Women report harassment on Hyderabad Metro; most cases unreported: Survey

A survey by EThames Business School reveals significant gaps in women’s safety on Hyderabad Metro. Only 11 per cent of women surveyed reported harassment, with poor awareness of safety tools like the T-SAFE app. Students recommend global best practices to improve safety

Hyderabad: Several women travelling in Hyderabad Metro have highlighted harassment, with most cases going unreported due to fear or unclear protocols in the metro.

In addition, a large number of women have little awareness of the T-SAFE application, an initiative by the Telangana Police Women Safety Wing, which provides ride-monitoring and safety tools, especially for women.

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These were the findings of a survey carried out by EThames Business School students who, on Tuesday, released a white paper on ‘Women’s Safety in Hyderabad Metro Transit’. As per the report, women feel safe during the day, but their perception of safety drops sharply at night.

“Eleven per cent of respondents surveyed reported harassment, but most cases went unreported due to fear or unclear protocols. Less than half knew of the T-SAFE app/helplines and only 12 per cent ever used them,” students said.

The survey report was based on 410 survey responses, several commuter interviews, and expert inputs from the Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd and Telangana Police Women Safety Wing. Commuters, according to the survey, felt that the CCTV and women-only coaches exist, but poor monitoring, dim lighting, and limited staff remain concerns.

A few commuters suggested providing more seats on the metro platforms to help the elderly, pregnant women, people with knee problems and various disabilities.

The survey team, which observed the globally best practices, suggested including women-only coaches as in Tokyo, Dubai, Delhi, Seoul, Emergency help points/panic buttons in Mexico City, London, mobile apps for anonymous reporting like in London, Toronto, Seoul, large-scale anti-harassment campaigns run by Tokyo, Singapore, London, and Community partnerships as in New York’s Safe City, Delhi’s She Teams.