Nearly 90% of the women living in Bengaluru say they fear harassment and sexual abuse at public places in the city, an online survey conducted by Save the Children has revealed.
The NGO released its report 'The Issue of Safety of Girls in Karnataka' which contains the findings of a survey in which 3000 girls and women from Bengaluru participated. The report was released at an event at Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru on Wednesday, Aug 9.
Save the Children's 'Changemaker Series' aims to create awareness among youth of the country about issues relating to women and child abuse and encourages them to take a stand against any problem which makes the country unsafe for the vulnerable sections of the society.
Out of 3000 women who participated in the survey, 2700 said they fear daily harassment which included inappropriate touching, lewd comments and other forms of sexually-deviant behaviour in public places. More than 86% said they felt unsafe using public transport when they were alone.
Nearly 80% of the respondents said they didn't talk about the fears they have or of actual abuse because doing so would prompt their families to put restrictions on their movement and they would lose their freedom.
Around 90% said they would not report any unpleasant happening to the police.
A senior police officer said that all-women squads have been formed in many police stations and they have been instructed to reach the incident spot within five minutes of receiving a call.
"We have been successful in this but the main issue we face is that the public doesn't have faith in us and that is the reason majority of crimes related to women aren't reported," says the officer.
