Women in the capital of Delhi feel unsafe at all time and in all places, says a study conducted by the Delhi government’s department of women and child development along with some NGO’s.

Cutting across class and profession, women face continuous and different forms of sexual harassment in crowded as well as secluded places, including public transport, cars, markets, roads, public toilets and parks. School and college students are most vulnerable to harassment, particularly rampant in public transport, particularly buses.
Women find the most common form of harassment, verbal (passing comments) and visual (staring and leering) and physical (touching/groping, leaning over).
Poor infrastructure (including poor or absent streetlights), unusable pavements, lack of public toilets, open usage of drugs and alcohol are major reasons behind the lack of safety.
The burden of ensuring safety remains upon women. They try to ensure their own safety by not visiting certain places, staying indoors after dark, maintaining a dress code, and carrying pepper spray and safety pins etc.
To address the issue, a joint action research initiative was undertaken by the department of women and child development, Government of Delhi, Jagori, UNIFEM South Asia Regional Office and UN Habitat. This baseline survey is based on a sample of 5,010 women and men.