How many women in danger dial 100? Very few

In the wake of the brutal rape and murder of Priyanka Reddy (26) in Hyderabad, women have been advised by the police department to always be ready and alert to dial 100 for police help when faced with any danger.  The DGP of Telangana, Telugu film celebs and a countless number of social media handles have been sharing precious information in this regard by sharing phone numbers of police and SHE teams.

It’s necessary to raise awareness.  But it’s also true that not many of those in danger, whether women or men, have the mental preparedness to do the right thing during tense situations.  Says journalist Donita Jose, “It’s easy to tell women to dial 100, but I swear whenever a creep follows you, you just can’t think of it. I don’t know why. It just never clicks you. Among the hundreds of women I know, maybe 15 have dialled 100. Rest just call family and run or hide. Nobody knows how to call 100. Despite me calling police for work, I saved my areas SHO (Station House Officer) number only after a creep harassed me this year. Most don’t even have that conditioning to call.”

It is for law enforcement agencies, NGOs, women activists, etc to take note of this general tendency to not use the services of the police.  Surely, more needs to be done to spread awareness besides spreading information.