Hire More Female Security Guards: UGC's Guidelines for Women's Safety

The recent events surrounding the safety of women in colleges across the country have been a massive cause of concern. With women's safety being compromised at the drop of a hat even in premiere reported institutions of India, it becomes even more important to find deeper problems and bring forward solutions to solve them. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has now issued a fresh set of guidelines for Universities to follow across the country to prioritise women's safety.

The newly established guidelines by UGC not only aim towards prioritising women's safety but also creating gender-equitable spaces and environments in higher education institutions (HEIs).

Suggested Reading: Miranda House Case: Times When Women’s Safety Was Hijacked Within College Premises

UGC Guidelines For Women Safety

The guidelines are directed towards colleges and higher education institutions (HEIs) in the country. The UGC has instructed the institutions to provide all students, especially female students, with a safer space and a secure, violence-free environment.

This circular comes after several incidents of crime against women in the country have been reported in colleges including the IIT Madras, Chandigarh University, ITI Bhopal and Delhi University's Miranda House. 

The Commission had established a committee earlier this year for analysing and revising safety regulations for the execution. The committee even proposed that UGC's previous study, 'Saksham: Measures for ensuring Safety of Women and Programmes for Gender Sensitisation on Campuses’, must be a manual for implementing ideas that can lead to gender sensitisation in institutions.

Some of the significant directions listed in the UGC are:

1. There must be enough female security guards employed from reputed security companies with a thorough background check.

2. The HEIs must prioritise accommodation for female students who require it by building more women-friendly dormitories, which should be available for all female students who want access to it.

3. The Universities need to promote a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to sexual harassment and gender-based prejudices on their campuses.

4. While the provision of having an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at every college or university exists, it is not still followed by several institutions. Therefore, the new guidelines stress this rule for every college to follow starting now.

5. Another significant addition to the approach is that all students must receive a handbook of information on policies and guidelines during the time of admission.

6. CCTV installation is mandatory to have a centralised monitoring system to keep a track of the conduct of all students, staff and visitors at all public arenas on the campus.

7. The universities must also prioritise hiring professional counselling services for students going through psychological and emotional difficulties and needing access to care.

8. Most importantly, campuses which are located in remote, off-site, far-off isolated areas,  should adhere to the necessary boundary wall requirements to help towards students' safety.