2012 Delhi gang rape-BRUTALITY,INHUMAN,HELLISH

“Till the time you do not have contacts they [police] are not willing to listen to you,” says 20-year-old Sana Taneja who walked into a police station earlier this year to lodge a complaint against a man who was performing an obscene act near her college in Delhi University’s North Campus. Luckily for Sana, she had friends, who knew “top officials in the police force” and the constable at the station finally allowed her to register a case.

“Nobody was even willing to acknowledge that a man flashing you is considered sexual harassment,” says this resident of West Delhi. Sana is not allowed to live on campus because her parents’ think it is unsafe and she commutes every day from her home in Inderpuri to the Kirori Mal College. She has two helpline numbers saved on her phone – the ‘181’ women in distress helpline and the auto-rickshaw helpline – both were put in place following the December 16 gang rape incident last year.

“Following the incident last December, there was a rule that after 7 p.m. no auto driver can refuse to take you to your destination. But this is seldom followed. Only if there is a traffic policeman around do the auto drivers follow the rule,” she says.

While several women The Hindu spoke to feel that the “situation in the city is a little better” especially in light of enhanced policing, prominent lawyer and women’s activist Vrinda Grover says: “It is not the city that has changed but the women in the city have changed.” She points to a “new confidence and assertion” among women where they have made it clear that they will not stand for any violation of their bodies.

Ms. Grover says that the last year has been the beginning to make even the police understand what constitutes sexual harassment. “I am going to lay the responsibility on the desk of the police commissioner. Can he tell the women of the city how many of his junior officers have been prosecuted this year for not registering a case?” she says. “We should first put the fear of the law in policemen and clear protocols should be put in place on how they should do their work.”

While conversations have been taking place over the last year on violence against women, country-director of NGO Breakthrough Sonali Khan, wonders whether perceptions have changed accordingly. “Much more work needs to be done. It is still questionable if women can truly access public spaces and move freely on streets at any hour,” she says.

One year after the incident, the “sense of security” may still be absent but awareness has definitely increased, notes a woman journalist with a leading TV channel in the city. “The incident last December put the fear of God in all of us. We realised how fragile it was to be on the streets,” she says. “Since the Delhi Police received a lot of flak they have started to take cases pertaining to women a lot more seriously.”

 The fatal gang rape of a student in New Delhi last year triggered outrage and protests across India. One year after the crime, lawyer Pinky Anand says victims of sexual violence feel more confident to speak out.

On December 16, 2012, a brutal crime sent shock waves across India. According to police reports, a 23-year-old female physiotherapy student and her male companion were coaxed by six men into boarding an off-duty bus they thought would take them home after watching a movie at a shopping mall in New Delhi.
The men savagely beat the man and repeatedly raped the woman, inflicting massive internal injuries with an iron rod. The victims were then dumped naked on the roadside. The woman died of injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.
The brutality of the December attack became the tipping point that brought the issue of violence against women into the limelight, not only in India, but globally. One year on, Supreme Court lawyer Pinky Anand says in a DW interview that the case has made Indian society review the way it deals with the issue of violence against women, but adds that the country still has a long way to go in making women feel safe.
DW: What legal changes have taken place since the fatal gang rape in December last year?
Pinky Anand: The Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 was introduced by parliament. The legislation made sexual harassment, voyeurism, and stalking illegal. It also made the punishment for existing offences harsher.
What message did the verdict send to Indian society and has it worked as a deterrent?
There is no clear evidence suggesting that the verdict or their conviction has worked as a deterrent, but it is my understanding that a strong message has been sent to the society that such crimes will not be tolerated and that the perpetrators of heinous crimes such as rape will not go unpunished.

Anand says there has been a change in the attitudes of Indian men

Sexual crimes against women are being unabashedly reported in the media. There is a stir, some sort of awakening in the people, especially the men in India, which could eventually help reduce the crime rate.
How has Indian society reacted to the death sentences passed on four of the convicted gang rapists?
Most of the people in India feel that the death sentences passed were well deserved. However, there has been a great sense of dismay. The fifth accused in so-called "Nirbhaya rape case," could not be punished as a rapist as he was less than 18 years of age and was therefore tried as a juvenile. The young criminal was alleged to be the most cruel and merciless during the attack on Nirbhaya.
As a result of the mass agitation on this issue, the government is contemplating a major amendment in the juvenile law. Those in the 16-18 age group, who are accused of serious crimes like rape and dacoity, could be treated as adults and tried accordingly. The gravity of the crime and the level of maturity of the accused will be considered.
What still needs to be done, both in terms of the judiciary and police?
Amendments to the criminal law have been introduced and attempts have been made to make the ambit of sexual offences against women wider and punishment harsher. However, we somehow need to introduce an ingenious plan to reduce the crime rate.
Men in our society need to be deterred from even raising a finger at women in an offensive or abusive manner. The police has to be on alert and ensure that there are no more unsafe corners in our society.
Have women become more confident in terms of reporting crimes and abuses?
Sex crimes against women are still considered taboos. Hence, despite considerable awareness, a large number of crimes and abuses go unreported.

A year after the Delhi gang rape, what has changed?

A fatal gang rape in New Delhi put the spotlight on the situation of women in India, prompting stricter laws on sexual violence. But a year later, much still needs to be done to make women feel safe, experts say. (16.12.2013)

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 24,206 rape cases were reported in India in 2011. The latest estimates suggest that a new case of rape is reported every 22 minutes in India.
Since the fatal Delhi gang rape, women have been instilled with confidence to report crimes of a sexual nature because they feel that they have support from the state. A lot of women are learning to say 'no' to abuse, and have taken it upon themselves to report such crimes. The police have started becoming more cooperative in registering the complaints by women and investigating the crime.
Has there been a change in the attitudes of Indian men after this incident and how they view and treat women?
There has been a definite change in the attitudes of Indian men. The Nirbhaya incident shocked the conscience of Indian society and triggered a buzz amongst the people. There was an awakening in the mindsets of the people and how they viewed and treated women. Men are gradually becoming sensitized to women's issues.
There is a wave of awareness which will go a long way in making India a safe place for women. We all know that such changes do not come about overnight, but there has been a start and eventually the change will come about

Indian women won't be safe until society changes, says gang-rape victim's father

On the anniversary of the Delhi gang-rape and murder which shamed India, the victim's father says nothing has changed and his family is still searching for justice

Indian women travel in the 'women only' coach on the metro in New Delhi Photo: AFP

By Dean Nelson, New Delhi

4:15PM GMT 15 Dec 2013

Women in India will never be safe until society changes its attitudes, the father of the Delhi gang-rape victim said on the anniversary of the assault which killed her.

His daughter, who became known as ‘Nirbhaya’ or ‘the fearless one’, was gang-raped, beaten with rods and left for dead after she boarded a bus home from the cinema with a male friend on December 16th last year. She died from her injuries 13 days later.

The savagery of the attack and the determination of the victim, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, to survive and bring her rapists to justice provoked protests throughout India and national soul-searching.

But one year after the incident, the victim’s family is still deep in grief and fearful for India's women who they say remain in danger.

“As long as the mindset of the society will not change, women can never be safe out on the roads..every other day cases of rape and sexual harassment are getting reported, where is the change? I don’t see any change,” said Badrinath Singh, her father.

The number of women tourists to India slumped in the wake of the horrific attack, as the scale of rapes and sexual assaults in the country began to emerge.
Six men were arrested, four of whom were sentenced to death in September. One of the accused was found dead in his cell in March and the sixth, a juvenile, was sentenced to three years in a rehabilitation home.
The case led to a reform of rape and sexual assault laws and tougher penalties for those convicted.
But the disappointment of the victim’s family is shared by human rights groups and women’s equality campaigners, who said reported rape cases have nevertheless increased and new fast-track court trials for sexual assaults have yet to act as a deterrent.
The anniversary of her assault will be marked in London and Delhi on Monday where protestors will walk the route of the ‘rogue’ bus on which ‘Nirbhaya’ was gang-raped and mutilated with iron rods. The actor Meera Syal will address a memorial out side India’s High Commission in London.
The campaign group Action Aid revealed new figures which revealed rapes had doubled in the capital since the attack and the number of sexual assaults had quadrupled. Rapes had increased from 706 last year to 1,330 in the first nine and a half months of 2013.
Sehjo Singh of ActionAid India, said the group hoped the increase reflects greater confidence in reporting assaults, but feared it could mean more rapes. “We have to remember that reported cases do not reflect the true number of cases of rape and sexual assault, which are widespread in Delhi and throughout India.”
Divya Iyer of Amnesty International said she shared the concern. “Last year’s horrific gang rape should have shocked Indian authorities into action to tackle endemic violence against women more effectively. But while we have seen some positive developments over the last year, they have been far from enough,” she said.
For the victim’s family, the three-year sentence given to the juvenile who murdered their daughter, and the fact that he will be free in two years means they cannot overcome their grief.
“Our tears have not dried. With each passing day her memories get more intense. Someone is always crying at home,” Mr Singh told the Press Trust of India. “We will never recover ever and she is very much alive within us.”
“Every time we sit to eat our meals, my wife says... ‘this is her favourite food and we are eating it without her’. She loved good food. My wife remembers the last time when our daughter left home saying that she will be back home in three - four hours...but our wait never ended as the hours turned into months and then into years,” he said.
“We have not yet got justice. We want all the culprits including the one who was a juvenile at the time of the incident to be hanged and only perhaps then our minds will get some rest and we will be able to sleep in peace,” he added.

Sources:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10518979/Indian-women-wont-be-safe-until-society-changes-says-gang-rape-victims-father.html

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/it-is-not-delhi-that-has-changed-rather-the-women-have-changed/article5469291.ece

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10520550/What-has-changed-in-India-one-year-on-from-Delhi-rape.html

Keeping our Daughters Safe

In an increasingly sexualised society, Judith Woods meets two women on a mission to teach our teenage daughters how to stay safe and say ‘no’

85,000 women are raped in England and Wales every year and 90% of rapes are carried out by someone known to the victim

Sassy and glamorous in killer heels and an expensively tailored peplum dress, a petite blonde woman is addressing a hall full of teenage girls at an elite independent school. They are captivated by her streetwise New York accent, her eye-widening anecdotes, her challenging questions. And when she dispenses words of hard-won wisdom, they strain to listen.

Deana Puccio could be a City lawyer, a female entrepreneur, a top-flight careers adviser brought in to talk about investment banking, the secret of successful networking or how to smash through the glass ceiling. But Deana, 46, is a former sex crimes prosecutor from Brooklyn. And she is here with a much more urgent message to impart to these girls as they stand on the brink of womanhood, a message about sexual violence and personal safety that could save their lives, or at least their lives as they know them.

‘I’m not here to lecture you or tell you not to text boys or not to go on Facebook,’ says Deana. ‘But I wouldn’t want to be your age at this time in history: the pressure to get all those A-stars and look like Kate Moss and be perfect, and yet you still find yourself being bombarded by vile images and messages on social media.

Traap founders Allison Havey (left), a journalist and television producer, and Deana Puccio, who worked as a sex crimes prosecutor in New York

‘You’ve got a lot of stuff going on already, but here’s the thing: I want to make things a little bit easier by telling you that it’s always OK to say “no”, whether it’s to a date who’s being too pushy, or a boyfriend who wants you to do things you’re not comfortable with, or a creepy guy at a party.’

Deana is a co-founder of Teenage Rape Awareness and Prevention (Traap), an inspirational new workshop programme being rolled out in schools across London and beyond. The other founder is fellow American and equally dynamic brunette Allison Havey, 47, a television news producer and journalist, who joins in the presentation to explain the significance of the name Traap. ‘Every grown woman has been in a situation where she’s felt trapped and either she got out and walked away or she didn’t and she got raped or sexually assaulted,’ says Allison.

35% of all sexual crimes are against under 16-year-olds

‘And we don’t want our daughters – or you – to make the mistakes that we did and our friends did. So first up, let’s get one thing clear; rape isn’t a crime of passion. It isn’t what happens when a boy is so in love he gets carried away; it’s about violence, control and power.’

The term ‘moral panic’ has always had a pejorative ring to it, but if ever there was an appropriate time to panic about morality, it is now, when a tide of hard-core pornography is sweeping through the smartphones and laptops of a generation. As government and internet giants struggle to find both the will and the way to bar access for minors, these two women aim to tackle the crisis at grass-roots level with their hard-hitting presentations.

Deana takes the lead in the workshop, radiating energy and good-natured assertiveness, her sometimes unnerving directness shot through with a droll humour that defuses the tension. ‘Here’s something that’ll impress you,’ she quips. ‘A survey has shown that 54 per cent of teenage boys find hard-core porn “very inspiring”. Romantic, huh?’ The room erupts into loud laughter.

It’s a well-judged moment of levity. But Deana and Allison are under no illusions as to the unique way in which violent, coercive pornography is being normalised in 21st-century Britain. Before the advent of new media, teenage boys would consider themselves lucky to be lent an ancient copy of a top-shelf magazine. These days the average parent would be horrified by the distressingly aggressive images of sexual degradation available for free and passed around playgrounds on children’s mobiles. ‘Teenagers’ access to hard-core porn is having a corrosive effect on the way boys, and increasingly girls, view sex,’ says Allison to me later. ‘A child’s innocence can be gone for ever in the split second it takes for them to look at a screen.’

‘Innocence can be gone in the split second it takes to look at a screen’

Both women came to Britain for very different reasons but, as fate would have it, their paths crossed at the school gates in North London. Allison had come to London with her family to work freelance for US TV companies. Deana, who back then had two daughters, and subsequently had a third, was taking a career break while accompanying her husband, who had been posted to the UK for his work.

‘Deana and I met on 12 September 2001, the day after 9/11, when the world changed for ever,’ says Allison, who has two children, a girl and a boy. ‘We heard each other’s New York accents and immediately gravitated towards one another in a state of numb shock. We’ve been close friends ever since.’

In the intervening years, both women threw themselves into motherhood and savoured the experience of living in another country. Then, the way Deana tells it, she woke up one morning to discover her eldest daughter was 16 and about to enter the world of dating, music gigs and parties.

54% of teenage boys find hard-core internet porn ‘inspiring’

‘I realised, practically overnight, that I had to do something to protect her,’ she says with a rueful smile. ‘I looked around and although there was sex education, which covered the basic mechanics, and self-defence, which covered those rare instances of stranger danger, there was absolutely nothing in between. From my work in Brooklyn, I know that 80 to 90 per cent of assaults and rapes are carried out by someone known to the victim. Girls need to be armed with common sense and self-confidence so they can stay safe on nights out and at parties and music festivals.’

Deana’s professional experience as a prosecution lawyer with the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn is ideally suited to her new role. Her bureau, where she worked with adolescent victims, was so successful that it became the inspiration for the gripping procedural TV crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. No wonder her sometimes graphic stories, told with fluency and speed, resonate with truth: the vulnerable teenager who succumbed to horrible exploitation by her predatory PE teacher, believing he loved her; the girl who got drunk at a party, fell in with a bunch of boys, got into their car and was raped by them all; the 15-year-old who sneaked out to meet her friend’s bad-boy cousin and crawled home, traumatised by a violent sexual assault but too scared and ashamed to tell her parents what had happened.

Here at Channing Girls’ School, the year 11s, aged 15, are hooked on her every word. Her almost matter-of-fact delivery serves to convey the fact that such tales of appalling sexual violence are, if not commonplace, then only one poorly judged decision away. ‘If you go to meet a boy, make sure you know his name, his address and his telephone number; you’re bright girls, so do your research. And always tell someone where you are going,’ says Deana. ‘If you go to a party with friends, make it absolutely non-negotiable that you arrive and leave together. If you’re at a music festival, tie a bell to your tent zip – awareness is power, ladies.’

‘Girls need to be armed with common sense and self-confidence’

Until now, Traap’s workshops have been confined to the private sector, in which head teachers typically have more freedom over budgets and the curriculum. But it’s an important area that the state system can’t afford to overlook – nor can boys’ schools. ‘A lot of the feedback we get from girls is that we really need to talk to boys,’ says Allison. ‘If their only blueprint for sex is hard-core porn, then they expect extreme things from girls that just aren’t acceptable.’

Figures jointly compiled by the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and the Office for National Statistics earlier this year revealed that around 85,000 women are raped in England and Wales every year, and more than 400,000 are the victims of sexual assault. According to NSPCC figures, 35 per cent of all sexual crimes recorded in 2012/13 were against children and young people aged under 16. Keeping our young people safe must surely, then, be a priority. But first, adults must persuade them to take the risks seriously. And Deana is someone teenagers instinctively take advice from.

Observing her in action is like watching a masterclass in teenage psychology as she skilfully addresses her audience. ‘So, ladies, you’re doing GCSEs this year; that’s fun, I bet. Well, it’s a hell of a lot worse living with you, I can tell you.’ More riotous laughter.

Deana and Allison speaking to pupils at Channing School in North London

‘But you know, we are your parents and we love you. So if it’s 2am and you are at some party and your friends have disappeared and you have that little voice in your head saying something is wrong, 99 per cent of the time, that voice will be right. So call us [your parents]; we’re not that bad. We might take away your laptop for a week, and that’s terrible, but if you don’t ring us and you stay at that party with those drunk friends of friends, something genuinely terrible could happen.’

There’s no lecturing, no scolding and the hushed silence from the schoolgirls speaks volumes about their engagement with the themes. ‘We girls are brought up to be liked and to please – I should know. I once had this awful guy pressing himself up against me in a subway carriage and I just stood there because I didn’t want to move away in case it offended him! Who cares if you offend some random guy who you don’t even know? You don’t owe anybody anything. Your only responsibility is to yourself and if you make a mistake, so what? It’s no big deal. You are the one who has to look at yourself in the mirror every morning and live with your choices.’

HOW TO STAY SAFE ON A NIGHT OUT

• First do your homework: make sure you know his surname, address, school.

• Make sure someone you trust knows who you are going out with and where you are going, and stick to public places.

• Always keep some money tucked away so that you can get yourself home if necessary.

• Make sure your mobile is charged so that you can call home if you need to.

• Stick to the plan – if you arrive at a party together, leave together.

• Don’t get isolated or leave friends behind.

• If your friend has gone missing for a while at a bar or party, look for her – she might be in trouble.

• Don’t get drunk – the more vulnerable you are, the more likely it is that someone can target you.

• Keep extra-alert. And remember the danger posed by the ‘date-rape’ drug Rohypnol. It is out there!

Deana and Allison are in the process of writing a book aimed at teens; if they write the way they speak, it should be in every family home in the country, and mandatory for school libraries. ‘We hope it will be read and bought by parents and carers not only for the teen in their life but so that they can have an insight into what young women are facing in today’s world where there are so many freedoms and so many dangers,’ says Allison.

According to Pete Gittins, the assistant head of Channing’s Middle School, the year 12s were given a presentation earlier in the year and were so impressed they urged the school to organise the same talk for the year 11s.

‘We’ve asked Deana and Allison to design lesson plans around certain issues,’ says Mr Gittins. ‘We also hope to get them to talk to our year 13s about gap-year safety and moving away to university. The impact on our girls has been tremendous, and the fact that these women are North London mothers with children the same age means that our students can really relate to them.’

It is a view echoed by the school’s head girl Millie Barber, 17. ‘After I sat through a Traap presentation, I left feeling really empowered and aware of my own personal safety, but not in a frightened way, more of an alert, strong way.’ Alert, strong, empowered, aware: all the qualities any mother would want to impart to her daughter, or indeed son.

As Traap seeks to roll out its programme nationwide, there can’t be a parent in the land who doesn’t want their teenager to benefit from the sort of hard-hitting advice that our children need to hear, and more crucially, to heed.

Source:http://worldobserveronline.com/2013/12/04/keeping-daughters-safe/

Is it Safe for Women to Travel India?

The issue of women’s safety in India has been in the news frequently lately. Many women have expressed concerns about traveling there and many more have opted not to go at all. I’ve never been to India — and I’m also not a woman — but I feel this is an important subject to discuss.Today, please welcome Candace , who spent many months traveling around India by herself, to discuss safety and solo travel in India.

Here is Candace….

My introduction to India came behind the wheel of an auto-rickshaw.

For two weeks in 2011, my friend Citlalli and I took part in the Richshaw Run, driving one of India’s ubiquitous three-wheeled vehicles 2,000 miles across the country.

On our fifth morning, we spent three hours wrestling our way through an 18-mile traffic jam in Bihar – a state known for its poverty and violence. After the second hour, I needed a break from dodging trucks and buses and cows, and so we pulled over.

Instantly a crowd of about twenty men surrounded our rickshaw. Citlalli and I nervously said hello, hoping to break the tension we felt as two foreign women in such a situation, when a white-haired shopkeeper approached us. In his hand were two tiny cups of sweet, steaming chai.

I tried to explain that we were out of small change and couldn’t pay him for the tea, but he insisted, saying, “I may be poor, but I still have a heart.”

Why go to India?

I am aware of the various threats facing Indian women and foreign visitors alike: staring, groping, stalking, and most seriously, rape. With such threats forever hanging over a female traveler’s head, it makes sense to wonder if India is worth the worry and the hassle. Why not skip it entirely in favor of less troublesome destinations?

One reason: No country will fascinate and frustrate you more.

While travel in India will require heightened attention and common sense, let me assure you it is worth it. Although I did encounter men who stared at me inappropriately, there were countless others who in no way treated me as a sexual object – farmers and pharmacists, shopkeepers and teachers, men whose warmth, kindness, and compassion moved me in unexpected ways.

The man who gave us chai in Bihar was only the beginning. There was the time I had Delhi belly in Bhubaneswar and a hotel worker brought me yogurt with sugar; the time I was waiting for a friend’s flight to arrive at 1 a.m. and a guy I struck up a conversation with invited us to his sister’s wedding the next week; and the time I jumped off a train in Chennai and a man led me across the street to buy gauze and disinfectant to patch up my skinned knee.

It is impossible to stereotype a nation of one billion people, and bad experiences there will naturally be impossible to avoid. The challenge lies in refusing to accept such occurrences as the status quo, while still choosing to focus on the positive. This might sound trite or naïve, but it’s a choice that India demands of you.

Drawing on my own time in India as well as advice from other women who have traveled there extensively, here are 11 tips to help ward off unwanted situations – but also keep you open to positive experiences:

1. Do your homework

As you would for any destination, spend time learning about India and its customs before arriving. Go in with your eyes wide open, having taken the necessary steps to be educated and prepared, and understand that what awaits you there may be vastly different from what you’re used to.

Beth Whitman, founder and CEO of Wanderlust and Lipstick and WanderTours, has been leading both female-only and co-ed tours to India since 2009 – and not once has a woman on a WanderTour had any issue with her safety.

“Don’t go to regions where crime (particularly drugs) are rampant,” Beth writes. “There are places in India like this. Read the guidebooks and forums to determine if your destination falls into that category.”

In my own experience, the most important preparation for India was mental. Before going for the first time, it felt like I was getting ready to visit a different planet. Between worrying about what shots to get, what would happen when I got sick for the first time, and whether or not I would be safe, India required a huge mental adjustment – this wouldn’t be another beach holiday or European city break.

2. Dress appropriately

This goes without saying, but deserves repeating: India is a conservative country, so be respectful of that by covering your shoulders and legs and watching your cleavage.

Consider wearing Indian attire such as a kurta (long, loose tunic) or a shalwar kameez suit, which can easily be picked up once you arrive at local markets or from stores like Fabindia. This is by no means a guarantee of your safety and may not change the way men act towards you, but there’s no need to draw unnecessary attention to yourself.

The only possible exception to this is Goa, whose well-known beaches have become increasingly westernized. But be aware that although it is more acceptable to wear a bikini here, you might still attract unwanted advances.

3. Discern when doctoring the truth may help you

I am never a fan of not telling the truth on the road. I believe that, when appropriate, it’s as important to share our own customs and ways of life with other cultures as it is to learn about theirs. This mutual exchange is one of the many things I love about travel.

The fact that I am unmarried at 27 and travel alone was often surprising to the Indians I met, and I enjoyed our conversations about our different cultures – conversations that might not have taken place had I worn a fake wedding ring or pretended that my fake husband works in Mumbai.

While eating dinner alone in Mumbai one night, an Indian man sitting at another table asked if he could join me. Our conversation was interesting and I was glad for the chance to chat, but afterwards he asked if we could go somewhere else for a drink or meet again the next night. I didn’t feel comfortable doing so on my own, and told him that I already had plans with friends.

Use discernment and get a sense of whether or not such a white lie may help protect you. Beth Whitman specifically recommends this strategy when staying alone at a hotel. “Consider making mention of a husband or boyfriend who is arriving shortly and don’t make friendly conversations with the male staff. Instead, become friends with any women, if they happen to work there.”

4. On train journeys, book an upper berth

Everyone has their memorable tale from the Indian rails – the couple who helped them get off at the right station, the family who insisted on sharing their dahl and chapatis, the college student who said to wake him if there was any trouble. Nowhere else in the world is the journey just as fun as the destination as it is in India.

But it’s also important to take certain precautions. When booking your journey, request an upper berth. This will not only be a place to keep your bags secure during the day, but will also give you a sense of privacy and keep you out of the fray at night as you sleep.

There is a lot of hustle and bustle on Indian trains – during the day, a constant stream of vendors move by selling food and drinks, and even at night passengers are constantly getting on and off the train. Although the commotion is fun to be part of for a while, you will appreciate having an upper berth to yourself at night.

And while the idea of more space and cooler air in 2nd class A/C may be appealing, Citlalli Milan, a writer and actress who lived in the Rajasthani city of Udaipur for four years, suggests otherwise.

“If traveling alone, I would always book myself into a sleeper class train. It’s full of people – women, children and other travelers – making it harder for [unwelcome encounters] to happen.”

5. Don’t arrive at a new destination at night

Try to avoid late-night arrivals or departures. This is as much an issue of safety as it is for financial reasons – cunning touts will be out, hoping to take advantage of those who appear lost or without a plan. Book at least your first night’s accommodation in advance so that you’re confident on where you’re headed when you leave the airport or train station.

Also avoid traveling on foot at night, as well as by public transportation (especially if the bus or train carriage is empty); opt for pre-paid taxis or auto-rickshaws instead., make a call on their cell phone (whether real or staged), and state the plate number and destination within earshot of the driver.

Travel writer Sophie Collard traveled to India in 2012, shortly before the Delhi Gang Rape took place, and received this advice: “A female journalist said, ‘Girl, you gotta get one of these,’ and pulled out pepper spray and told me I could get it from the chemist, so I did and it made me feel safe. I actually carried it with me in the streets of London when I got back too.”

6. Be assertive

In a country whose classic head bobble can mean yes, no, maybe, not now, or “we’ll see”, it makes sense that it’s difficult to firmly tell someone no in India. But as a woman on your own, this is necessary at times, just as it’s occasionally necessary to ignore unwanted or uncomfortable conversations.

When you are traveling alone as a woman, especially in a country like India, it is your responsibility to protect yourself – so don’t hesitate to do so, be it with a strong word or silent response.

Nowhere did I feel the need to be assertive more than when in a market. To make it through a gauntlet of persistent and persuasive vendors, saying a polite “no thank you” will often have little effect. As rude as it felt as someone who is typically more soft-spoken, I would sometimes reply with just “no” in a sharp tone of voice, or even with “nah??,” the Hindi word for no.

7. Watch your body language

The challenge I mentioned earlier – between staying on your guard and keeping an open heart – is perhaps most relevant to how you act towards men in India and the messages you may subconsciously send. As Beth Whitman advises, “Never give them any sort of indication that you might be interested in them.”

The important thing to remember is that an action or gesture that may come naturally to you, such as touching someone’s arm while talking to them, might be misinterpreted in a conservative country like India. Be mindful of keeping your physical distance from men even while being open to them, especially on public transportation where personal space is at a premium.

While on a train ride from Panjim, Goa, to Mumbai, I befriended an Indian woman named Mercy and her elderly mother, as well as a large group of male university students. Over the course of our journey, I enjoyed getting to know the students, even though Mercy would quietly caution me to keep my distance and not sit by them.

Although I could tell why she would do so – they were loud and had clearly been in Goa on holiday – I could sense they meant no harm (and I’m even still in touch with one student through Facebook).

Interacting with men in India is a constant balancing act of being guarded and friendly.

8. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do at home

It’s true that travel opens you up to new experiences and pushes you out of your comfort zone, but at the same time, be sensible and ask yourself if you would do something at home. Things like hitchhiking, going out alone at night, and accepting drinks from men you don’t know are risky no matter where you are in the world.

Citlalli Milan suggests getting to know someone first: “When I accepted an invitation or went with someone for chai, it was after a few weeks or months of saying hi on the street and making sure they knew who I was and I knew a bit more about them…It’s great to interact with locals, just always with caution and with an awareness of culture.”

9. Consider traveling with a group

The thought of visiting India for the first time is intimidating enough, so perhaps beginning your time there on a tour (through companies such as G Adventures or the aforementioned WanderTours) can help you get acclimated.

After a series of unsettling moments during her first trip to India, Becki Enright is planning to go with a tour next time: “I am looking at group tours again, where I am guaranteed the idea of ‘safety in numbers’ and where I won’t be traveling on trains and buses on my own. I stand out and am aware of that, and those are my initial measures for ensuring my safety.”

A huge part of traveling alone is learning to trust your own instincts when you don’t have friends or family there to discuss your options with. Before you can trust those you meet on the road, you have to learn to trust yourself. Develop this sense of self-trust before venturing to India alone.

10. Know that mass photo-taking sessions will happen

This happens enough in India that I feel it’s worth mentioning: If you suddenly find yourself at the center of a flurry of photo requests, especially at key historic sites, go with the flow – for as long as you feel comfortable.

It happened to me at the Taj Mahal, in front of the Gateway of India in Mumbai, and even on a beach in Puri, Orissa – I was asked to have my photo taken with at least a dozen different families or groups of young men. This may seem strange, but it’s usually harmless.

11. Regroup – or even begin your time in India – away from big cities

Even if you follow the suggestions mentioned here so far and elsewhere on the web, harassment might still happen. If you have an experience that rattles your nerves, don’t leave India immediately. Take time out to process, heal, and regroup.

Think of heading to places such as Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama and surrounded by the Himalaya; Jaisalmer, an ancient fort city in the Thar Desert; Fort Cochin, a colonial town with easy access to Kerala’s peaceful backwaters; and lesser-known spots in Goa such as Colomb Bay, located between Palolem and Patnem beaches.

These are all places where I found a certain calm and respite from having to be on my guard so much, and I’d even recommend starting your time in India in such locations. Although it’s tempting to begin in the Golden Triangle – comprised of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur – the intense crowds there might not give you the space to adjust and adapt to India.

Keep an open heart
Although India can be a difficult place to travel and there will be moments when being the center of attention is overwhelming, it is an experience I would redo again in a heartbeat. By using the tips above, I hope you can mitigate the feeling of having eyes inappropriately on you and transform uncomfortable situations into positive ones.

Furthermore, keep in mind that this issue of staying safe while visiting India is part of a larger issue at hand – what it means to simply be a woman in India. The threats facing female travelers are things that Indian women have been dealing with their entire life, and will still be dealing with for long after we leave.

Ultimately, there is no secret to staying safe in India. It is a continual process of being wise and keenly listening to your instincts – just as you would anywhere else in the world. Indians love to welcome foreigners into their country, so trust your gut in accepting their hospitality and learn from their kindness.

India is a complicated and chaotic country, and yet it is also a place of inconceivable beauty and warmth.

Source: http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/women-safety-in-india/

Platform horror for schoolgirls

Students of Carmel Schools and their parents at Dhanbad station on Sunday.  Dhanbad, Nov. 24: Ninety-three schoolgirls of two premier coal town institutions, accompanied by five teachers and a nun, were teased for 45 harrowing minutes by 60 youths on a crowded platform at Patna Junction last night, another shocking reminder of how vulnerable girls are in India, even in a group with adult guardians. The youths, aspirants of Group D railway recruitment test held this morning across centres, including Dhanbad, were mostly ticketless travellers. They made lewd remarks at the girls, forcibly occupied reserved seats on Ganga Damodar Express sleeper coach (S1) and blocked the two doors of the compartment. As no one stopped to help, the traumatised girls and their teachers ran to an AC coach (B1), where seats had been booked for a few students. All chose to share seats and stay awake during the nightlong journey back home over running the risk of assault. The girls from Classes IX-XII of Carmel Schools in Dhanbad and Digwadih were returning from a two-day education tour in Patna when the incident occurred between 11.30pm on Saturday and 12.15am on Sunday. Three teachers and 34 girls were from Carmel School Dhanbad, while two teachers, a nun and 59 girls were from the Digwadih cradle. They reached Dhanbad Junction early this morning, shocked out of their wits. The girls were sent safely home. Speaking to The Telegraph, Darleen Rydqvist, a teacher of Carmel School, Dhanbad, said: “Our contingent had assembled on platform No. 10 at Patna Junction before time to catch the train that arrives at 11.30pm. As soon as it did, hundreds of railway recruitment examinees swarmed on the platform and rushed inside sleeper coaches, including S1. Then, the nightmare started.” The teacher said seats for their Dhanbad squad had been booked in S1, while Digwadih counterparts had reservations in B1. “Some youths blocked S1 compartment’s doors, some occupied our reserved seats and most kept heckling the girls loudly. We were completely helpless. We ran to the B1 coach for safety. No one from railway authority on the platform helped us. No fellow passenger intervened on our behalf. We are shocked,” Rydqvist said. The teacher also alleged an RPF sub-inspector and constable in Patna disappeared from the scene of trouble. “One of the girls called up her father, a highly placed man, who got a TTE to accompany us to the AC coach,” she added. “All 99 of us spent the night crammed into the 62 berths in the AC compartment and somehow returned home.” Initially, teachers had tried to reason with the youths with “folded hands”, she added. But the jeers and taunts of the youths made the girls and teachers feel “totally unsafe”. “As escorts representing our schools, our priority was the security of the girls,” she said. Carmel School-Dhanbad principal Sister Margaret Mary will lodge a complaint with railway authorities in Dhanbad tomorrow. “The issue is related to Patna Junction. The school should lodge its complaint with the Government Railway Police in Patna,” RPF senior commandant (Dhanbad division) Hiramani Tiwari said. On the alleged inaction of RPF personnel on the Patna platform yesterday, Tiwari said: “The school can send its complaint to Patna RPF authorities in this regard via registered post.” Source:http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131125/jsp/frontpage/story_17608617.jsp#.Upyn4o1f7Ir