How Should I Address Safety Concerns After Female Employees Were Followed Home?

On Friday night, my two female team members were followed by some boys during their drop-off at 3:30 am. Surprisingly, even though there were five male staff members in the cab, they did nothing to ensure the safety of the girls. I am concerned about this incident and would like to seek your advice on how to address this issue with top management to prevent such occurrences in the future. Additionally, I would like to discuss potential actions that can be taken against the male employees involved.

Your thoughts and guidance on this matter are greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Ajay Kumar

You do have a choice to handle it with a team huddle and give those men a warning to close the case. However, you also have an option to create a bigger difference.

Understanding Stalker Behavior

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.

Are You Part of the HR Team?

Now here's a question: Are you a member of the HR team? It would then be 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 with the police; hence, it would be easier for them to work through than you.

Coordinating with Local Authorities

Find out about 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 of the patrolling team at night. Notify them once such cases are spotted.

Removing the Stalkers' Motivation

Stalkers derive joy from the fact that they get to scare someone. Hence, if you can take it away from them, you nip the problem in the bud.

Informing and Reassuring Employees

Please inform all your employees of 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!

Addressing Safety Concerns in Noida

This is a serious issue and not one that you should ignore, especially considering the general conditions in UP and specifically in Noida, which are quite concerning with respect to such incidents. Your colleagues in the car did not intervene because they were scared. Carrying a gun is quite common in Noida and it appears to be increasing due to the lack of law and order. No one likes to risk their own lives for issues not directly related to them. So, what is the solution...

Steps to Address the Incident

First, inform your HR and management that this incident occurred. Before doing so, talk to those girls. Find out if they knew or have seen these people before. You need to do this because there is a likelihood that management and HR may unfairly question the girls' character (an easy, cheap, chauvinistic method to avoid accountability and responsibility, but unfortunately used frequently).

Change the timing by 15-20 minutes for a couple of days, use a different car, and observe if they are being stalked again.

Revert to the original timing and check if the stalkers reappear.

If any stalkers are spotted, the girls MUST NOT be dropped at their usual points. By doing so, you are only leading them to the girls. They should be taken back and sent in a different car a bit later. If the same group is seen following, REPORT immediately.

If the same stalkers are repeatedly seen in the vicinity, REPORT!!! Always remember the golden rule: Better safe than sorry!

Thumb Rules for Safety

- **Thumb Rule 1:** If you feel you are being stalked, use the camera on your phone to try and take photos of your stalkers. Ensure they do not notice that you are photographing them as it could provoke them further.

- **Thumb Rule 2:** If any stalkers are noticed, the girls MUST NOT be dropped at their usual points. By doing so, you are only leading them to the girls. They should be taken back and sent in a different car a bit later. If the same group is seen following, REPORT immediately.

- **Thumb Rule 3:** Do not try to be a hero unless it's a desperate situation. Call for help and return to the company. Note that they are following the girls from the office because they are not aware of their homes. If the drop continues, they will eventually know where the girls live.

- **Thumb Rule 4:** Every car must be equipped with pepper sprays!!! If someone feels threatened, they should take it with them and return it the next day. Every use of the pepper spray must be documented to ensure it is not being misused. All employees should be trained on how to use pepper spray.

- **Thumb Rule 5:** When in doubt, close your windows, especially on the side where the stalkers seem to be approaching. Fresh air is good and refreshing, but not at the expense of your safety and peace of mind!

These are some guidelines...

P.S: Ajay, you have a good HR professional, Dhyan if I'm not mistaken. Talk to him!!!

Cheers,

Navneet

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 has security guards or bouncers. Send them along with the ladies' drop as they are trained to tackle such issues.

Safety Measures for Night Shifts

After 9 PM, you should ideally send a guard in a cab if there is a female staff member being dropped off. Many big companies that have night shifts follow this practice. Also, please refer to your state's Shops and Commercial Establishments Act.

Dear Navneet,

Wonderful plan of action shared! Stalking isn't time-bound. They can even stalk in broad daylight. Hence, changing the drop time would minimize but not solve it completely.

Identifying Support Points

Identifying the support points is essential. Taking a different route might not solve the problem completely as the stalkers would still be there waiting to stalk someone else.

Collaboration with Patrolling Teams

The best way is to work with the patrolling team. I am certain there would be many police patrolling in cars and on bikes. The logistics team would have better connections and might be able to help.

Training and Safety Measures

The ladies need to be trained on what they should do under those circumstances. Returning to the office is the best option as suggested by you if the patrolling teams cannot be reached.

Regards,

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 an 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 the ground reality. 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

Coming to the point of your query, i.e., what action can we take against the male employees (those 5 people who were present in the cab)?

Actually, it's 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. However, considering it's Delhi and since the entire nation has witnessed brutality, they might not have come forward to help.

In fact, it's the company's responsibility to ensure the safety of all employees, both male and female. Like Cite Contribution mentioned, you can always contact the patrolling team, and nowadays there are a number of applications and toll-free police numbers available through which the female staff can seek help. Furthermore, contact your HR team, report the issue, and let them create awareness among all employees. A mock drill can also be conducted so that the staff would not panic in such situations.

Thank you for pointing out the issues that need instant attention. I am mailing this discussion thread to [Dr. Jogeshwar Mahanta](https://www.citehr.com/member.php?u=2957). He is very senior and is better informed about the Judiciary and Law & Order in Delhi. Let's hear from him. I really want to see some solution to this situation.

While (Cite Contribution) & Navneet have given good and realistic suggestions, why not 'begin at home'?

To elaborate, are the 5 males in your group/team too, or from another team?

If the former [your team], then it's best to talk to them separately and together.

If from another team, then you could speak to the team lead of that team or discuss the matter with HR and let them handle this.

While such behavior could be just a prank/fun, as (Cite Contribution) suggested, the problem in such situations is this: one never knows when a prank could turn nasty and serious. It's a fine line, and quite often even the culprits [if they can be called thus] wouldn't be able to notice the change even as the situation develops, unless it's nipped in the bud—if not preempted altogether.

All said and done, let's remember one facet of human psychology. If someone doesn't want to do something, then he/she will find another way to avoid it if instructed/forced to do it—in this case, helping the female colleagues. The realization has to come from within each of them.

One way to enforce/encourage this change is to circulate the news within the company without taking any names. Obviously, the names will come out when the incident begins to get discussed.

Usually, in such circumstances, either the force of publicity within the peer group/company or a genuine realization ensures change in such individuals.

At a macro level/scale, the best and the nearest example would be the Nirbhaya case—that forced the government of the day to bring in new laws, although they claim credit for bringing such a law [as is the wont of politicians].

Police, pepper spray, etc., would be the worst-case scenario response mechanisms, but why look far when the guy in the next seat doesn't really care?

Looking at it from a strictly crime/police point of view, I would surely ask the passengers in the car why the male colleagues did not respond/help—were they in collusion with the guys who were resorting to such behavior? So from this angle, it's also in their interest to intervene when their female colleagues are in trouble. I can understand that it could be fear had there been just one male colleague [though that too can't be an excuse for inaction], but here there were 5 of them.

And when colleagues can help out and handle the situations, wouldn't that also be a great way to inculcate a sense of belonging within the company—from the HR perspective? And I guess it doesn't take an Einstein to figure out the advantages/effects on the overall organizational culture/attrition rates with employees having a strong sense of belonging and satisfaction—that the company and colleagues care.

Regards,
TS

I am saddened to hear about your precarious situation, and it is crucial that this issue is addressed promptly. Here are a few of my suggestions. Please review and share your thoughts:

1. Make it a mandatory HR policy for other male members/cab drivers to drop your female staff at their doorsteps. Ensure that their parent/warden is present during drop-offs, take acknowledgment signatures, and retain proof of the same.

2. There are excellent safety apps available on Android, such as Nirbhaya, that can be utilized.

3. Encourage your female and male colleagues to send an SMS or WhatsApp message once they have reached their destinations safely.

4. Advise the girls to carry pepper spray and activate GPS on their cell phones after completing their shifts. Additionally, they should program a speed dial for the police on their phones.

5. It is essential for you to accompany them and observe if there is a pattern in the stalking behavior. Record it discreetly, file a complaint at the nearest police station, and obtain an acknowledgment.

I hope you find these suggestions helpful.

Regards,
Ashwin

There is a term in respect of pick and drop of female employees, i.e., FFBLD (First Female Board & Last Drop). In this case, the security staff (a guard or security supervisor) must be present in the cab. Try to establish a security control center in your organization (if not). Have a toll-free landline number and circulate it among all employees. In case of any type of emergency, they can call that number. At the same time, inform the nearest police station upon receiving such calls.

Regarding action against male employees, they are not trained for such situations, so there is no issue of taking action against them. However, you can motivate the team as coworkers to help each other. Take necessary precautions when such incidents arise.

Thank you and regards!

In order to curb such future incidents, I suggest you inform your management to provide door-to-door drop-off at least for the female employees who are using the company's transportation service.

Regards,
Raul Gowda

Ensuring Safe Night Drop-offs for Female Employees

At night, female employees should be dropped off at their homes and not at designated drop points. This measure is crucial for their safety during nighttime hours.

I have gone through the recommendations and suggestions by all.

Following are my suggestions

1. Report the matter to the local police station and request them for night patrolling in the area where this incident occurred. If there are stalkers, they might stalk someone else also, if not your team members. By reporting the matter to the police and seeking general patrolling, you will help society in general.

2. Arrange for security guards in each vehicle during time drops, especially for ladies.

3. Today, everybody has an Android phone. Ensure your female staff install the VithU app, a security app to be used by ladies in case of danger to alert near and dear ones.

4. Request HR to conduct a gender sensitization program in your office for all employees.

5. Request HR to introduce programs that help ladies and gents confront such scenarios.

6. After each drop, both the driver and employee should be called upon by the admin department to check if the driver has dropped the employee at the designated place and to check on employees if they reached their house/home safely.

7. You can install a GPS tracking system on the mobile of the driver's vehicle to ensure he doesn’t take a detour and remains at all times on the designated route. (Example: Ola cabs).

Humans are part of society and will always remain part of society, and viewing ourselves only as individuals would be like imagining ourselves as an island, which is a very dangerous thought pattern.

Regards,
Octavious

Addressing Societal Attitudes Towards Crime in Media

The girls should be advised not to pay attention to stalkers, as every glance can have different meanings for different people, and it is always dangerous with the wrong people. We cannot change society overnight, even though the process is ongoing. The anomaly is that we, as a society, watch and enjoy crime scenes involving women in movies and TV series, but we neither stop them nor advise the actors, actresses, or directors to respect the culture, especially when we witness drastic cases every day. For them, it is a profession. There is no rule that everyone should follow a hero's lifestyle in real life; some will follow a villain's path. In movies, to show the strength and power of a villain, choosing a drastic crime against a woman is a regular practice, and we praise it. Is it good for society? We need to question ourselves and stop encouraging while starting to discourage evil thoughts, as thoughts are the sprouts for evil deeds.

I am not writing much because of the moderator's objections, but I still urge all readers to be responsible in society; a workplace is an active part of our life. We should move beyond the common belief that not every male on this earth is bad, and not every female is good, but encouraging any form of crime is detrimental to our society. This includes the posting of obscene pictures of women in magazines, periodicals, and newspapers for popularity and increased sales, which should be avoided. Instead, we should ask such publishers to stop doing it. This policy will work more powerfully in the long run than any number of internal policies, police forces, or armies.

I agree with Vini.wonders. As per labor law, you have to send a guard after 10:00 pm with your female employees.

Thank you for your input. I have made corrections to the text you provided. If you need further assistance, feel free to ask.