A survey on the safety of women traveling from local trains has highlighted the need to take the issue of the safety of women passengers more seriously. The survey paints an unsafe and alarming picture of the local trains, which are known as the lifeline of Mumbai.
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The Office of the Director General of Railway Police surveyed with a view to the safety of women passengers in the Mumbai suburban railway. It reviewed the experiences, problems, and recommendations of women passengers. The views of women passengers were sought from March 1 to 31. According to the report, 40 percent of women said they felt unsafe traveling after 11 pm on a local train. Twenty-eight percent of women asked for security for travel after 10 p.m. A total of 3,000 women participated in the survey.
Questions in the survey included: How many times do you use a local for travel, travel route, pass holder-ticket holder, age, reason of travel, time of travel, what time feels unsafe, security on platforms including local coaches, should there be uniformed police, etc.
Key takeaways from the survey:
- Only 29 percent of women approach the railway police station to complain if a crime is committed on a train journey.
- Of the remaining 71, 64 percent do not complain out of fear alone. And 12 percent of women don't report sex crimes out of shame.
- In cases of theft, 12 percent of women passengers do not reach the station, saying that the value of property or goods is not worth reporting.
Demands made by women passengers:- Enhancing security in uniform in women's coaches during night travel- Increasing ticket checking- Increasing local trips- Increasing women's coaches- Crackdown on beggars/drunkards in women's compartments- Crackdown on male hawkers