RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN j 69 C] Harassment of Women Passengers in Trains 7.11 A petition received from Jagori, an NGO on 15 January 1998, as well as a news item that appeared in the issue of 'Outlook' magazine dated 2 April 2001 brought to the notice of the Commission that women are frequently attacked, molested and sexually harassed On railway trains and platforms and in waiting rooms. 7.12 It was reported that, in a country where over 12 million people travel every day by trains, has more than 62,000 kilometers of track covering 6,848 stations, only,a fourth of India's 8,000 passenger trains have any kind of security. In such a situation, women have little respite from unruly passengers and armed offenders. Despite this, the cases of harassment are under reported, the affected women being reticent to file complaints; Further, since law and order is a State subject, a complainant has to file a case with the local Gdvermnent Railway Police (GRP) in the State where the incident has actually taken place. The authorities at the point of origin or termination of the journey are usually of little help, and there has been a tendency in the police to be insensitive to such crimes or to trivialise them. 7.13 The Commission, however, considered it essential to take serious note of this problem. After considering the matter in its several meetings, including discussions involving the Government Railway Police (GRP)/Railway Protection Force (RPF), senior officials of the Railway Board and representatives of Jagori, the Commission made the following recommendations to the Railway Board: • It should be ensured that FIR forms in all the languages relevant to the routes concerned are made easily available and the public is provided complete information about the procedure to be followed. While giving information to the public concerning harassment of women passengers in trains, such informations should be depicted in graphics as well, so that the message can be easily understood by the public. • The Railway Board should have appropriate notices fixed at strategic points in all railway stations/coaches stating that sexual assault, obscene remarks, stares, gestures, songs and unwanted attention are all forms of sexual harassment and therefore offences punishable by law under the Indian Penal Code and the Railways Act, 1989. It was further suggested that the contents of such notices could be shown on close-circuit TV. on all railway platforms. ANNUAL REPORT 2001-2002