WOMEN

Explicit jokes, sly innuendos or gender-specific insults — do these really amount to sexual harassment? Should employers adjudicate on such cases as such? To understand why and when, one needs to understand the concept of privacy in all its facets. A lawyer explains.

For too long, we have lived in and accepted cities built by men, for men. But as more and more women need and want access to public spaces within their cities, we need paradigm shifts in design to make these safer for them. Here are some simple first steps.

Continuing our special series on women’s safety, we present a list of NGOs and initiatives that are working towards sensitising boys and men on gender issues. Using resources, toolkits, workshops and lectures, they enable men to play key roles in preventing violence and discrimination against women.

In this interview, Swati Lakra, IPS, IGP Law and Order and In charge of the Women’s Safety Wing of the state, talks about the various steps the police have taken to help women in distress. Continuing our special series on women’s safety

The Nirbhaya Fund was introduced in the Union Budget 2013, with a view to ensuring that states could take adequate measures towards the creation of a more secure environment for women in the long term. But have states utilised this? In continuation of our special series on women’s safety

The main intent behind the setting up of Fast Track Courts was to speed up trials and decide cases relating to serious crimes, especially against women and children. In most states, however, these have failed to achieve anything. A look at the reasons behind such failure.

Gender-based violence is as old as the hills. To change something that is so deeply embedded in our thinking, we need to respond, rather than react. Awareness and introspection are the keys to changing mindsets and culture.

As India strives to ensure faster delivery of justice in cases involving crimes against women, several steps have been taken to improve ease of initial reporting. Here are some reports from different cities that indicate how these are functioning on the ground.

Shunned by families, often deeply scarred and traumatised by experiences in prison and ostracised by society at large, women convicts can rarely expect a normal life in the city after release. These cases from Kolkata, facilitated by state and NGOs, however raise hope.

On Trans Remembrance Day, Pune’s transwomen gathered to remember those who lost their lives to transphobia, and shared tales of the stigma, bullying, harassment and fear that they face everyday.

The pink taxis launched in Kolkata in February 2019 meant to provide a safe commute option for women. They also promised to open up a new world for the 10 women drivers chosen to drive the fleet. Today, not only are they not making enough money, their days are filled with challenges on the roads and off.

Reports of harassment and molestation of women commuters, often involving app-cabs, have become all too common. For all practical purposes, though, the responsibility to make commute safe lies with multiple agencies — operators, government departments and yes, commuters themselves.