Differently-abled women feel no safer at public places in MP: Survey

It seems moving out to secluded or less crowded area is much safer for women, especially those with disability than visiting a busy market, street and using public transport.

Updated on: Dec 16, 2014, 22:49:37 IST

Hindustan Times | By Shruti Tomar, Bhopal

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

It seems moving out to secluded or less crowded area is much safer for women, especially those with disability than visiting a busy market, street and using public transport. This has been revealed in a survey conducted by crime against women cell of Madhya Pradesh police.

The survey suggested that women, especially with disability, experience sexual harassment more at public places and in public transport vehicles than the less-crowded areas. Remarks, obscene comments, abuses and touching with bad intention were faced by girls in crowded markets and roads.

The survey also suggested that about 40% harassment and telephonic harassment incidents were not being reported with police as the latter usually tried to solve the issue through their parents, brother or friends.

Additional director general of police (ADG) and in-charge of crime against women cell Aruna Mohan Rao said the survey was conducted to figure out the problems faced by the fairer sex and identify the unsafe areas of Bhopal and Indore so that the police could curb harassment cases.

"The incident of exploitation and assault with specially-challenged women and girls were also reported as most of time anti-social elements took undue advantage of their physical limitations," Rao said.

"To deal with this problem, we are going to organise a 10-day self defence training programme for visually impaired women so that they could fight against harassment," she said. Similar programmes for hearing and speech impaired and physically challenged women would also be conducted in the future, the ADG added.

Police would hold a meeting with superintendents of police (SP) of Bhopal and Indore to tighten security at public places and public transports.

In the survey, women also said they felt more comfortable to share their problems and harassment incidents with women police personnel as compared to males. Hence, more woman police personnel would be deployed at crowded area and busy markets.

"One positive thing that came out in the survey is that most of the women were aware about the women’s helpline numbers and laws," Rao added.

Read:Youngsters to help Indore civic body identify risk-prone zones for women

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

Home/Cities/Bhopal News/Differently-abled Women Feel No Safer At Public Places In MP: Survey