Delhi ‘worst for sex attacks’ on women

NEW DELHI/SAO PAULO, October 16

Five years after the fatal gangrape of a student on a bus in New Delhi, the Indian capital was on Monday paired with Brazil’s Sao Paulo as the world’s worst megacities for sexual violence against women in a poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The December 2012 attack of a 23-year-old woman was a watershed in the fight for women’s rights in India, prompting thousands to take to the streets demanding action against rising sex attacks.

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The public outcry not only forced authorities to strengthen gender laws, establish speedy courts for rape and set up a fund for rape victims, but also opened up the conversation on sexual violence in the largely conservative, patriarchal nation.

However Delhi, a metropolis of more than 2.6 crore people, remains known as India’s “rape capital”.

And alongside Sao Paulo, it came joint bottom in the survey when experts on women’s issues were polled about the risk women run of encountering sexual violence in 19 different megacities.

“I’m not surprised by the results as they’re based on perceptions. India and Brazil have seen a lot of media attention on sexual violence in recent years,” said Rebecca Reichmann Tavares, head of UN Women in India who also worked in Brazil.

“Sexual violence in both these cities is, of course, a reality, but there isn’t any definitive data to suggest that rates are higher in Delhi and Sao Paulo than any other city.” The survey asked 380 experts in cities with populations of more than one crore to assess the risk of sexual violence and harmful cultural practices to women.

The Egyptian capital Cairo was rated the most dangerous city for women overall and rated third worst for sexual violence, followed by Mexico city and Dhaka. Tokyo was seen as the safest city for women in terms of sexual violence.

There were 2,155 rapes recorded in Delhi in 2016, a rise of 67 per cent from 2012, according to police data.

Sao Paulo had 2,287 rapes reported in July this year compared to 2,868 in all 2016, according to government figures, but Brazilian think-tank, the Institute of Applied Economic Research, estimates only 10 per cent of rape cases are reported.

Authorities attribute the surge in numbers to more victims reporting crimes, rather than more sexual violence occurring. Activists say it is probably a combination of both.

Campaigners said sex attacks were often not reported due to the “dishonour” associated with rape, as well as a lack of faith in a male-dominated, often insensitive police and judicial system.

“For too long, the perpetrators have acted with a sense of impunity. Certainty of punishment is the best deterrent,” said Rishi Kant, a Supreme Court lawyer and activist from Shakti Vahini, a Delhi-based charity that supports victims. — Reuters