Safety vs Sexual Assault: Women in India Resort to Guns

Ever since the gruesome incident of the Delhi rape case there has been an increase in the number of women applying for gun license, reported Dean Nelson for The Telegraph. Further, in the wake of recent events of rape of a Swiss woman, and a British woman who jumped from a hotel balcony fearing a sexual assault has only left the country shocked. This has also impacted tourism as the number of international tourists visiting India has declined by 25 percent in the past three months.

As per the police, majority of the applicants for gun licenses are professional women. Campaigners for women's safety said that since the police had failed to guard them, they recognize the reason women were deciding to take responsibility for their own safety. However they were also afraid that the move could have its repercussions.

The police at Delhi's Gun Licensing Unit informed that applications from women had doubled since the December attack. They also said that more women have decided that they may turn vigilante if they are attacked.