DELHI MOST UNSAFE FOR WOMEN WORKING AT NIGHT: SURVEY

New Delhi, October 10, 2008
The Economic Times  The Tribune  The Times of India  

The national capital, infamous for crime against women, has been polled in an industry survey as the most unsafe city for the fair sex working in night shifts with companies in IT and ITeS, aviation and media sectors and hospitals.

A majority of 65 percent of women in Delhi interviewed said they felt insecure working in night shifts, while the figure was the least for Mumbai at 26 percent, according to a survey by industry chamber Assocham.

The study comes nearly 10 days after, Soumya Vishwanathan, a scribe working with a television news channel, was murdered while driving home from office in the wee hours of September 30. Police investigating the case have so far drawn a blank in the case.

Bangalore is the second most unsafe place for working women with 56 percent of those polled expressing a sense of insecurity, the survey said. In Hyderabad and Chennai as many as 35 percent and 28 percent respectively shared similar feelings, it added.

The survey-covered women working in companies engaged in business process outsourcing, IT firms, airlines, hospitals and media. It said the safety concern related to the movement outside their office premises and most of the women expect their employers to make security arrangements.

The chamber has suggested strong measures to improve security for women, especially those who move at night.

"Government should make it mandatory installation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in cabs used not only by BPOs but also other industries employing women at night shifts," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

Female employees in the small scale sector are more vulnerable to security risks than their peers in bigger units, the survey said. As much as 48 percent of them in small firms were found "extremely worried" while the number was smaller at 23 percent for those employed in big companies.

It also showed that women employees are the most vulnerable and prone to both physical and non-physical attacks.

Due to inadequate transport arrangements by employers, 86 percent of women face commuting problems at night. In Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune, women face the maximum commuting problems compared with those in Delhi, Hyderabad and Ludhiana who face the least, the chamber said.