The new figures of harassment and violence against women in India show the alarming levels of humiliation faced by them. According to a new survey, more than four in 10 women (41 per cent) have experienced some form of harassment or violence before the age of 19.
The new research conducted by ActionAid, an international NGO whose primary aim is to work for women and child rights, found that women experience harassment for the first time at a very young age and in India, six per cent of them experienced it before 10.
While in Brazil, 16 per cent women said that they experienced violence before the age of 10, in UK and Thailand, 12 per cent and 8 per cent admitted that they faced some kind of harassment before 10.
“Cross country findings suggest immediate action is needed to curb harassment and violence against women. While awareness on rights of women, women's abilities and potential has increased over decades, we are still a long way off from realizing the promise of a just and equal world for half of our humanity. Threats to safety of women are directly related to patriarchal mindsets that manifest itself on streets, at the workplace and at homes,” ActionAid India executive director Sandeep Chachra told Times of India.
The research also found that women are increasingly taking steps to protect themselves against harassment.
82 per cent women said that they had taken steps to guard against such threats. This figure was 91 per cent for women between 25 and 34 years old.
It was also found that around 73 per cent of women have experienced some form of violence or harassment in the past month.
However, this figure is higher in Brazil with 87 per cent of women saying they were subjected to harassment or violence in the past month.
In Thailand, 67 per cent women said that they were harassed in recent past whereas in UK, it was 57 per cent.
