Employee Travel Security — Indian Travel Security and Protective Measures for Women

As one of the world’s largest nations, India is attracting a large share of tourists and business travelers. However, India is still a developing and culturally conservative country, and crime is a threat throughout the nation. That is why Indian travel security is an issue that many companies and corporations should be concerned with. Of the threats to employee security in India, rape and sexual assault of women (including foreign visitors) is perhaps the most disturbing.

Rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India and there have been a number of notable rape cases in the country over the past few years including:

• The 2008 rape and murder of an English teenager
• The 2012 gang rape of a student on a bus, sparking large protests across the country
• The March 2013 rape of a Swiss woman

Furthermore, rape continues to be a problem for locals and visitors alike as a new incident of rape is reported every 20 minutes. Some of these attacks have even occurred in tourist areas. Although rape is the most disturbing threat to women in India, girls and women face other forms of sexual assault as well. Some young men in India engage in a practice known as “Eve-teasing.” Generally, this consists of catcalling and other types of verbal harassment towards women and girls. However, this “teasing” has been known to escalate into physical acts such as groping and other forms of sexual assault. Even without physical interaction, Eve-teasing can be very intimidating and traumatic for women travelers. Yet, this practice is not uncommon and some locals believe the victim, rather than the perpetrator, is to blame for attracting the Eve-teasers’ attention. According to the US State Department, women with dark complexions tend to be targeted more often by Eve-teasers than other women.

Due to the safety climate in India, corporations and companies should be looking for ways to increase the security of their employees and institute policies on employee travel security in India. IMG, a travel security consulting firm, is making the following recommendations to companies and corporations in order to increase their travel security posture in India. If women heed these precautions, they can lower their risk of becoming victims of rape and sexual assault.

8 Travel Security Tips for Women Visiting India

1. As a general rule of employee travel security, employees and companies should gain all the information they can about the area they are traveling to. Such information can be vital to safety planning.
2. Many instances of rape and sexual assault have been perpetrated against women traveling alone. As such, women and girls should not travel by themselves in India.
3. It is advised that women adopt local conservative dress and adapt to the customs and traditions of the area they are visiting. Doing otherwise could attract unwanted attention.
4. Women should not use public transit after dark or hire a taxi off the street. Instead, they should use a trusted car service or a taxi company recommended by a reputable hotel.
5. To maximize their travel security, women should keep their hotel room number confidential. Furthermore, they should utilize the locks on their hotel room door and ask of another room if the locks appear weak or insufficient.
6. To maximize the group’s Indian travel security, corporations should advise their employees to avoid isolated areas and stick to more populated central locations.
7. Some incidents of rape in India have been committed with date rape drugs at bars and nightclubs. As such, women should watch their drinks at all times and not leave beverages unattended.
8. One of the most important pieces of information for any employee travel security plan is the local emergency number. In India, this number is 100.

About the IMG Group
The IMG Group is a leading International Security Consulting firm. Corporate or business organizations concerned about their need for detailed and robust travel security planning can reach out to the IMG Group for assistance. The company’s expert security consultants provide services such as executive, employee, VIP, and expatriate travel security, risk and threat assessments, workplace violence prevention, crisis management planning, and more.

The IMG Group is able to assist corporations with Indian travel security as well as general employee travel security. IMG offers various services that protect women traveling to India from sexual assault, rape, and other forms of crime. IMG is a security consulting group that is proud of its partnership with corporate clients around the world. IMG will continue to provide robust advice and services for employee travel security in India and countries around the globe.