Gender Based Violence in India

Elsa Marie D’Silva

1 IN 3 WOMEN
experience sexual assault
at least once in their
lifetime globally

Source: UN Women
80% OF SEXUAL
ASSAULTS
are not reported to the
police

Source: UN Women
 Sexual harassment & violence violate the Indian
Constitution and international frameworks

• Article 14 & 15 of the Indian Constitution

Right to equality

• Article 21 of the Indian Constitution

Right to life; right to live with dignity; right to practice
any occupation; right to a safe environment

• India signed CEDAW in 1980 and ratified it in 1993

• India has been a member of the ILO since 1919

-End of discrimination & all
forms of violence
-Recognition of unpaid work
-Effective participation
-Equal opportunities
-Equal access to healthcare,
economic resources,
information & tech
-Effective gender policies &
laws
Performance of States on SDG 5

Source:: https://niti.gov.in
 Source:
https://
niti.gov.in

806 in
2 states

26%
(Deloitte)
 806 in
2 states

Source: https://
niti.gov.in
Women, Peace & Gender Gap Index
Security Index (World Economic
(GIWPS) Forum)

131/153 108/144

#1 Human
Development
most dangerous
Indicators (UNDP)
place for women on
(Thomson Reuters
Perception Survey)
130/189
“Women’s Rights are
Human Rights
&
Human Rights are
Women’s Rights”

- Hillary Clinton
What’s the problem?
 Sexual violence as a spectrum of abuse
Non verbal
• Staring / Ogling
• Taking pictures
• Indecent gestures
Verbal
• Commenting
• Catcalls
• Sexual invites
Physical
• Touching / Groping
• Stalking
• Sexual Assault
• Rape

All forms of sexual violence can be equally debilitating to many;

limiting their choices, movements and affecting mental health.
• SAFECITY crowdmaps
personal experiences of
sexual violence in public
spaces.

• This is aggregated as
location based trends and
visualized as hotspots on a
map.

• The aim is to make public

spaces SAFE and equally
accessible to all through

• Individual awareness

• Community engagement

• Institutional accountability
Aim of the App
• Gather Information (stories and incidents)

• Publish Information (open source)

• Study the Patterns and Trends (by location &

category)

Design of the App

• Protect identity and privacy

• Empathy in reporting

• Provide support – helplines, legal information

• Planned upgrade - chat bot and positive actions

Primary Information:
• What happened?

• Location

• Date / Time

• Age / Gender

• Ethnicity / Disability / Sexual

Orientation

Secondary Information
• Causation / Corelation

• Perpetrator

• Bystanders

• Location context

• Incident context
 Making crowdsourced data useful

INSTITUTIONS
- Gain a new dataset to
INDIVIDUALS work with
- Make better choices - Build better
regarding their own relationships with
safety communities

COMMUNITIES
- Mobilize themselves around the
issue
- Demand better accountability
from institutions
 YOUTH
CAMPUS
AMBASSADORS
WORKING WITH MEN AND BOYS
A COMMUNITY SABHA IN DELHI
WORKING WITH POLICE IN DELHI
Achievements by the numbers

40,000 1 million 40,000 10 5

+
authorities & workshop countries police
reports citizens forces
attendees
engaged
SCHOOL + COLLEGE ELECTED
ADMINISTRATIONS REPRESENTATIVES

-Providing new data Allocating sufficient

sets financial and political
-Preventing sexual resources to the
violence on campus problem

POLICE LEGAL ADVOCATES

Adding insights into Influencing policy, amending

specific issues and legislation or advocating for
locations new legislation where
required
 THANK YOU!

@TheSafecityApp #Safecity fb-safecity.in

www.safecity.in
info@reddotfoundation.org
Give us a missed call on +91 09015 510 510