“My heart stopped when this stranger walking past groped me so hard that I just froze there,” recalls Divya, a student who has been a victim of sexual assault in the city not once but several times. “This is nothing new to me. I am sort of used to it now. I know it is my fault that I am not doing anything about it, but the problem is, it is very embarrassing when people ask you for details,” she points out.Another student, Shikha is more forthcoming. “Men masturbating in public places is a common sight these days and it gets more scarier when they proceed towards you or make gestures,” she says. Not just Divya or Shikha, but this is the plight of many women in the “urban environment” of Hyderabad.A new trend A recent trend in the city points to a fightback. Several victims of sexual harassment seem to be finding comfort in seeking one another’s help rather than going to the police or a judicial authority. One such social group is Idea, a first of its kind started on Facebook by a group of city girls, who have been victims of eve-teasing, sexual assault and other forms of sexual harassment. The group was started in August this year and has more than 300 members already. The idea behind creating Idea came out of personal trauma these girls had undergone. The group has active forums and discussions wherein members share incidents and experiences of eve-teasing, stalking and come up with techniques to fight them — such as creating awareness of the laws under the Constitution, their implementation and putting up posters in public places and many more. One of the members (who does not wish to be named) of the group says, “It is not at all about gender equality or protecting women’s rights. The intention is to eventually make our city a safer place for everyone.” She adds, “I feel sexual harassment has not been looked at as seriously from a problem solving point of view, ever before. Only if it is rape, do people consider taking it to court. The only form of sexual abuse I’ve read about in newspapers is rape. On top of that, it is obvious that not every rape comes out into the open and not every rapist is punished by law.” Another member says, “We are now in the process of strengthening our group and once we have enough support and instances, we are planning to start a poster campaign. We will probably make fifty posters and stick them up on walls in public places and buses, which are the eve-teasing most-prone areas.” She further adds, “Whenever a person looks at them, it should remind him about his act and bring in a sense of guilt.”She further explains, “There are many girls who do not know the difference between sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape. It is very important to educate them, which is what we are working on right now. Change may not be soon, but eventually, we will try and get rid of it. At least, this can be a start.” Similarly, another such initiative is Blank Noise. It is a public and participatory arts project which began in August 2003 with just 9 participants in Mumbai. Conceived as a personal reaction to street sexual harassment, the project has grown through workshops and local volunteers to a five-city, hundred-plus that seeks to address street sexual violence through dialogue. During the course of these campaigns, girls wear messages on T-shirts and stand in the walk-way and staircases of railway stations and public places, to fight against improper touching. Blank Noise, which originated in Mumbai, had conducted campaigns in the city too.Urban eve-teasingThis day that age or this day this age, the treatment of women has not improved substantially or at least that’s what the stats suggest. Substantiating the fact is a recent Newsweek survey, which ranked India 141 among 185 countries in the treatment of women. India’s overall score was only 41.9 out of 100, with just 14.8 in politics, 54 in justice, 60.7 in economics, 64.1 in health and 64.9 in education. May be just that women are still silent or have learnt to deal with situations. From bus stops to railways stations, hospitals and food joints, “eve-teasers” do it all. Most get away with it royally. “Women’s bodies are like markets for them. They stare, they touch and yes, all of this without any guilt,” says Usha Rani, founder of Sannahita Centre for Women and Girl Children. Dubious distinction for Andhra PradeshThe report released by the National Crime Records Bureau puts Andhra Pradesh on top of the list of crimes against women. The state tops the country in the number of incidents of sexual harassment, with a percentage share of 45.8 out of 98.8 and also tops in the violation of Indecent Representation of Woman Act of 1986 and accounts for almost 84.1 percentage share out of 99.9. Coming to the city, it is more or less in the top five or ten in all the categories. Commenting on this, DCP of Central Zone, Akun Sabharwal says, “We are definitely better off than Delhi, Jaipur and West Bengal. In recent times, there have not been any cases of rape reported with women who were travelling alone. Inspite of the fact that we have so many BPOs and corporate companies, the state is much better.” He further adds, “But, talking about women commuting through public transport, there have been eve-teasing cases which were reported. We have been patrolling those areas regularly and I will agree that we are not perfect.” Talking about responding to eve-teasers, Akun Sabharwal adds, “Women must never be silent in such cases. They should give it back to them physically or verbally. Or one can carry a pepper spray, call 100 immediately or write an anonymous mail to us. ”What does the law saySexual harassment infringes the fundamental right of a woman to gender equality under Article 14 and her right to life and live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution which includes the right to a safe environment free from sexual harassment. The right to protection from sexual harassment is recognized as a universal human right by International Conventions and Instruments such as Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which has been ratified by the Government of India. Section 294, 354 and 509 of the IPC deal with sexual harassment/assault. Section 294 is applicable to both men and women whereas the other two are exclusively for women.*Section 294: Obscene acts and songs, to the annoyance of others like obscene act/gestures/songs/words in public place Punishment: Imprisonment for up to 3 months or fine or both. (Cognisable, bailable and triable offences)* Section 354: Assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty. Punishment: 2 years imprisonment* Section 376: Rape.Punishment: Imprisonment for life or 10 years and fine.* Section 509: Uttering any word or making any gesture intended to insult the modesty of a woman. Punishment: Imprisonment for1 year, or fine, or both.
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