{
  "id": 10450741,
  "title": "Women’s safety falls through the gap between intention and policy",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/womens-safety-falls-through-the-gap-between-intention-and-policy",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-28T13:24:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/womens-safety-falls-through-the-gap-between-intention-and-policy-10897842/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nearly 15 years have passed since the horrific gangrape in Delhi in December 2012. Since then, there have been efforts to enhance women's safety through policies and funding. The Nirbhaya Fund was established in 2013 to support women's safety programs, and the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplaces Act was passed. Between 2015 and 2025, Rs 5,846.08 crore out of the Rs 7,712.85 crore allocated under the Nirbhaya Fund has been utilized. This funding was allocated for setting up women's help desks in police stations, establishing fast-track courts for rape cases, and creating gender labs to explore urban design solutions prioritizing women's safety. Despite these initiatives, the safety of women still appears to be lacking, as evidenced by incidents such as the Jamui and Aastha Kunj park events.\n\nOne major issue is the perception of safety audits as the end rather than the means for women's safety. While numerous audits have been conducted, there is a lack of follow-up action to address the problems identified. For instance, if it is known that a particular area has a high crime rate, no action should be taken to fix it. Additionally, governments are providing free bus travel for women, which may not address safety concerns if wait times are long and unpredictable, and if women have to traverse unsafe streets to reach the bus stop. This demonstrates a commitment to women's safety without the necessary capacity to innovate and improve urban infrastructure.\n\nAnother factor contributing to women's near absence from public spaces, especially during evening hours, is the lack of women in public-facing jobs such as bus drivers, conductors, ticket checkers, and park workers. While some progress has been made, such as lowering the height requirement for bus drivers in Delhi, more needs to be done to increase women's representation in these roles. Regulatory reforms and targets should be implemented to encourage women's employment and presence in public spaces. Lastly, there is a need to increase the number of women in the police force, currently at only 10%, despite the government's target of reaching 33%. Acknowledging these failures and taking accountability at all government levels is crucial to creating a society with women-led development.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Despite policies and funding, women's safety remains inadequate.",
    "Safety audits conducted without follow-up action.",
    "Lack of women in public-facing jobs hinders urban infrastructure improvements."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}