Only five per cent of women feel safe in public places in New Delhi, a women's rights organization in the Indian capital said Friday, citing a recent survey.
The city recently witnessed unprecedented protests over the gang rape and killing of a 23-year student on a bus in December, with demonstrators demanding measures to make New Delhi safer for women.
The International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) study interviewed 2,000 women and 1,000 men aged 16 to 49 between October and November.
Half of the women respondents felt public places, including streets, markets, parks and bus-stops were unsafe "all the time," day or night, ICRW Asia regional director Ravi Verma said.
"The sense of fear among women might have gone up post the gang rape incident," Verma said.
"There should be a zero tolerance against such harassment and crimes. Something needs to be done urgently to reinstate the sense of confidence among women."
Nine out of 10 women interviewed had experienced some kind of sexual harassment or violence, including lewd comments, obscene gestures, uninvited touching, flashing, and sexual assault.
The survey also found that 51 per cent of the men reported having perpetrated sexual harassment and violence against women, Verma said.
The survey report, which was submitted to the United Nations and to national ministries, found that although 78 per cent of respondents reported having witnessed sexual violence, only 15 per cent said they had intervened.
"Forty per cent of the men fully or partially agreed to the statement, 'If a woman is being teased in public space, it is usually her fault'," the report said.