Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Analysis of eve-teasing potential zones using geospatial technologies and AHP: a study in Midnapore town, West Bengal, India

  • Published:
GeoJournal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Application of geospatial technologies in criminological study is most relevant in present day context. Crime mapping with the help of Geographical Information System is being a very useful tool for the law enforcement agencies to make proper visualization and take strategic modus operandi to reduce criminal offence. “Eveteasing” in public places by men is one of the very common social issue exist in Indian society. Despite new laws and other measures of increased surveillance after ‘Nirvaya Case’, India, sexual harassment against women has continue and increased. More and more engaged in education sector, employment sector may provide opportunities to the offender to tease women in public place in roads, trains and buses everyday even in broad day light. Such public nuisance sometimes results in shocking consequence like acid attacks and rape. Present study tries to apply contemporary approaches and uses geospatial tools for spatial analysis and mapping of potential eve-teasing prone areas, its severity and potential risk factors in selected urban area. The study also focuses on offenders’ decision making strategies to commit crime. ‘Rapid Assessment Methodology’ has been applied to the young school and college going female students and working women to understand the nature and pattern of eve-teasing in the selected urban area. We run explanatory factor analysis to identify potential risk factors and thereafter apply Analytical Hierarchy Process to identify which potential risk factors responsible for enhancing an area to be an eve-teasing prone area by examining issues within socio-environmental perspectives and do crime mapping using Geographical Information System and provide some Crime Prevention measures for the stakeholders. This study has larger implications for crime prevention in public places and enhanced policy making process to alleviate such social nuisance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Source: District wise open Govt. data, 2015, Government of India

Fig. 2

Source: District wise open Govt. data, Government of India

Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, K., Hean, S., Sturgis, P., & Clark, J. M. (2006). Investigating the factors influencing professional identity of first-year health and social care students. Learning in Health and Social Care, 5(2), 55–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, A., Uddin, M. M., & Goparaju, L. (2017). Role of Geospatial technology in Crime Mapping: A perspective view of India. World Scientific News, 88(2), 211–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmadi, H., Esmaili, A., Fayznia, S., & Shariat, J. M. (2003). Zonation of the mass movements using multivariate regression (MR) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methods, a case study Germy Chai Watershed. Natural Resources of IRAN, 56(4), 323–336.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akhtar, C. (2013). Eve teasing as a form of violence against women: A case study of District Srinagar, Kashmir. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 5(5), 168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akhter, Z. (2013). Eve teasing, tears of the girls: Bangladesh Open University towards women empowerment. International Women Online Journal of Distance Education, 2(4), 1–3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, S. (1994). Rape in South Africa: An invisible part of apartheid’s legacy. Gender & Development, 2(2), 35–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron, L., & Straus, M. A. (1989). Rape and its relation to social disorganization, pornography and inequality in the USA. Medicine & Law, 8(3) 209–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxi, P. (2001). Sexual harassment. In SEMINAR-NEW DELHI- 505 (pp. 54–59). Retrieved on November 12, 2017. Available at: http://www.india-seminar.com/2001/505/505%20pratiksha%20baxi.htm.

  • Bénéï, V. (2013). Craig Jeffrey, timepass: Youth, class, and the politics of waiting in India. Stanford University Press, 232 pp. ISSN 1960-6060.

  • Biswas, P., & Chatterjee, N. D. (2017). Spatial distributional pattern of eve-teasing in urban area; Mapping for security, safety and prevention—A case study of Asansol Municipal Area, West Bengal, India. Indian Cartographer, 37, 127–135. ISSN 0927-8392.

  • Bland, J. M., & Altman, D. G. (1997). Statistics notes: Cronbach’s alpha. Bmj, 314(7080), 572.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brantingham, P. J., & Brantingham, P. L. (Eds.). (1981). Environmental criminology (pp. 27–54). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brantingham, P. J., & Brantingham, P. L. (1984). Patterns in crime. New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brantingham, P. J., & Brantingham, P. L. (1998). Environmental criminology: From theory to urban planning practice. Studies on Crime and Crime Prevention, 7(1), 31–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brantingham, P. L., & Brantingham, P. L. (1993). Environment, routine and situation: Toward a pattern theory of crime. Advances in Criminological Theory, 5(2), 259–294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Britt, C. L. (1997). Reconsidering the unemployment and crime relationship: Variation by age group and historical period. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 13(4), 405–428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bursik, R. J., & Grasmick, H. (1993). Neighborhoods and crime: The dimensions of effective social control. New York: Lexington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, J. M., & Sampson, R. J. (Eds.). (1986). The social ecology of crime (pp. 1–22). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census of India. (2011). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved on November 22, 2017. Available at: http://censusindia.gov.in/.

  • Clarke, R. V. (1995). Situational crime prevention. Crime and Justice, 19, 91–150. https://doi.org/10.1086/449230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, R. V. G. (Ed.). (1997). Situational crime prevention (pp. 53–70). Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, L. E., & Felson, M. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44(4), 588–608. https://doi.org/10.2307/2094589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cornish, D. B., & Clarke, R. V. (2003). Opportunities, precipitators and criminal decisions: A reply to Wortley’s critique of situational crime prevention. Crime Prevention Studies, 16, 41–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornish, D. B., & Clarke, R. V. (Eds.). (2014). The reasoning criminal: Rational choice perspectives on offending. Piscataway: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crouch, M. (2009). Sexual harassment in public places. Social Philosophy Today, 25, 137–148. https://doi.org/10.5840/socphiltoday20092511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, R. (2015). Sexual harassment at college level-an ongoing gender issue: A study on some colleges of Purba Medinipur under Vidysagar University. International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences, 5(7), 32–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dhillon, M., & Bakaya, S. (2014). Street harassment: A qualitative study of the experiences of young women in Delhi. Sage Open, 4(3), 2158244014543786.

    Google Scholar 

  • District wise Crime against Women. (2015). Open government data. Government of India. Retrieved on January 16, 2018. Available at: https://data.gov.in/catalog/district-wise-crimes-committed-against-women.

  • Dobash, R. E., & Dobash, R. P. (Eds.). (1998). Rethinking violence against women (Vol. 9). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donner, H. (2012). Between the verandah and the mall: Fieldwork and the spaces of femininity. In I. Pardo & G. B. Prato (Eds.), Anthropology in the city: Methodology and theory (pp. 173–190). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellsberg, M. C., Heise, L. (2005). Researching violence against women: Practical guidelines for researchers and activists. Washington DC: World Health Organization. ISBN 92 4 154647 6.

  • Esmail, A. M., Penny, J., & Eargle, L. A. (2013). The impact of culture on crime. Race, Gender & Class, 20(1–2), 326–343.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairchild, K., & Rudman, L. A. (2008). Everyday stranger harassment and women’s objectification. Social Justice Research, 21(3), 338–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faizal, F., & Rajagopalan, S. (Eds.). (2005). Women, security, South Asia: A clearing in the thicket. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications India.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felson, M. (1998). Crime and everyday life: Impact and implications for society. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Field, A. (2000). Discovering statistics using SPSS for windows. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gadekar, U. (2016). Eve teasing and its psychosocial influence among the adolescent girls. International Journal of Current Advanced Research, 5(6), 1028–1031.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gangoli, G. (2007). Indian feminisms: Law patriarchies and feminism in India (pp. 10–12). Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, Print.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh, S. (1990). Discrimination against the female child. Indian Journal of Maternal and Child Health, 1(4), 104–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbertson, A. (2014). A Fine Balance: Negotiating fashion and respectable femininity in middle-class Hyderabad, India. Modern Asian Studies, 48(1), 120–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greco, S., Figueira, J., & Ehrgott, M. (2005). Multiple criteria decision analysis. Springer’s International series. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harker, P. T., & Vargas, L. G. (1987). The theory of ratio scale estimation: Saaty’s analytic hierarchy process. Management Science, 33(11), 1383–1403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hasan, F. (2016). Fear as a barrier to outdoor participation: Woman negotiating fear of outdoor-violence in Dhaka City. Social Sciences International Research Journal. ISSN 2395-0544.

  • Hlavka, H. R. (2014). Normalizing sexual violence: Young women account for harassment and abuse. Gender & Society, 28(3), 337–358.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoque, M. A. (2013). Eve teasing in Bangladesh: Causes and impact on society, a study from Islamic perspective. The International Journal of Social Sciences, 15(1), 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. L. (2003). Lose something? Ways to find your missing data. Houston Center for Quality of Care and Utilization Studies Professional Development Series, 17-09. In R. L. Presti, E. Barca, & G. Passarella (2010). A methodology for treating missing data applied to daily rainfall data in the Candelaro River Basin (Italy). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 160(1–4), 1.

  • Kalra, G., & Bhugra, D. (2013). Sexual violence against women: Understanding cross-cultural intersections. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(3), 244.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, H. M., O’Kane, K. C., Lavrakas, P. J., & Pesce, E. J. (1978). Crime prevention through environmental design: Final report on commercial demonstration, Portland, Oregon. Arlington: Westinghouse Electrical Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, W. B., Lau, H., Liu, Z. Z., & Tam, S. (2001). A fuzzy analytic hierarchy process approach in modular product design. Expert Systems, 18(1), 32–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leitner, M. (Ed.). (2013). Crime modeling and mapping using geospatial technologies (Vol. 8). Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archives of Psychology, 22(140), 1–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahadevia, D., Mishra, A., Hazarika, A., Joseph, Y., & Borah, T. (2016). Safe mobility for women, case of Guwahati (p. 33). CUE working paper.

  • Mathur, S., Malhotra, A., & Mehta, M. (2001). Adolescent girls’ life aspirations and reproductive health in Nepal. Reproductive Health Matters, 9(17), 91–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, D. (2005). A rapid situation assessment of drug use in Papua New Guinea. Drug and Alcohol Review, 24(1), 79–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mishra, A. D., & Yadav, S. (2003). Gender issues in India: Some reflections. New Delhi: Radha Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohammadi, J., Shariat, S. J. S., & Parhiz, F. (2012). Investigation on spatial patterns of crime against women case study: Street offences in Zanjan. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2(12), 51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohanty, R. I. (2013, April 21). The term ‘eve teasing’must die. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on November 15, 2017. Available at: https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/04/21/the-term-eve-teasing-must-die/.

  • Nahar, P., Van Reeuwijk, M., & Reis, R. (2013). Contextualising sexual harassment of adolescent girls in Bangladesh. Reproductive Health Matters, 21(41), 78–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Natarajan, M. (2016). Rapid assessment of “eve teasing” (sexual harassment) of young women during the commute to college in India. Crime Science, 5(1), 6.

    Google Scholar 

  • NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau). (2016). Crime in India report. Retrieved on February 26, 2018. Available at: http://ncrb.gov.in/StatPublications/CII/CII2016/cii2016.html.

  • Needle, R., Kroeger, K., Belani, H., Achrekar, A., Parry, C. D., & Dewing, S. (2008). Sex, drugs, and HIV: Rapid assessment of HIV risk behaviors among street-based drug using sex workers in Durban, South Africa. Social Science & Medicine, 67(9), 1447–1455.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1978). Psychometric theory. New York, NY: McGrawHiIl.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Hare, E. A., & O’Donohue, W. (1998). Sexual harassment: Identifying risk factors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 27(6), 561–580.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prakash, R. (2017). CCTV grabs show beasts that roamed Bengaluru roads. The Times of India, TNN Updated: Jan 4, 2017, 04:30 PM IST. Retrieved on January 14, 2018. Available at: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/cctv-grabs-show-beasts-that-roamed-bengaluru-roads/articleshow/56323896.cms.

  • Ramasubramanian, S., & Oliver, M. B. (2003). Portrayals of sexual violence in popular Hindi films, 1997–99. Sex Roles, 48(7–8), 327–336.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashid, M. (2007, September 30). Letting eve-teasing go unpunished. The Daily Star. Retrieved on July 25, 2017. Available at: https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-5952.

  • Saaty, T. L. (1980). The analytic hierarchy process. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saaty, T. L. (1990). How to make a decision: The analytic hierarchy process. European Journal of Operational Research, 48(1), 9–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-2217(90)90057-I.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saaty, T. L. (2008). Decision making with the analytic hierarchy process. International Journal of Services Sciences, 1(1), 83–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saaty, T. L., & Vargas, L. G. (2012). Models, methods, concepts and applications of the analytic hierarchy process (Vol. 175). Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Satty, T. L. (1980). The analytical hierarchy process: Planning, priority setting, resource allocation. Pittsburg: RWS Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shamsuddin, N. H. M., bin Othman, M. S., & bin Selamat, M. H. (2012). Identifying of potential crime area using analytical hierachy process (AHP) and geographical information system (GIS). International Journal of innovative computing, 2(1), 15–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Short, J. F. (1997). Poverty, ethnicity, and violent crime. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, A. K., & Singh, K. V. (2010). A study on the problem of eve teasing in India. International Research Journal of Social Sciences, 3(2), 205–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, N. (2011). National summit on gender-based violence among young people. Wellesley Canters for Women, Arlington, Virginia (vol. 35, pp. 1–137). Retrieved on November 22, 2017. Available at: https://www.wcwonline.org/images/pdf/gbvreading.pdf.

  • Stimson, G. V., Donoghoe, M. C., Fitch, C., Rhodes, T. J., & Ball, A. (2003). Rapid assessment and response technical guide. TG-RAR Version 1.0.

  • Suhr, D. D. (2006). Exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis? (pp. 1–17). Cary: SAS Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talboys, S. L., Kaur, M., VanDerslice, J., Gren, L. H., Bhattacharya, H., & Alder, S. C. (2017). What is eve teasing? A mixed methods study of sexual harassment of young women in the rural Indian context. Sage Open, 7(1), 2158244017697168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, F. (Ed.). (2005). Geographic information systems and crime analysis. Hershey: IGI Global.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox, P., Land, K. C., & Hunt, S. A. (2003). Criminal circumstance: A dynamic multi-contextual criminal opportunity theory. Piscataway: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to give our hearty gratitude to Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR, File No. Sc-2/ICSSR/2016-17/RPS) for funding this research work. We are also thankful to the students of Geography department, Vidyasagar University for their great assistance during intense survey.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Environment Management, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, 721102, India

    Priyanka Biswas, Kousik Das & Nilanjana Das Chatterjee

Authors
  1. Priyanka Biswas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kousik Das
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nilanjana Das Chatterjee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Dr. Nilanjana Das Chatterjee is our research guide. She is expertise in criminological field. The entire work has been done under her supervision. She has substantial contributions in making conceptions and designing of the manuscript, data analysis and interpretation of results. We are thankful for her regardless contribution in this work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Priyanka Biswas.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Biswas, P., Das, K. & Das Chatterjee, N. Analysis of eve-teasing potential zones using geospatial technologies and AHP: a study in Midnapore town, West Bengal, India. GeoJournal 86, 1043–1072 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-019-10106-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-019-10106-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation