Delhi named worst in the world for sexual violence against women

LONDON: Delhi has been named as the worst megacity in the world for sexual violence against women , in a poll conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation In the first survey of its kind, Delhi has gained the dubious distinction of being the worst megacity when it comes to women feeling at risk of rape, harassment and sexual attacks. The city is already known as the 'rape capital' of India.The survey was conducted in 19 of the world's biggest megacities (as ranked by the United Nations) between June and July 2017. The latest survey comes just months before the five-year anniversary of the Nirbhaya gang rape. of the Nirbhaya gang rape.Delhi, the world's second-most populous city, with an estimated 26.5 million population, was ranked in the survey as the worst megacity in the world for rape, sexual attacks and harassment of women alongside Brazil's Sao Paulo. Delhi was ranked the fourth most dangerous megacity for women in the world overall, performing worse than Dhaka which came seventh and Lagos at eighth spot.Cairo fared the worst and was named as the most dangerous megacity for women in the world. Karachi was ranked second alongside Democratic Republic of the Congo's capital Kinshasa.Delhi also lagged in third place from the bottom when place from the bottom when it came to women's access to economic resources, such as education, ownership of land or other forms of property, and financial services like bank accounts. London, on the other hand, came out top on that issue.The access women in Delhi have to healthcare, including control over their reproductive health and maternal mortality, was also poor. Delhi again came fifth from the bottom, worse than Lagos, whereas London came out top.Tokyo is seen as the safest city for women in terms of risks of sexual violence. Karachi is considered safer than Delhi when it comes to sexual violence and is ninth from the bottom. “I'm not surprised by the results, as they're based on perceptions. India and Brazil have seen a lot of media attention on sexual violence in recent years,“ Rebecca Reichmann Tavares, Representative of the UN Women Office for India, who has also worked in Brazil, told Reuters.“Sexual violence in both these cities is, of course, a reality, but there isn't any definitive data to suggest that rates are higher in Delhi and Sao Paulo than any other city .“ London-based Thomson Reuters Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Thomson Reuters, has conducted the survey in 19 of the world's biggest megacities (as ranked by the United Nations) between June and July 2017.The survey, the results of which were released on Monday, was conducted online and by telephone with 20 experts in each city compiled from a database of women rights' experts. Those interviewed included academics, non-government organisations, healthcare staff, policy-makers, and social commentators.