LUCKNOW: If a signboard pasted in a bus or Metro train can declare that smoking and ticketless travel is a punishable offence, why can't one say that sexual harassment is criminal too?This was one of the many suggestions that came up after a panel discussion on ways to prevent sexual harassment in public transport. The event was the outcome of a research project undertaken by London-based researcher Kartikeya Tripathi. Panelists included former UP DGP Sutapa Sanyal, MD of operations & maintenances at Lucknow Metro Sushil Kumar and social activist and former VC of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma.A professor at University College London, Tripathi spoke to women from Lucknow over a period of three years and documented their experiences of harassment. A city based NGO, YES Foundation, aided Tripathi.The findings of the study were startling. Women said that the incidents had deep impact on their lifestyle choices and mental health. Some even said they were forced to give up eduction or jobs.A key finding of Tripathi's research was that while no woman wanted to report harassment to the police, many were willing to come forward through avenues that secured their anonymity.Trying to touch the core of the problem, Verma said, "Harassment has become the 'normal' for girls. While awareness is needed for both genders, it is good that the present generation has started raising a voice."However, she added, most bystanders still ignored such crimes due to fear or plain indifference. "This is a big cultural challenge to ending the menace," she said, adding that it was seen that most harassers were middle-aged men.Following her words, Sanyal said, "Not reporting such incidences is criminal but I cannot deny that for women, reporting harassment is difficult."Accepting that most police officials don't know how to handle such complaints and needed to be sensitized, she said, "If an initial act of harassment is dealt with seriously, bigger crimes like rape can be prevented."Talking about the success of the programmes under Mahila Samman Prakoshth, Sanyal said that victim blaming needed to be stopped and support was needed from both police and families.Enlisting features for women's safety in the Metro, Kumar said that a major change had been introduced in coaches after taking lessons from Delhi Metro "The last seat in a coach did not have a side panel, giving an opportunity to men to harass women by touching them. We have now added a glass panel so that this does not happen again," he said.A question and answer session followed where the audience came up with various suggestions on the part of law enforcement and other authorities.

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