Sexual Assualt is a topic which is difficult to talk about for anyone who has experienced any sort of abuse. Although, many women are bravely raising their voice against it and creating awareness by sharing their own story, but still some women are afraid to come forward and are suffering in silence. After conducting a survey by the Indian Bar Association in 2017, it was found that more than 70 percent women, from around the country, did not report sexual harassment because they feared the repercussions. According to statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Delhi recorded the most cases of sexual harassment in India in 2017, with 613, followed by Mumbai, with 391, and Kanpur, with 162. Telangana recorded more cases of sexual harassment in the workplace than any other state. Bihar was the state to record the most cases of sexual harassment on public transport.
To encourage women to come forward and report these cases, HerZindagi readers have shared their heartbreaking sexual abuse stories with us.
"My servant molested me when I was 5-years-old"
Priya is a physiotherapist in a hospital now, but she was only 5-years-old when she was molested by a servant. Priya says that she didn't know she was molested until MeToo campaign started. "As a child the servant at my grandmother's place used to touch me inappropriately but since I was just 5-year-old I had no clue that this was wrong. Not until #metoo came out, did I realise that I was sexually abused as a child. I remember my private parts used to burn but I had no clue that this should not have happened. The servant , my cousin and me used to play hide and seek and that servant used to take me and hide and that is when he would molest me. I now can recollect that I was uncomfortable but he used to distract me saying that my cousin is somewhere near and we must hide elsewhere. This happened for a whole year and then he was asked to leave for stealing something."
"He suddenly grabbed me from behind and abused me in a subway."
It was a usual day for Mira when she left her home for her dance classes. But while heading home she faced a horrifying incident which traumatized her. "When I was a student at a renowned Dance school in Moolchand, Delhi. I was heading home and had to go via a subway to the bus stop. But even before I entered the subway, there were several bushes and a man suddenly grabbed me from my waist from behind. He started flashing and that is when I yelled loud and clear and people walking on the road started looking, did he let me go."
“He started touching my shoulders and arms in a shared e-rickshaw. It was evident that he was drunk.”
Sakshi is working in a corporate company now, but she was just 18-years-old when she was harassed in an e-rickshaw. But she didn't remain mum and handed the culprit to the police. "It happened when I was going back home from college in the evening. I took an e-rickshaw and a few stops later, a man boarded the rickshaw and sat beside me. Within a few minutes, I could feel him touching my arms and shoulders, and it was evident that he was drunk. When I realized what was happening, I sat on the other side, called my father and took him to the police station."
"2 men pulled me in a car on a busy road while I was headed home."
A 29-year-old woman walking home from work at 7 PM was pulled inside into a SUV on a busy road. "I was going home when three men in a car stopped and tried to pull me inside. This happened around 8 p.m and on one of the busiest roads in Delhi. I started yelling and well since I was a little heavy they could not totally pull me in, I was half inside when the tribals who used to live on the footpath (whose daughter I used to teach sometimes, and they were also sickle makers) came running with their sickles, surrounding the men. The mother of that girl asked me to run home and said that it will get ugly so you go, we will take care of this. The irony? This happened bang opposite the police station!"
"They stalked me for 10km on my trip to goa"
A 27-year-old woman, who visited Goa in 2018, shared her ordeal of being stalked by strangers. "I was exploring goa, which is considered as one of the safest cities in India, but I had a totally different experience. I took a scooty on rent and three local men started following me. I thought they might be heading in the same direction but apparently they followed me for a good 10km stretch. Suddenly, they overtook me and stopped their vehicle right in front of me. I had to stop and suddenly one of them came and grabbed my hand. Luckily, I was carrying a stun gun with me and I used it and started shouting. People from nearby heard my voice and started beating them."
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"He touched me inappropriately in a DTC bus"
A 19-year-old girl was molested in a DTC bus when she was going to college. Traumatized by this, the girl decided to never wear a skirt again. "I, still remember that I was wearing a long skirt and it was raining. During those days we had DTC buses which had a small staircase. I was on the top one with an umbrella in my hand, when a man instead of holding onto the railing, glided up his hand and touched me inappropriately. I quickly hit him with my umbrella and kicked behind, without seeing who it was, I moved way in front and sat... that was the last time I wore a skirt."
Stay safe and alert.
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