Reports say that in India a woman is the victim of a crime every minute — in public places, at offices and even at home. Sexual violence faced by women in India — Indian women and foreigners — has adversely impacted India’s image in the world. The #MeToo campaign notwithstanding, the exploitation or abuse of women has not stopped at workplaces, with the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College being a recent case that shook the nation. Despite laws and initiatives being taken by the government and even many organisations, women do not feel safe anymore. Where are we going wrong?

To address these issues, we invited one of the most respected Indian Police Service (IPS) officers of India, Mr. D Sivanandhan. Former Director General of Police – Maharashtra, former Joint Director of CBI, former Deputy Director of the Intelligence Bureau and former Police Commissioner of Nagpur, Thane and Mumbai, Mr. Sivanandhan, through an in-depth presentation, spoke at length on the laws, precautions and the way ahead on Women Safety. He elaborated on the causes too and gave examples on where women could have taken better precautions and had gone wrong in judgement, thus cautioning women to be alert at all times. So informative and engrossing was his address that Only Women members listened to him with rapt attention for one and a half hours. He broke down different crimes under various categories, informed about the various sections of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) governing them, and analysed cases that had become the talk of the nation, with his advisory on each case and at every step.

Mr. Sivanandhan gave many tips on safety and precautions, going to the extent of advising on tips for vehicle safety if women are travelling long distances, things to keep in their handbags, and safety measures to take before opening doors, among others. He guided on who to approach and the steps to be taken should a woman meet with any safety issue at any place. Mr. Sivanandhan also gave a detailed talk on cyber safety as it has been affecting lakhs of people all over India and gave clear tips for men and women to protect themselves from being defrauded.

So engaging was Mr. Sivanandhan’s talk that Only Women members have demanded to invite him again to deliver another address.

We, at Only Women, feel that male allies play an important role in women safety. Keeping this in mind, we had opened our meeting to male allies too and it was attended men as well as women.