AIILSG conducts Women Safety Audit in three cities

The National Commission for Women (NCW), Government of India, has empanelled the All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) to conduct Women Safety Audit in three Tier II cities—Ludhiana, Dhanbad, and Thiruvananthapuram. With the support of various stakeholders, women’s security scorecard has to be prepared according to some basic parameters to evaluate ‘how safe the city is for women’. The majority of the study will be focused on public spaces and workplaces.

As of the current status, the primary stage to finalise the public spaces and workplaces in the city was conducted by AIILSG at a stakeholder meeting on February 12, 2024, at the Trivandrum Corporation Conference Hall. The meeting was inaugurated by Binu Francis, Secretary, Trivandrum Corporation. The presidential address was delivered by Lilabati Moringatham, a NCW member, and the presentation was done by Pashim Tiwari, Technical Director, AIILSG. The meeting was attended by members of the Police Department, Women and Child Department, Municipal Councillors, Women Empowerment Officer, members of the Women’s Cell, Chief Programme Officer of the Planning Board, and social workers.

While addressing the meeting, Binu Francis spoke about Kerala’s current position on women’s safety and the policies regarding the protection of women.

Sulakhana S, Assistant Director, Women and Child Department, spoke about the “Ente Koodu,” which is the shelter home for women, and mentioned the active role played by the control room with the helpline number 181. Suja S S, Child Development Project Officer (CDPO), highlighted the issue of drug users should stress that this be one of the investigation points in the survey.

Further, it was discussed that the Women Safety Audit Survey will shed light on the existing challenges and areas of improvement related to women’s safety in Trivandrum. The recommendations provided will aim to create a safer environment through collaborative efforts from the community, businesses, and local authorities. The findings will further be instrumental in shaping policies and initiatives to enhance women’s safety in the region.

In the meeting, the stakeholders identified a few public places and work spaces as unsafe for women. The outcomes of the stakeholder consultation meeting are following:

The next two trainings will be conducted in the upcoming months in Ludhiana
and Dhanbad.

• To focus on women’s safety within the city’s public and work spaces.
• Listing out the identified areas within the city that are unsafe for women.
• Formulating the master list for the women’s safety survey.
• Addressing the issues and challenges faced by women in the city
• Focusing on the barriers to improvement.

The next two trainings will be conducted in the upcoming months in Ludhiana
and Dhanbad.