Index on Women’s Safety

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has released the National Annual Report and Index on Women’s Safety (NARI) 2025, which highlights critical findings on the safety and security of women across Indian cities.

About National Annual Report and Index on Women’s Safety (NARI) 2025

• Released by: The National Commission for Women (NCW).

• Collaborators: The report was created with contributions from the Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA), Pvalue Analytics, The NorthCap University, and Jindal Global Law School.

• Survey Sample: The survey covered 12,770 women across 31 cities across all Indian states, making it one of the largest and most comprehensive surveys on the subject of women’s safety in urban India.

Key Findings from the NARI 2025 Report

1. National Safety Score:

   • The national safety score for women in India stands at 65%, forming the benchmark for categorizing cities into four categories:

     • Much Above

     • Above

     • Below

     • Much Below

2. Safest Cities for Women:

   • Kohima, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Aizawl, Gangtok, Itanagar, and Mumbai emerged as the safest cities for women in India.

   • These cities were marked by stronger gender equity, civic participation, effective policing, and women-friendly infrastructure.

3. Cities with Low Safety Scores:

   • Patna, Jaipur, Faridabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Srinagar, and Ranchi were ranked among the least safe cities for women.

   • These cities showed weaknesses in institutional responsiveness, patriarchal norms, and inadequate urban infrastructure for women’s safety.

4. Perception of Safety:

   • 60% of the women surveyed reported feeling "safe" in their cities.

   • However, a significant 40% felt "not so safe" or "unsafe", indicating a major gap in perceived safety.

5. Harassment Statistics:

   • 7% of women reported experiencing at least one incident of harassment in public spaces in 2024.

   • The highest risk group for harassment were women under 24, with 14% of them reporting harassment.

   • Verbal harassment was the most common form of harassment (58%), followed by physical, psychological, economic, and sexual harassment (which were less frequent).

6. Harassment Hotspots:

   • Neighborhoods (38%) and transport (29%) were the primary hotspots for harassment incidents.

7. Women’s Response to Harassment:

   • 28% of women confronted the harasser.

   • 25% of women chose to leave the scene.

   • 21% sought safety in crowds.

   • 20% reported the harassment to authorities.

8. Perception of Safety at Night:

   • The perception of safety significantly drops at night, especially in public transport and recreational spaces.

   • While 86% of women felt safe in educational institutions during daylight hours, safety perceptions fall sharply during nighttime or off-campus.

9. Confidence in Redressal Mechanism:

   • Only one in three women who faced harassment filed a formal complaint.

   • A mere one in four women felt confident that authorities would take effective action on their complaints.

   • 53% of women were unaware whether their workplaces had a Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) policy in place.

10. Action on Complaints:

    • Even when incidents were reported, only 22% were formally registered.

    • Action was taken in only 16% of those cases, showing gaps in the enforcement of safety laws and policies.

Significance of the NARI 2025 Report

• Gap in Urban Safety: The findings indicate a strong divide in safety standards between different cities, with some areas offering a safe environment for women, while others lack basic safety measures.

• Policy Implications: The report highlights critical areas for policy intervention, including gender equality, improvement in urban infrastructure, and effective law enforcement to address the widespread issue of harassment.

• Need for Awareness and Action: The low level of confidence in redressal mechanisms and the low reporting rates show the need for better awareness, support systems, and trust-building between women and authorities.

Conclusion

The NARI 2025 report serves as an important tool in assessing and addressing urban women’s safety in India. It highlights significant regional disparities in safety and institutional response. The report also underscores the need for more effective mechanisms to ensure women’s safety, better infrastructure, and a stronger commitment from authorities to combat harassment and violence against women.