Hi,
Friday night my two team members (Girls) were followed by some boys during their drop time at 3:30am in the morning. However 5 male staff were there in the cab and they did nothing to ensure the safety of the girls. Please suggest how should I bring this to the top management, so that such instances never repeat again in the future. What action we can take against the male employee?
Your thoughts are appreciated!
Thanks!
Ajay Kumar
From India, New Delhi
Friday night my two team members (Girls) were followed by some boys during their drop time at 3:30am in the morning. However 5 male staff were there in the cab and they did nothing to ensure the safety of the girls. Please suggest how should I bring this to the top management, so that such instances never repeat again in the future. What action we can take against the male employee?
Your thoughts are appreciated!
Thanks!
Ajay Kumar
From India, New Delhi
Dear Ajay Kumar,
You do have a choice to just handle it with a Team-Hurdle and give those men a sounding, to close the case.
However, you also have an option to create a bigger difference .
Stalkers have a pattern. They do it for fun and are mostly spread out in groups. They even choose an area and the target .
In your case, you have already identified the first few.
Now here's a question , are you a member from the HR team ? It would be then, easier for you to implement the change.
If not, team up with an influential member in your HR Team. Involve your Transport Team in this. Ideally they have a lot of connections in the police , hence it would easier for them to work through than you.
Find out the local patrolling by police at night. Assuming that this is in Delhi, identifying it with the local police station wouldn't be an issue. Take the contact numbers to the Patrolling team at night. Notify , once such cases are spotted.
Stalkers derive joy from the fact that they get to scare someone. Hence, if you can take it away from them , you nip the bud.
Please inform all your employees on the plan of action to be followed in such cases. Make sure no one panics. They have a safety cover around, and they need to believe that.
Wish you all the best !
From India, Mumbai
1858You do have a choice to just handle it with a Team-Hurdle and give those men a sounding, to close the case.
However, you also have an option to create a bigger difference .
Stalkers have a pattern. They do it for fun and are mostly spread out in groups. They even choose an area and the target .
In your case, you have already identified the first few.
Now here's a question , are you a member from the HR team ? It would be then, easier for you to implement the change.
If not, team up with an influential member in your HR Team. Involve your Transport Team in this. Ideally they have a lot of connections in the police , hence it would easier for them to work through than you.
Find out the local patrolling by police at night. Assuming that this is in Delhi, identifying it with the local police station wouldn't be an issue. Take the contact numbers to the Patrolling team at night. Notify , once such cases are spotted.
Stalkers derive joy from the fact that they get to scare someone. Hence, if you can take it away from them , you nip the bud.
Please inform all your employees on the plan of action to be followed in such cases. Make sure no one panics. They have a safety cover around, and they need to believe that.
Wish you all the best !
From India, Mumbai
Ajay
This is a serious issue and not an issue that you should ignore, especially since the general conditions in UP and Noida in specific is quite bad with respect to such incidences. Your guys in the car did not intervene because they were scared. Carrying a gun in quite common in Noida and it seems to be on the increase thanks to our lack of law and order. No one likes to risk their own lives for issues not pertaining to themselves. So what is the solution....
First inform your HR and Management that this happened... Before doing that talk to those girls... Find out if they knew or have seen these people before... You need to do that because the chances are that Management and HR would first put a question mark on the girls character ( an easy, cheap, chauvinist method to escape accountability and responsibility but used more often than not - sadly!).
Change the timing by 15 / 20 mins for a couple of days... use a different car and watch if they are being stalked again...
Change back the time and see again if the stalkers are back...
If any stalker is being seen, the girls MUST NOT be dropped at their drop points... you are only showing them the way forward... They must be returned back and sent in a different car... a little later... If the same group is seen following... REPORT immediately...
If the same stalkers are being seen in the vicinity repeatedly ... REPORT!!!! Always remember the golden rule... Better Safe than Sorry!
Thumb Rule 1.... If you feel you are being stalked, use the camera on your phone to try and click photos of your stalkers... Ensure they do not see that you are taking their photos as it could instigate them further.
Thumb Rule 2... If any stalker is being seen, the girls MUST NOT be dropped at their drop points... you are only showing them the way forward... They must be returned back and sent in a different car... a little later... If the same group is seen following... REPORT immediately..
Thumb Rule 3... Dont be a hero, unless its a desperate situation... call for help... return to company... Please note they are following the girls from the office only because they dont know their house... if the drop continues they will now also know their house...
Thumb Rule 4... Every car must carry pepper sprays!!! If some one feels threatened, they must take it with them and return it back the next day... Every use of the pepper spray must be recorded to ensure it is not being misused. Every employee must be trained on use of pepper spray...
Thumb Rule 5... When in doubt, close your windows... especially the side where the stalkers seem to be approaching... Cool air is good & freshening but not at the cost of your happiness!
These are some of the guidelines...
P.S : Ajay you have a good HR guy...Dhyan if i'm not mistaken. Talk to him!!!
Cheers
Navneet
From India, Delhi
This is a serious issue and not an issue that you should ignore, especially since the general conditions in UP and Noida in specific is quite bad with respect to such incidences. Your guys in the car did not intervene because they were scared. Carrying a gun in quite common in Noida and it seems to be on the increase thanks to our lack of law and order. No one likes to risk their own lives for issues not pertaining to themselves. So what is the solution....
First inform your HR and Management that this happened... Before doing that talk to those girls... Find out if they knew or have seen these people before... You need to do that because the chances are that Management and HR would first put a question mark on the girls character ( an easy, cheap, chauvinist method to escape accountability and responsibility but used more often than not - sadly!).
Change the timing by 15 / 20 mins for a couple of days... use a different car and watch if they are being stalked again...
Change back the time and see again if the stalkers are back...
If any stalker is being seen, the girls MUST NOT be dropped at their drop points... you are only showing them the way forward... They must be returned back and sent in a different car... a little later... If the same group is seen following... REPORT immediately...
If the same stalkers are being seen in the vicinity repeatedly ... REPORT!!!! Always remember the golden rule... Better Safe than Sorry!
Thumb Rule 1.... If you feel you are being stalked, use the camera on your phone to try and click photos of your stalkers... Ensure they do not see that you are taking their photos as it could instigate them further.
Thumb Rule 2... If any stalker is being seen, the girls MUST NOT be dropped at their drop points... you are only showing them the way forward... They must be returned back and sent in a different car... a little later... If the same group is seen following... REPORT immediately..
Thumb Rule 3... Dont be a hero, unless its a desperate situation... call for help... return to company... Please note they are following the girls from the office only because they dont know their house... if the drop continues they will now also know their house...
Thumb Rule 4... Every car must carry pepper sprays!!! If some one feels threatened, they must take it with them and return it back the next day... Every use of the pepper spray must be recorded to ensure it is not being misused. Every employee must be trained on use of pepper spray...
Thumb Rule 5... When in doubt, close your windows... especially the side where the stalkers seem to be approaching... Cool air is good & freshening but not at the cost of your happiness!
These are some of the guidelines...
P.S : Ajay you have a good HR guy...Dhyan if i'm not mistaken. Talk to him!!!
Cheers
Navneet
From India, Delhi
3.30 a.m. is an odd time, kindly check if the shift timing of your company can be changed. Furthermore I hope your company must be having Security Guards/bouncers send them along with the ladies drop. They are trained to tackle such issues.
From India, Ahmadabad
From India, Ahmadabad
After 9 Pm, you should ideally send a guard in cab if there is a female staff being dropped. Many big companies which have night shifts follow this practice, Also, pls refer to your state's Shops and Commercial Establishments Act.
From India, Delhi
From India, Delhi
Dear Navneet ,
Wonderful plan of action shared!
Stalking isn't time bound.They can even stalk under broad day light. Hence changing the drop time would minimise but not solve it completely. .
Identifying the support points are essential . Talking a different route again might not solve the problem completely as the stalkers would still be there waiting to stalk someone else.
The best way is to work with the Patrolling team. Am certain there would be many police patrolling on cars and bikes .
The logistic team would have better connections and might be able to help.
The ladies need to be trained on what should they don under those circumstances .
Returning to the office is the best option s suggested by you, incase the patrolling teams cannot be reached.
From India, Mumbai
Wonderful plan of action shared!
Stalking isn't time bound.They can even stalk under broad day light. Hence changing the drop time would minimise but not solve it completely. .
Identifying the support points are essential . Talking a different route again might not solve the problem completely as the stalkers would still be there waiting to stalk someone else.
The best way is to work with the Patrolling team. Am certain there would be many police patrolling on cars and bikes .
The logistic team would have better connections and might be able to help.
The ladies need to be trained on what should they don under those circumstances .
Returning to the office is the best option s suggested by you, incase the patrolling teams cannot be reached.
From India, Mumbai
Thank you (Cite Contribution)
Everything that i have suggested is not solving any problem but rather avoiding a disaster.
At the cost of sounding highly dramatic, let me ask a rather simple question Is there really a solution to this problem? Yes and NO!! Yes there is... but it would need a revolution...sad but true.
Because we would not be fighting these two individuals or many like them but an entire community as a whole. Especially where this company is based out of - Noida. Although just 20 odd miles from Delhi, Noida comes under the administration of UP whose Chief Minister ( and his father) have made statements like "Boys will be boys, they make mistakes… Will you hang them for rape?" ..:-) Wow!!! Talk about electing the right leaders... lol
And if, god forbid, the boys are from a different community than the girls being abused which is highly possible, then we have the fear of it being blown out of proportion into a inter community fiasco. In all the drama that follows, what happens to the "actual problem - girls being abused" ? Forgotten... and life moves on...
I am sorry if i am sounding depressing and negative but that is ground realities... That is the reason why in such cases, i would rather work towards avoiding disaster than actually trying to solve the problem... The chances that these boys were targeting those two girls are quite remote... My plan of action was to first ensure if that would have been the case...
Cops / Police in the night are not really recommended interaction agents unless it is desperate and required. They generally tend to make matters worse than actually solve a problem...:-)
Hence better safe than sorry policy... and the reason why we need a goddamn revolution!!!..:-) (God i love this country...lol)
Cheers
Navneet
From India, Delhi
Everything that i have suggested is not solving any problem but rather avoiding a disaster.
At the cost of sounding highly dramatic, let me ask a rather simple question Is there really a solution to this problem? Yes and NO!! Yes there is... but it would need a revolution...sad but true.
Because we would not be fighting these two individuals or many like them but an entire community as a whole. Especially where this company is based out of - Noida. Although just 20 odd miles from Delhi, Noida comes under the administration of UP whose Chief Minister ( and his father) have made statements like "Boys will be boys, they make mistakes… Will you hang them for rape?" ..:-) Wow!!! Talk about electing the right leaders... lol
And if, god forbid, the boys are from a different community than the girls being abused which is highly possible, then we have the fear of it being blown out of proportion into a inter community fiasco. In all the drama that follows, what happens to the "actual problem - girls being abused" ? Forgotten... and life moves on...
I am sorry if i am sounding depressing and negative but that is ground realities... That is the reason why in such cases, i would rather work towards avoiding disaster than actually trying to solve the problem... The chances that these boys were targeting those two girls are quite remote... My plan of action was to first ensure if that would have been the case...
Cops / Police in the night are not really recommended interaction agents unless it is desperate and required. They generally tend to make matters worse than actually solve a problem...:-)
Hence better safe than sorry policy... and the reason why we need a goddamn revolution!!!..:-) (God i love this country...lol)
Cheers
Navneet
From India, Delhi
Dear Ajay,
Coming to the point of your query i.e. What action we can take against the male employee?(those 5 people who were present in the cab).
Nothing, actually its a matter of choice, we can't impose anything on any employee. On human grounds they could have helped those girls reach their destination safely but considering its Delhi and since the entire nation has witnessed brutality, they might have not come forward to help(may be).
In fact, it's the Company's responsibility to ensure safety of the employees (male, female both). Like (Cite Contribution) said you can always contact the patrolling team and nowadays there are number of applications and toll free numbers of Police are available through which the female staff can take help. Moreover contact your HR Team, report the issue ; let them create awareness among all the employees. Mock drill can also be conducted , so that the staff woud not panic in such situations.
From India, Pune
Coming to the point of your query i.e. What action we can take against the male employee?(those 5 people who were present in the cab).
Nothing, actually its a matter of choice, we can't impose anything on any employee. On human grounds they could have helped those girls reach their destination safely but considering its Delhi and since the entire nation has witnessed brutality, they might have not come forward to help(may be).
In fact, it's the Company's responsibility to ensure safety of the employees (male, female both). Like (Cite Contribution) said you can always contact the patrolling team and nowadays there are number of applications and toll free numbers of Police are available through which the female staff can take help. Moreover contact your HR Team, report the issue ; let them create awareness among all the employees. Mock drill can also be conducted , so that the staff woud not panic in such situations.
From India, Pune
Dear Navneet,
Thankyou for pointing out the issues that need instant attention. I am mailing this discussion thread to Dr. Jogeshwar Mahanta . He is very senior and is better informed about the Judiciary and Law & Order in Delhi
Lets hear from him.
I really want to see some solution to this situation.
From India, Mumbai
Thankyou for pointing out the issues that need instant attention. I am mailing this discussion thread to Dr. Jogeshwar Mahanta . He is very senior and is better informed about the Judiciary and Law & Order in Delhi
Lets hear from him.
I really want to see some solution to this situation.
From India, Mumbai
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