1 out of 5 women in India receive sexual harassment calls: Truecaller report

Truecaller’s report also highlights how India ranks the highest in women reporting such calls.

Truecaller’s new report highlights the number and kind of harassment calls women receive in India. (Pixabay)

Ahead of International Women's Day, Truecaller released the third edition of its report titled 'Understanding the impact of harassment calls & SMS in India'. This report found that in India 1 out of 5 women receive sexual harassment and inappropriate calls. But India also has the highest rate of women reporting such calls.

Truecaller says that 85% of women in India blocked numbers where they received inappropriate calls from. 45% also sought help from their respective telecom operator while another 45% tried searching for the number. The report also highlights how there are still women who choose to not take any action. "44% of women chose to ignore it and an even lower 12% reported the number to authorities," Truecaller said.

Truecaller's survey was conducted in five countries including India. (Truecaller)

Truecaller's survey was conducted in five countries including India. (Truecaller)

Truecaller's survey also found that harassment calls come mostly from strangers which amount to 76%. And only about 4% of these calls are from known acquaintances. Some of the areas where numbers tend to slip include women giving their phone numbers at recharge stores, restaurants, while shopping, entering contests and even filling in logbooks.

 

This year, we asked women all across the world about the call & SMS harassment they face on their phones. These brave women were willing to share their shocking stories about this global issue.
Join us by saying #ItsNotOk https://t.co/cyZd0mveFF

— Truecaller (@Truecaller) March 5, 2020

Women in metro cities are the most affected when it comes to harassment calls. Chennai tops the list followed by New Delhi, Pune and Kolkata. Another interesting trend highlighted in this report is how women felt while reporting these calls. "67% of women in India reported irritation with these calls, 60% anger, 29% of them were worried, 29% were troubled and 21% reported feeling fear," Truecaller said.

Truecaller's survey was conducted in Kenya, Columbia, Brazil and Egypt. Truecaller conducted this survey with independent market research agency Ipsos.