It is imperative that both men and women speak up and raise their voices against gender-based violence.
Historically, gender and power differentials have been linked to a number of social phenomena, including sexual and gender based violence (SGBV). This term refers to any harmful act committed against a person's will. It is based on socially imposed gender differences between men and women, as defined by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2011. SGBV can be traced to structural inequalities in power relations, which legitimise and perpetuate gender stereotypes and discriminatory norms. It is often argued that gender based violence is the manifestation of persistent gender inequality and a severe human rights violation that threatens physical and mental health and drastically reduces the agency, freedom, and economic opportunity of women, girls, and sexual and gender minorities.
The number of women who experienced some form of violence in India is on the rise, despite several laws and measures aimed at ensuring their safety and equality. In 2020, the National Commission for Women received 23,722 complaints of crimes against women, the highest in six years. Moreover, women in Indian cities are known for underreporting incidents of harassment; in the National Capital Region, 77 per cent of women don't report incidents of sexual assault, and 59 per cent have stopped going out alone to avoid such crimes. In urban areas where a large number of women use public transport, their mobility preferences and choices are influenced by transport safety and security. Many women feel unsafe on public transportation and have been harassed or abused at some point in their lives. Women are therefore underrepresented in streets, markets, public transportation, parks, and other public spaces, reinforcing the belief of potential threat of violence in the public spaces.
Patriarchal approach
In 2021, the deployment of smart surveillance technologies in three cities – Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi – was justified as improving the safety of citizens in urban areas, especially women. As part of the Ministry of Home Affairs' Safe City project, smart surveillance is listed as a minimum desirable component for ensuring the safety and security of women and children across eight metro cities. This traditional responsibility of the state to ensure the safety of public spaces through surveillance is none other than a patriarchal approach of protecting women as a moral obligation. Unfortunately, this approach does neither facilitate women empowerment nor extend access to public spaces by all genders.
The status quo can be challenged by women and girls ‘stepping out’ into public spaces. Until rights-based approaches are promoted, women will not be able to access the city without fear of violence and with assurance of justice. The key to engendering Indian cities is to take this approach.
Deep-rooted prevalence of SGBV has been linked to existing gender norms and beliefs associated with desired gender roles. According to some, patriarchy creates idealised norms of masculinity and femininity, and any deviation from these scripts leads to violence. Violence is therefore created by existing beliefs, norms, and experiences at the individual level. It is due to this understanding of masculinity that men are socialised in such a way as to be tough, unfeeling, and violent. Indian society is characterised by rigid masculinity attitudes and value systems. Boys and girls in India are governed by these norms and attitudes, which feed into the cycle of violence perpetrated by men and experienced by women. The norms permeate society from households to communities to larger structures like public spaces, workplaces and homes. Consequently, most cities and towns are planned and built to suit the needs of the men and able-bodied people who are assumed to be in economically productive roles. Consequently, the burden of ensuring safety falls on women themselves, thus they are advised to avoid using certain streets, maintaining a dress code and carrying personal safety items.
During the 9th Gender and Economic Policy Discussion Forum (GEPDF), entitled “The City as an Inclusive Space through a Gender and Equity Lens” on 5 September 2013, it was pointed out that in order to ensure urban prosperity reaches everyone in the city, an inclusive city must be built that considers gender. Violence and security of women were identified as development issues at the forum. Women's safety depends on a city's physiology, i.e. how it operates. The forum highlighted the lack of inclusion of women in the design of urban spaces, infrastructure, and policies governing them. While cities themselves do not generate gender-based violence, the process of urbanisation can make women more vulnerable to violence. Lack of safety is attributed to fragmented social relations in cities, in addition to poor infrastructure, including no street lights, unusable sidewalks, and no public toilets.
The idea of women's safety involves strategies, practices, and policies aimed at reducing gender based violence (or violence against women), including women's fear of crime, as well as creating conditions for women's access and inclusion. In addition to spatial equity, income equity plays a significant role in safety. In an urban context, women's sense of safety is inextricably linked to how a city grows and organises its spaces; what gets built and where, is a reflection of the relationship between power and space. Social exclusion is characterised by a lack of movement and a fear of space.
Equlity and inclusiveness
The 22nd GEPDF entitled, "Public Spaces and Everyday Narratives of Violence amongst Vulnerable Gender Groups: Towards Inclusive Policy Frameworks" held on 2 May 2017 linked the issue of safe and inclusive public spaces with Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals. In the forum, participants discussed how due to a lack of ‘feeling safe’, so-called ‘public spaces’ are transformed into ‘restricted spaces’ that are only accessible to people from a specific class, gender, and age. The session explored how gendered experiences of restrictions and access to public spaces are negotiated within everyday lives on one hand, and how it shapes the creation of safer, more inclusive public spaces on the other. The forum mapped the spaces where fear of violence and anxiety is the highest. The forum discussed the vocabulary of violence in the context of vulnerability of young single migrant women in the cities and a more inclusive policy framework. The forum also presented the transgendered experiences of public spaces and the working women and the homeless women from a planning and policy perspective.
There were four broad policy recommendations made by the forum, including recognising multiple public spaces accessible to different genders across class, age, and social groups; breaking normative boundaries to create a diverse and heterogeneous gender category; and integrating inclusiveness and violence into urban and regional planning.
The 18th GEPDF titled “Gender Equality in the workplace in India” held on 23 September 2015 highlighted the issue of safety and sexual harassment in the workplace. In the forum, it was noted that sexual harassment is a form of violence and safety issue not often discussed in the context of the unorganised sector. Here, it becomes important to define the 'workplace' as it does not always include home-based work and informal sector workplaces where violence in the form of sexual harassment has occurred in the past, according to a number of researchers.
While talking about public space and gender based violence, we must not forget about the free and safe access to digital platforms. It is also important to promote equal access to digital services through inclusive digital infrastructure. Violence against women, including cyberbullying, sex trading, sexual harassment, and other forms of violence must be addressed.
Ultimately, there needs to be more awareness about the root causes of violence against women. Both boys and girls must be taught about equal rights from an early age. It is imperative that both men and women speak up and raise their voices against gender-based violence. In addition, women's rights to the city and safe public spaces will not be possible without dismantling the patriarchal ideologies. It is impossible to create a safe space for everyone without eliminating stigmas and reservations surrounding women's freedom and right to access public spaces. This requires a more systematic engagement that creates a healthy form of communication and interaction that doesn't rely on unequal power relations.
Link to 9th Gender and Economic Policy Discussion Forum (GEPDF)
Link to 22nd Gender and Economic Policy Discussion Forum (GEPDF)
Link to 18th Gender and Economic Policy Discussion Forum (GEPDF)
