Five steps to enhance women's safety

1. Increase police patrolling. If necessary, hike number of cops in the city. All VIPs with more than two security personnel should give one cop from their security to enhance police presence for the public.

2. Register FIRs in all cases of rape, sexual harassment and other crimes against women. Prosecute cops found persuading women to drop such complaints.

3. Home guards on bus not enough. Institute system of random checking of buses by PCR vans at night.

4. Use technology: All public transport must be on GPS, install CCTVs on buses, make drivers, and helpers/conductors wear non-tamperable photo IDs, create common database accessible by police and other enforcement agencies.

5. All sexual offenders must be monitored by law enforcers once

Five changes needed in our laws

1. Increase the deterrence against crimes against women. Change law to make life term plus chemical castration the punishment for violent rapes.

2. Expand the definition of rape to include not just penile penetration of the vagina but also oral sex and penetration for sexual purpose of the vagina, anus, urethra or mouth.

3. Introduce rape by security forces as a special category of aggravated sexual assault on the lines of the clause dealing with custodial rape.

4. Enhance maximum prison term for molestation from 2 to 5 years and sexual harassment or what's euphemistically called 'eve-teasing' from 1 to 3 years.

5. Remove gender inequities in the provisions relating to adultery and natural guardian and enact and special law to take pre-emptive action against caste assemblies inciting "honour killings."