Gender-based Harassment in India’s Urban Spaces

A YouGov/Action Aid UK survey recently polled 502 Indian women about their experiences in urban public spaces, finding that nearly four-in-five women have experienced public harassment in cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, and Kolkata. In the aftermath of the brutal gang rape of a woman on a Delhi bus in late 2012, government and civil society campaigns have encouraged women to report violence, although advocates say crimes (particularly domestic violence) continue to be underreported.

79%

Percentage of women reporting having experienced public harassment in cities

46%

Percentage of women reporting public insults and name-calling

39%

Percentage of women reporting having been groped or touched involuntarily

16%

Percentage of women reporting having been drugged

337,922*

Number of reports of violence against women in 2014, including rape, abduction, and molestation

Read:
“Almost 80 percent of Indian women face public harassment in cities: survey” (The Thomson Reuters Foundation)
“79% of women in India faced public harassment” (The Times of India)
“Three in four women experience harassment and violence in UK and global cities” (ActionAid UK)

* According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau