Bengaluru: Nirmal Raibole, who works in a well-known IT firm in Whitefield, was scared when she saw a man making shocking gestures when she was traveling to her office cab at 7 am. “For the next three days, I was scared to even come out of my room. It had a deep shock on my mind,” she said. Recently, a group of parents from a well-known school in central Bengaluru complained to the women’s helpline that a man was flashing before the students. High Grounds policemen, who were in disguise, managed to nab the accused. Such cases of harassment to the public, especially vulnerable sections like women and children, have been increasing on the city streets, but hardly any complaints are filed with agencies concerned. Only 10 percent of the cases are reported, while the rest are not visible, said members of the women’s helpline – Vanitha Sahayavani.
Ms. Rani Shetty, the coordinator of Vanitha Sahayavani, said, “Eve-teasing, improper sexual behavior and exposing private parts at public places are violent in the city. Near the school, the police could nab the accused as he visited the spot frequently. We know that such incidents are on the rise, but we receive very few complaints as most of the victims are too terrified to report them or manage to ignore them assuming them to be isolated cases. Women face many forms of harassment on the street, but they should not feel sad or depressed. They should raise an alarm and filing complaints.”
Many a time, friends and relatives discourage the victims from filing complaint cases and ask them to ignore such incidents. Ms Rashmi K., who commutes by BMTC, said, “Such harassment is common at bus-stands. I have raised my voice many a time. But we don’t consider such issues critical and do not take them as seriously as other crimes. Even the police ask you to ignore it. When faced with such a situation, one should ask others and friends to intervene.” City psychologists said that men who indulge in such activities feel a sense of achievement, pleasure or advantage by doing so. In some cases, they are proved to be mentally ill as well.
