Indian law recognizes eve teasing as sexual harassment which is considered as a criminal activity. Indian law does not mention the term ‘eve teasing’. In recent times, the laws have been made stringent so that victim could take recourse under the law. Obscene gestures, recitation or remarks can land the victim into prison for a maximum tenure of three months. That’s not all. Even showing pornographic materials, pictures, books etc to a girl can invite two years of rigorous imprisonment along with fine of Rs. 2000.

Unfortunately, not many women register complaints of eve teasing or harassment because of the fear of humiliation and public exposure. Many women who were victim of sexual harassment commit suicide because of constant social barbs. The society is not kind to the victims. The problem here is of mindset. Even if the laws are there, one needs to pursue them with full might. It is not possible for every victim to stand in the court of law and answer uncomfortable questions. Many a times, parents themselves ask their daughters to forget the incident as it can cause them public shame and embarrassment.

However, we must appreciate the efforts taken by different NGOs and social welfare organizations who are trying to educate people about the grave consequences of eve teasing. They are also conducting programs to sensitise the males who are prone to such behaviour. The focus here is on changing the mindset and respecting the women. The attitude towards women needs to be altered only then we can expect gender equality in the real sense of the word.

Eve teasing is rampant throughout India for all young women regardless of race, nationality and colour. At some point, spread of globalisation has also contributed to this shameful fact. Western entertainment portrays women in over the top sexual form and that has proved detrimental in case of Indian women. Eve teasing could take place in any form; right from lecherous glances to perverted touching. Working women and college going girls are always in danger of being eve teased. The normal perception that women instigate males for untoward actions is far from true.

Even if a female files a case against the culprits or raises her voice, she has to prove her modesty. It is she who is always subject to chastity. In a way, equality of men and women is still a fallacy and not a fact. We, as a society we have miles to go before men and women can be treated equally.

Every man needs to be aware of ‘how to treat a woman’. A woman is not just a sexual object. Eve teasing in India has to do with women empowerment and girl education. What’s the point of education if the people are not even willing to respect women? The traditional mindset often blames the eve teasing incidents on women that they provoke male by wearing scanty clothes. That is actually a lame excuse. Even if females wear modern dresses it does not give men licence to harass women. The answer lies in changing the mindset and inculcating morals and values in our education system.

Same story everyday and now you are wondering what to do? Many women have been found carrying pins, chilli powder, pen-knives and even daggers to protect themselves. Self-defence classes have mushroomed across metropolitan cities that teach martial arts and karate etc. Joining those classes will not be a bad idea. If you feel too shy and reserved to defend yourself and keep the suffering to yourself, its time you get up and raise your voice. Although, you can always pretend to ignore all the lewd comments but things would be much better if you can just look straight into the eyes of the offender and speak up.

If you want to protect yourself against eve teasing, you got to be street smart. Keep a firm expression on your face. Your personality should reflect that you know your mind. While going out, avoid dark lonely streets as that can invite trouble. Walk only through well lit area. If you are being followed by a sick youth, you can walk upto him and shout from the top of your lungs. It is suggested not to wear skimpy clothes if you are going to spend your day in a crowded area. Dress appropriately as provocative dresses can invite unwanted attention. Lastly, try to travel with a male escort. Though it may not always be possible but try to have arrangements where male escort is accompanying you. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

First, parents should make girl child comfortable enough that she can share anything with them. If a girl has been harassed or been subject to molestation, the first place she would expect to be understood is her parents. It is the responsibility of the parents to bring up their children whether male or female with love, patience, honesty, respect for other sex and confidence. Parents can play a major role in healing the psychological scare inflicted on their daughter. They need to work as role models for their children.

Parents should pay close attention to their teenage son, his activities and his friend circle. The truth is no parents like to have eve teasers son. They will not approve such behaviour from their son. But the seeds of the right behaviour are needed to be implanted from the childhood only. Parents should impart education in a way that child can understand both sexes are equal. A son should not be made to believe that he can go away with any crime or atrocity against a female. He should also be taught about respecting a woman.

Parents should focus on proper girl education. They need to work on girl empowerment. It is their job to make their children behave in an appropriate way and take necessary actions whenever needed. Parents of teenage girls should deal with them in a friendly manner. It is a sign of successful parenting when the offspring reposes absolute faith in his/her parents and share agonies and sorrows. If the parents are alert they can always help in avoiding a major tragedy.

Eve teasing is rampant throughout the country. It does not matter whether a woman is fair or dark, school going or office going, she has to face eve teasing incidents almost on a regular basis. One prominent cause of this appalling behaviour is provocative images being splashed across the media. To some extent, this reason holds merit. In last two decades, we have come across frequent raunchy advertisements and music videos. Movies are also depicting women in insulting avatars. It is a normal trend in Bollywood movies to show eve teasing as a way to woo woman’s heart. Eve teasing is also depicted as a mode of fun for the leading characters at the cost of women’s dignity.

It is not that fun, love or sex is the only reason that prompts men to indulge in such frivolous behaviour. Blame has to be shared by the patriarchal mindset of Indian male. Our society instils belief in men that they are more powerful and superior to women. On the contrary, women are raised with the mindset that they are the weaker sex and vulnerable. It’s not about men who should learn to respect a women’s dignity. Instead, women are made to learn to safeguard their modesty. The irony could not have been more striking.

On a positive note, there are plenty of NGOs in India who are working for the cause of women empowerment. They are teaching women on how to deal with difficult people and how to fight back against the harassment at workplace. Workplace gender discrimination is not a new thing but some prominent organizations are leading the way to rectify the situation. Dealing with eve teasing has been made further easy by some charity organizations who help women with harassment problems. We still have to go a long way to completely rectify the situation.

Most often than not the incident of eve teasing is blamed on the victims, i.e. women. It is as if males have got license to indulge in any sort of lecherous behaviour and can go away with it. The patriarchal nature of our society has not been able to deal with incidents of eve teasing in right perspective. There have been plenty of instances when women have come out in open sharing their experiences. Different newspapers and websites keep publishing such accounts that reflect feelings of disgust, insult and scared experienced by women. No one can explain the truth of eve teasing and sexual harassment better than the female who has gone through it. Paradoxically, it is women who often blame themselves for having invited harassment. Instead of fighting back, many women tend to believe that it is their fault which caused them such indecent behaviour from lecherous males. It reflects how deeply eve teasing impacts women.

The sufferers of eve teasing feel helplessness, anger and frustration at not being able to do anything about the incident. Incidents of eve teasing can permanently damage the psyche of the victims. It makes them susceptible about everything in life. They find it hard to trust people. They no longer feel inclined to trust their male friends. Sexual harassment or other forms of molestations also impact personal and academic development of women. The experience leaves them bitter and cautious for the rest of their lives.

As we know, the term ‘eve teasing’ is an Indian origin. The term itself has some demerits. Eve represents temptress and the term actually signifies that eves (women) tempt or provoke males for vulgar comments and behaviours. Ironically, that also means women cause the problem and are also a victim to it. But that is almost like blaming the victims for their sufferings. It also depicts an element of male chauvinism. Probing further, the problem of eve teasing took its roots during the 60s when women had started to venture out for schools, colleges and jobs. A social change was taking place in conservative India. The giant movement of women emancipation came with its own side effects and one of them was eve teasing.

Eve teasing keeps surfacing in different forms. Right from a flirtatious comment to street harassment and molestation, it can turn disastrous for women. No amounts of efforts and policies have proved to be particularly effective against this serious problem. Though, government and administration has taken steps like deploying plain clothed cops and special units like anti Romeo squads to curb the menace. Some of the state governments have made eve teasing a non-bailable offence.

Eve teasing is a complex social problem that will not vanish until the mindset is changed. Apart from law, it is also about education and respecting women. Just because women are considered weaker sex doesn’t mean that they should take things lying down. Awareness is the need of hour and government should take step towards it.