Strengthening security force recommended in Kochi for women's safety

KOCHI: Based on its safety audit, the Sakhi Resource Centre has recommended that the authorities improve the city’s infrastructure, strengthen its security force and create awareness among women about their right to public space to make it safer for them.
Other suggestions to make the city women-friendly include sensitive and far sighted planning of public transportation, better lighting and footpaths in public spaces,  more open areas and parks with a heterogeneous mix of people,  lesser compartmentalization of residential and commercial environments and more visible security personnel.
The outfit has  suggested that at least one police aid post should be set up  between two major junctions  and more police personnel deployed on the streets at night. All important offices and commercial spaces should have security personnel, it underlines.
With the city filled with  narrow roads, it is crucial to develop more open areas with proper visibility by minimising the blind corners and areas without clear sight in  future city development plans,  it says, strongly recommending that dark alleys and deadends  be eliminated.
The study stresses that the city needs more gender -friendly parks, hangouts and city squares as women- only spaces cannot  be a solution to the violence against them in  public places in its view. Finding  absence of wide walkways a disadvantage, it has suggested that civic authorities and other stakeholder agencies  take immediate steps to repair  broken footpaths.
Its other suggestions include setting up of more clean public toilets for both men and women and displaying of helpline numbers in different parts of the city. In conclusion, the report stresses the need for a gender- friendly overall city development plan for Kochi.