Safecity Safety Championship – Nidhi Shaw

“SPEAK UP YOUR MIND, EVEN IF YOUR VOICE SHAKES, FOR THIS WILL PROVIDE YOU RELIEF FOR A LIFETIME”.

This must be the quote for the SAFECITY CAMPAIGN which I am glad and grateful to be a part of. Today, in this modern world where people still give a thought to speak about sexual harassment, it is a great platform that has provided the voice to thousands and lakhs of victims who want to speak their heart out but social pressure pulls them down from doing so.

WHAT IS HARASSMENT?

Is it only sexual or is it only related to touching and groping.

NO, from my point of view, I believe harassment is when an individual plays with someone’s mind and destroys their level of confidence to such an extent that people lose their self-esteem. I spoke to various people and came to know that harassment does not imply a particular gender but it is something that can be faced by each and every gender, whether male, female or transgender.

WHAT PROVOKES HARASSMENT?

Does BEAUTY provoke harassment?

Does GENDER provoke harassment?

Does DRESS CODE provoke harassment?

NO, A COMPLETE NO.

The only thing that provokes harassment is the sick mentality of the harasser because there is a famous quote saying “ A HEALTHY MIND DOES NOT SPEAK AND THINK ILL OF OTHERS”.

I came to know about various incidents of harassment and thus came to a conclusion that gender is not the influencer of harassment. There were many cases or incidents which showed how a male individual can be a victim of harassment. Touching, groping or sexual invites do not imply to only females but males can also face such issues which need to be stopped. Few people say harassment that involves commenting is ok but, why? Just because it does not involve touching it is not a crime. I personally disregard such views because commenting on someone personally is a crime under section 354 A and it should not be committed. Few individuals face online harassment every day and it is an issue that I also face and it is something that is really unacceptable. Everyday someone messages you and annoys you, this is something which makes your mind totally unstable and even if you do not want to think about it you just cannot ignore it. Harassment is totally gendered unbiased and we must not look into it as a matter of gender only. I believe that mental torture is the biggest crime one can perform. The harasser does not understand the pain which we face after being harassed. We feel like our worth, our privacy, our confidence, our self-respect has been taken away by someone.

Once again, I would like to thank the Safecity campaign for providing me an opportunity to speak out my mind as well as of others’ minds and hearts too. We must not forget our worth, no matter what happens. We need to understand the fact that one person cannot take away our self-power and self-esteem. I would like to tell every victim “DO NOT BE AFRAID OF YOUR STORY, IT WILL RATHER INSPIRE OTHERS”.

And to all the harassers out there “YOU TOOK AWAY MY INNOCENCE BUT YOU CAN NEVER TAKE AWAY MY SPIRIT TO SURVIVE BECAUSE YOU ATTACK MY SELF ESTEEM AS YOU WERE AWARE OF MY POTENTIAL”.

Thank you Safecity Campaign for being an encourager in this world full of critics.

“REFUSE TO INHERIT DYSFUNCTION, LEARN NEW WAYS OF LIVING INSTEAD OF REPEATING WHAT YOU HAVE LIVED AND BEEN THROUGH”.