Mapping unsafe areas for women in Mumbai
Mapping unsafe areas for women in Mumbai
"One evening I went to the market when it was very crowded, then one man walking behind me touched me in a dirty way.
"Whenever we sit, men mostly those who are middle aged, tend to brush themselves against us ... they rub their private parts against the girls' shoulders, especially college-going girls because they don't react or speak. They also give a dirty smile when looked with anger."
The quotes are part of testimonies found on HarassMap Mumbai, an online platform that aims to encourage women in India's financial capital to report instances of sexual harassment, and follow that up by marking areas in the city as unsafe if their experience suggests that.
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We have to understand that the police cannot be everywhere. Yet, crimes against women need to be heard. So a tool like HarassMap makes it possible for people to report on unsafe areas
The map is interactive and crowdsources information to map the city based on women's perception of safety.
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Besides women, there are options for men and transgenders to also access HarassMap and input their experiences and rate the safety of a locality.
So far, 104 persons have reported mostly being "touched".
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"No untoward incident might take place and yet a woman might feel unsafe or uncomfortable," said Khan.
"At the same time, I also fear that neighbourhoods that are poor and populated with minority groups might inadvertently get marked as unsafe areas.
"So while mapping the city - and all other cities - is a good idea, all kinds of implications have to be considered."
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/12/clone.of.mapping-unsafe-areas-women-mumbai-2013112.html
