A pilot study on the safety of women in public spaces in Goa, India
By Chinmayi S K and Tania Devaiah
Women and the streets of Goa (2018) is a preliminary report comprising the findings of the Safe Goa project. Safe Goa is an effort to study the safety of women in public spaces and to advocate for the mitigation of the issues of public safety.
This report draws from the following:
- Maps displaying the street-level view printed on paper and placed on the field, that is, in 7 different locations in the city of Panjim for victims and bystanders to anonymously log incidents of street harassment and assault. Data was collected from this maps over 5 weeks.
- Structured and anonymized interviews with 20 women residents of Goa to record personal accounts of street harassment and to understand the issue in its depth.
- 5 focus group discussions attended by more than 100 people to understand what public safety means to them and to identify and determine potential interventions.
This pilot study emphasizes the lived experiences of women in Panjim and the meaning they ascribe to “safety” with reference to public spaces in Goa.
