Of these 90% don't register a police complaint because they think it's of no use, reveals TOI survey
An overwhelming majority of women (90%) who experience sexual harassment do not register a police complaint. Majority of them do not do so as they do not think it would serve any purpose revealing abysmal faith in law enforcement agencies.
This was revealed in an online survey conducted by the Times of India to gauge the kind of sexual harassment women faced following the horrific gang rape and brutalisation of a 23-year-old in Delhi on Sunday. Of the 3,840 who responded to the survey from across the country including some from abroad, almost 2,000 were women.
Almost 70% of the women said they had been subjected to lewd comments or songs from groups of men. About a quarter of them had been groped or molested by men. Stalking was reported by just 8%. Alarmingly, in over 90% of the incidents people around did not respond to help the women.
Over 70% of the men who said they had witnessed a woman being sexually harassed claimed that they had registered a complaint with the police. However, only 5% of the women said that they made a formal complaint to the police. Of the men who did not report it to the police, 40% said they stayed mum as they were "scared of the consequences". About 8% of the men did not do so because they did not think it was their business to do so.
Debunking the general belief that women do not report cases of sexual harassment because of social stigma, most of the women respondents (77%) said they did not report incidents of sexual harassment as they did not think it would serve any purpose. Their reading of the situation seems quite accurate from the fact that of those who did complain to the police, 95% were not satisfied with the police response.
Women seem to display a lot of grit as only a small proportion of the women said that they did not report sexual harassment as they were afraid of public humiliation or because they were scared of facing the perpetrators.
Quite predictably, almost all the men and women who responded (96%) thought that there was an increase in crimes against women. The top most reason for the increase, according to the survey respondents, is absence of fear of the law. Less than 20% also said that it was due to women being increasingly viewed as sex objects. Despite cops and most people in power implying often enough that women invite sexual harassment by the way they dress, barely 4% of the respondents thought that crime against women was increasing as women dressed in skimpy clothes.
The deep-seated rage that society feels at the increasing number of rapes is reflected in the overwhelming support for harsh punishments like death penalty (48%) and for chemical castration (38%). There was not much enthusiasm for life term for rapists (14%). In the same vein, almost half the respondents (46%) seem to believe that harsher punishment is the most effective step to curb crimes against women. A quarter of them also felt that better parenting with sons being taught to respect women would also be an effective curb on such incidents. Again, indicating low faith in police, there were few takers for anything to do with improving law enforcement such as better patrolling and sensitization of the police. Almost one fifth of those who responded also believed fast-track courts would help.
The survey capture's the poor image of the law enforcement agencies among the public. It also reflects the rage that people seem to feel at the rising incidence of crimes against women.
'Seven out of ten women sexually harassed'
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'Seven out of ten women sexually harassed'
