At least 92 percent of working women
feel insecure, especially during night, in Delhi-National Capital Region
(NCR), industry panel Assocham said here Tuesday.
The assessment based on feedback
received from women says that 92 percent females working with medium and
small scale firms are extremely worried and concerned as regards to
their outside moments.
According to the survey by Assocham
Social Development Foundation, 56 percent of such workforce in the
medium sector is quite apprehensive about their safety and security,
particularly after sunset.
The same fear of security lapses is felt
by about 36 percent working women engaged in large scale
establishments. Assocham has conducted a random survey of women in
Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and
Dehradun, among others.
All women respondents very strongly felt
that the problem of insecurity faced by women is bigger than any other
problem or challenge faced by India.
Releasing the assessment, Assocham
secretary general D.S. Rawat said that in sector-specific cases -- BPOs,
travel and tourism, and nursing homes -- women employees are the most
vulnerable and prone to both physical and non-physical attacks,
especially after their duty hours are over.
In nursing homes including hospitals, 83
percent women continue to suffer from insecurity. Delhi topped the list
with 92 percent of women respondents complaining that they feel unsafe.
Eighty-five percent of women in
Bangalore, 82 percent in Kolkata, and 18 percent in Hyderabad have
reported feeling unsafe while working in day and night shifts. Airlines,
hotels and service industries have large contingents of female workers.
The media also have late night shifts, said Rawat.
The survey further highlights that two
in every three women in the national capital have faced some form of
sexual harassment in the last year two years. Delhi women face
continuous and different forms of sexual harassment in crowded and
secluded places, says Rawat.
Majority of women who were surveyed said
buses were the most unsafe form of transport. Many said the Metro
system, which used to be safer earlier, is now equally crowded and
unsafe.
The survey reveals the most common forms
of harassment are "verbal (passing lewd comments), visual (staring and
leering) and physical (touching or groping or leaning over)", adds the
survey.
Around 92 percent of women respondents
very strongly feel that any crime against women should be a non-bailable
offence with severe punishment in fast-track courts.
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