The last safety resort

You scream, you shout out loud, but there's no one around to help. Nothing can be as spine-chilling for a woman, than being brutally raped.

We hear of rape cases almost every single day. Only three days ago, a 40-year old IT professional woman from Bengaluru was raped at a backwater island resort in Kerala. What are the security measures being taken to avoid such situations and what are frequent women travellers doing about it? We find out.

General manager, ibis and Novotel Bengaluru Techpark, Puneet Dhawan has taken special measures for the safety of women.

He says, “At Novotel Bengaluru Techpark, we have introduced the concept of La Femme Rooms that cater to the special needs of women by offering strict security arrangements like video or phone, enhanced room floor security along with special room and bathroom amenities. Since, we have a lot of single lady travellers, our endeavour is to make them feel safe and secure while away from home.”

Divender Kaur, communication manager, Chancery Pavilion, says, “We have a floor reserved for women, where one is served by ladies and even access from emergency exits is denied. There are video telecallers in all rooms and all of them have a visual Caller ID system. If anyone rings the room bell, the guest can see the image of the person.”

Women security issues have been around for a long time, but are coming out in the open now. “I always make sure our doors are closed when we are in our hotel rooms and keep my cell phone next to me. I make sure my friends and family have my itinerary. I carry a pepper spray always. My friends have also joined karate classes. A girl has to look confident and never show her vulnerability,” admits Ankita Sinha, a 30-year-old girl who runs a travel website.

Janaki, principal consultant of Kelp HR enablers that helps companies set up guidelines against sexual harassment shares, “We provide anti-harassment policy and procedures and educate employees on the importance of the stand against sexual harassment in a workplace. It also sets out firm guidelines on how employers and employees should respond to incidents of harassment, including a detailed mechanism by which employees can make complaints when sexual harassment occurs."

Another frequent traveller, RJ Preethi, who works with a local radio station says, “Since I host a lot of shows in and outside the city, I avoid cab pick ups and prefer public transport. I do a back ground check on my clients and always inform my folks about my whereabouts."