London/Washington DC; 29 Nov 2019 (UMM): British and US Governments have recently issued warnings, and detailed information sheets for its citizens travelling or staying in India.
India is fast building a reputation of being an unsafe place for women resulting some of the Western governments prompting to these advisory sheets being issued to its travellers.
British Government has issued a detailed information sheet for ‘survivors of rape and sexual assault’ while US Government’s India travel advisory, which was issued earlier in March 2019 and which places India at ‘level 2’ security, advises travellers to ‘exercise increased caution’, and mentioned Indian authorities report rape as one of the fastest-growing crimes in India.
If a British national is sexually assaulted in India, the advisory tells them about their rights and that it needs to be dealt with by a female police officer
According to TimesTravel Dec 4, 2019, British advise to its citizens, released on its website recently, stated that rape and sexual assault survivors should ‘insist’ on a police report. It added that the police are not bound to provide an English translation, but the survivor could get the statement read and explained in English before signing it.
Although actions against sexual assault are usually taken by the police, the speed and effectiveness of their action depends on the social status of the victim, and the popularity it receives by mainstream TV channels.
A report published in Forbes magazine, ‘20 Most Dangerous Places For Women Travelers’ Jul 26, 2019; cited Thomson Reuters Foundation's 2018 ranking of the most dangerous countries for women, where India topped the list, and outranked such countries as Syria and Afghanistan — second and third — that are currently at war.. The Comparision of the results of the Women's Danger Index, was widely circulated in the Western media.
According to The Washington Post June 27, 2018, experts interviewed for the poll said India had topped the list because its government has done little to protect women since the controversial rape and murder of a young student in 2012 prompted widespread outrage and changes in the country’s rape laws.
“India has shown utter disregard and disrespect for women ... rape, marital rapes, sexual assault and harassment, female infanticide has gone unabated,” Manjunath Gangadhara, an official in the southern state of Karnataka, told Thomson Reuters.
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