The way they do it is by deliberately touching body parts and pretending that it is an accident in the crowd. The most common parts where women are likely to be touched are the bottom and the breasts.
In western nations; when someone sits on the seat next to you, they will try not to touch you at all. But in India, it’s completely opposite. When a man with bad intent sits next to you, they will cosy up to you and deliberately touch you. In these circumstances, you will need to shout at the man to stop touching you. There are good people all around and many will want to help you.
Many of these men do it on purpose as they know that they can get away with it without being caught as the victim do not raise any voice against them for the fear of reprisal. Plus in a male dominated society as India’s, it’s usually the woman who gets the blame.
Watch some of these videos and you will get an idea about the plight of women being groped in Delhi the capital of India. Women travelling to India either alone or in groups are advised not to travel on public transport particularly the busses in Delhi and Mumbai.
India Travel Survival Guide For Women
It’s not just the buses; women are groped in broad daylight especially in crowded places. I remember once when I was about 15 years old, I was walking in narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk – it seemed as if every man who passed by wanted to touch me. In one incident when I was only 11 years old I was at the Railway station in Patna, a man came up to me, touched me and ran away. Incredible it may sound; this is ground reality of India. You might wish to read about the sexual harassment of Michaela Cross, a 23 year old American student on a study trip to India. Sometimes, you wonder if Indian men are the worst types of men on the planet.
My advice to those women travelling to India alone or otherwise MUST not get on these public transports. I rarely use these buses anymore. Hire an auto-rickshaw or a taxi and sit on the back seat. Always stay on the side of the road where you can see the traffic and the people coming towards you so you can keep a tab on things happening around you. There is a chapter on how to deal with groping in my book “India travel survival guide for women” if you really wanted to travel on these public transport.
