After global survey tags India most unsafe, govt highlights steps taken for women's security

Weeks after India was labelled as the world's most dangerous country for women by a poll of global experts, the government is making efforts to improve the image of the country. As a part of this, the Ministry of Tourism has written to heads of Indian missions, trade and hospitality associations and tourism offices abroad, mentioning initiatives taken in the country for safety and security of women, reports The Economic Times.

Last month, Thomson Reuters Foundation, in a survey of about 550 experts on women's issues, claimed that India is the world's most dangerous country for women due to high risk of sexual violence and being forced into slave labour. It ranked the country above war-torn Afghanistan and Syria. The survey was however dismissed by the Women and Child Development Ministry, saying it is based on perception of "unknown persons".

Following this, the tourism secretary sent a letter in July first week, highlighting initiatives taken to promote women’s safety, and urging officials to publicize these to address any concerns people may have about visiting India.

The letter mentioned the clarification issued by WCD earlier. “The results have not been derived from any kind of data and are solely based on subjective opinions of 548 respondents who have been defined by Reuters as ‘experts focused on women’s issues'. However, information on their credentials, country of expertise or qualifications are not available,” the letter stated.

The ministry further counted the efforts made for safety of women, including one-stop centres, women’s helplines, round-the-clock toll-free multilingual tourist helpline launched in 12 languages, guidelines on safety and security of tourists issued to states and Union Territories and social awareness campaigns that highlight the importance of good conduct and behaviour towards tourists to reinforce the spirit of 'Atithi Devo Bhava' (Guest is God), the report stated citing the letter.