Thumps Down --- Autos, Buses

Shemin Joy

New Delhi, Sep 23, 2007 (PTI) Buses and autos plying in the capital have got a thumps down from Delhi women, with a whopping 70 per cent of the fairer sex claiming that these were the high-risk areas for them.

Fifty per cent of the respondents of a government- backed study -- "How Secure or Insecure are Women in the City of Delhi" by the National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science -- said they consider buses as most unsafe for women.

The study suggested that government should ensure that the drivers and conductors of blueline buses have no criminal background and get them registered with the authorities.

Autos came a distant second with 20 per cent in the study conducted for Bureau of Police Research and Development by interviewing 630 respondents in markets, colleges, railway stations, malls, ISBT, airport, slums and villages.

Ten per cent of the women felt that roadside was an area of high insecurity. Interestingly, Old Delhi ranked fourth in this regard with seven per cent of the respondents perceiving this part of the capital as scary.

The survey, conducted to stidy the perception level of insecurity among women in the capital, also found that market places and colleges are the places where capital's women feel most insecure. About 80.40 per cent of women interviewed at marketplaces said they felt insecure at the place while the figurefor colleges was 72.10 per cent.

Shopping malls came third where 60 per cent of respondents said they felt insecure. Level of insecurity was lowest among slum dwellers (8.70 per cent) followed by respondents from village (22.8 percent).

The study said personal factors like low level of confidence and alcoholic spouses made slum dwellers (80 per cent of the respondents) insecure.

The feeling of insecurity sank in 85 per cent of women in markets and railway stations due to low level of confidence, it said. In colleges, 70 per cent of the girls had lower level of confidence. Respondents from villages have higher trust in the police while those from markets and airport trusted police the lowest, it said.

The study suggested that small bottes of pepper spray be made available at a very low price for enhancing the security of the fairer sex.

"Every girl should carry pepper spray and it should beavailable in a small bottle at a very low price ... easilyavailable in the market," it said.

The study also recommended that women should always move in groups if possible and should carry contact numbers of women helpline and police besides having "some basic knowledge" of law.