never been associated with safety‘ in India, as it is seen as a law-and-order issue. Hence safety should be made a primary variable in urban design and planning.
4. The need of the hour is a paradigm shift – from a male-centric urban development model to a gender-inclusive one – wherein planners are involved in the process of designing an inclusive and safe city for all including women.
5. Mass awareness of laws on violence and the safety of women should be propagated. This will create social awareness and encourage bystanders to intervene in incidents involving women‘s safety issues.
6. Have functional and visible helpdesks where women can receive immediate assistance. Sensitization of police, and medical personnel for handling such delicate cases. Police stations should provide comfort to women in registering their FIR.
7. Availability and accessibility of safe public transport and other public facilities. Even modest measures like shifting a bus stop by few meters to a safer location, installing street lamps in an isolated stretch, or constructing safe, clean, and functional public toilets at regular intervals can greatly improve women‘s safety and accessibility in Indian cities.
8. There should be fast-track courts to hear the cases and they should be investigated in a timebound manner. All the complaints involving safety issues should be registered immediately unaffected by the power, and connections of the accused.

Way Forward

1. The two global frameworks adopted by the United Nations last year- Sustainable Development Goals and New Urban Agenda outlined the cities we need for our next generations.
2. The preamble to the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 states, “the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
3. Hence policy leaders of our country should recognize that creating safe cities is key to achieving many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Goal 4 on education, Goal 5 on gender equality, Goal 11 on inclusive cities, and Goal 16 on peace and justice.
4. In this scenario, the call is for collective action for bringing the desired gradual social change. It is futile to burden the government with all the responsibilities of ensuring the safety of women without engaging all the stakeholders.
5. Instead of this, the need is for taking collective action at the societal level. Hence, the safety of women is not necessarily dependent upon just the institutional and infrastructural factors, rather it is the duty of each citizen of the country to corroborate the security of women.