(Image source from: indiatimes.com)

Owing to the reputation that India has got over women safety in the past few years and even months have paved way for other countries like UK and US issuing advisories on India travel.

Given that India has been marked as quite an unsafe spot for women, the British government released a detailed information sheet on November 26 for the survivors of the rape and sexual assault for the citizens who plan on visiting India.

In addition to that, back in March 2019, even US issued an advisory for the citizens travelling to India. Under the advisory, India is in the level 2 position in terms of the security measures and requires the travelers to “exercise extra caution” to keep themselves safe while there.

The Indian authorities themselves have clarified saying that rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. In addition to that, there have been reports of misconduct and sexual assault in the tourist places which further stacks on to the concerns.

The recent case of the rape and murder that happened in Hyderabad, Telangana with a veterinarian doctor was a red alert for the British officials who have issued information to the citizens likely to visit India. It mentioned advising the women travelling to immediately dial 100 in case they find themselves in a threatening situation and ask for a female officer on the call.

The outrage and cases surrounding rape and sexual assault in India has been consistently increasing over the years. According to the statistics presented by National Crime Records Bureau, it suggests saying that there were 32,559 reported cases of rape in the year of 2017. In addition, around 3.6 lakhs women centric crimes were reported in the same year, increasing the number of cases from 3.3 lakhs in 2015.

In the advisory released by the British government that was released on November 26, 2019 suggest that the rape and the sexual assault victims need to insist on a police report. It further added stating, “The police are not bound to provide an English translation, but the survivor could get the statement read and explained in English before signing.”

A renowned lecturer from the University College London, Kartikeya Tripathi, stated that if there are reports of any British citizen getting sexually assaulted in India, they have the complete right to demand talking to a woman officer instead of a male one but not many people are aware of this.

The advisory has been issued with a hope to educate the people who are planning on visiting India on a vacation or even for any other purposes. The advisory clarified saying, “However, the law states that you have the right to have this recorded by a female officer. You will also have to make a statement to a Judicial Magistrate. The police will keep any clothes worn during the attack as evidence.”

The advisory also does advice the women to carry a change of clothes while they are visiting the police station or the hospital for filing the reports. It is likely that the police is going to take the victim to a government hospital to get a forensic test done. The rules do vary from one country to another but for the most part, the same is done in presence of a female officer, provided that the victim is a female. The statement also needs to be issued to the doctor for further procedures.

By Somapika Dutta