84% of young women on buses face sexual harassment: Survey

More than 45% of young women who use public transport become victims of sexual harassment – most of them harassed on buses and at bus stands, says a recent survey.

Young women (4.58%) also face sexual harassment on trains or at rail stations, and when availing ride-sharing services (1.53%), according to the survey conducted by the Aachol Foundation.

Among women facing sexual harassment, 64.92% experience unwanted touches, while 20.04% are ogled or stalked. A majority of 75.60% of young women walking alone are ogled.

Of the young women taking part in the survey, 65.58% had been sexually harassed. Of them, 35.49% said they had been subjected to indications of sexual desire or ogling, while 29.62% were victims of unwanted touching.

The survey, "Socio-Economic Context of Young Women and Its Impact on Mental Health", was conducted for Women's Day on 8 March. A total of 1,014 young women, 18 to 30 years in age, from different districts across the country participated in the survey.

Of those surveyed, 88.17% were unmarried, 10.95% were married and the remaining are no longer married. The study report combines data on how much discrimination, sexual harassment, and social and family barriers they face, and how that has affected their mental health.

Various reasons for the mental problems of young women surfaced in the report. One of the reasons is tension in the family. According to the survey, the mental health of 31.85% of young women has been affected by suchtensions, while financial instability has had a negative impact on the minds of 24.46% of the participants. Unemployment caused mental distress for 14.89% of the women surveyed.

The survey also found that 69.92% of young women are victims of negative comments about their physical appearance and 23.77% face family pressure to get married despite their unwillingness to do so. Among the participants, 38.86% were victims of sexual abuse in childhood while 43.89% were victims of online harassment. The opinions of 22.29% of young women are not taken into consideration by their families while 46.25% face restrictions in expressing their views.

Tansen Rose, founding president of the Aachol Foundation, told The Business Standard, "Our society, state and family are not yet ready to adapt to women who are established in society. If we want to keep women mentally healthy and protect them from suicide, we need to come up with the right solutions, analysing the findings of the survey."

"All citizens of the country need to increase various awareness activities to have the right attitude towards women. We must ensure that women are not deprived of their due rights," he added.