Opinion Indore sexual harassment incident shows again how the system keeps failing women in India

The sad reality is that even in this amrit kaal, we have not been able to secure a safe and healthy environment for our girls and women. It is one of the main factors impeding our progress. Had we made public spaces secure, there would have been more women in schools, colleges and work places, contributing to their own development and that of society. A 2018 World Bank report noted that India’s GDP growth would rise by 1.5 per cent if there is gender parity.

But to increase women’s participation in the workforce, we need safety, not least because that is the priority for Indian families. Despite being skilled and willing, very few girls and women venture out for the third work shift. Neither are public roads safe, as exposed by the above incident, nor are there enough hostels or safe homes for women even if they wish to earn or contribute to the family. Poorly lit roads and alleys also become cause for a heightened sense of insecurity. These symbolise the failure of local governments, municipal corporations, municipalities and panchayats. Infested with corruption, they have failed to provide pothole-free and well-lit roads for citizens, and women are the first victims of this. The harassment girls and women face at bus stops and in local buses is so common and unchecked that they prefer to change their route instead of lodging complaints with the appropriate authority.

Lodging a police complaint, especially as a woman, continues to be a difficult proposition. Having more women in police stations has helped to some extent. A study by The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) was conducted about “Women Help Desks” constituted by the Madhya Pradesh police. The researchers reported that officers in police stations with these desks “were more likely to register cases of violence against women, particularly when help desks were run by female officers”. But their broader attitudes on gender did not appear to shift. Citizens’ attitudes towards the police, and the rates at which women approached the police also did not shift. Thus, we have to go beyond securing the presence of women in uniform and further sensitise police stations.

The fear of revenge by local perpetrators too discourages victims from lodging FIRs. In case the victim and her family muster up the courage to file a report, the case comes up for trial after three to four years. The long wait is a mental agony for the victim and her family. The courts are clogged with more than five crore cases. States and the Centre are not willing to improve the judge-civilian ratio to the recommended 50 per million of population. Citizens therefore have lost faith in the judicial system. As per the figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in ‘Crime in India 2023’ under the head “Insult to the Modesty of Women”, while 4,847 cases have been disposed of during the year, a huge number of 50,157 cases (91.2 per cent) are still pending in various courts. The conviction rate in such cases is abysmal 20.9 per cent. There is no doubt that the failed judicial system has emboldened both the corrupt and the criminal. In this scenario, why would girls and their families report the harassment they face every day? Is it any surprise then that most families in India adopt the “suffer the shame in silence and don’t lodge a complaint” policy? Maybe we should have informed the foreign cricketers of this widely prevalent rule too.

Well-lit roads, safe and secure public transport, adequate working girls’/women’s hostels and immediate trials are some of the measures that can save India from the international ignominy that the latest incident has brought on us.

The writer, IPS (R), was the commissioner of police, Pune