Last week’s poll asked our blog readers to answer this simple question:

Do you think public toilets in Chennai are safe for women and children?

Let’s look at the results:

113 people voted out of which:

- 98, which translates to  86 per cent of the total votes, said: No, public toilets aren’t safe

- 10 people, approximately 9 per cent of the total votes, said: Yes

4 per cent: Don’t Know

It is difficult to go back and validate these votes. However, if we want to comment on the safety levels looking at this poll, one thing is very clear: Public toilets are not safe. This raises serious concerns regarding the choice of location and design of these toilets. Is something seriously wrong?

Most of the toilets we surveyed had more men users than women during the time of our visit. In fact, in a few locations, facilities for women were being used by men since the caretaker reported zero usage by women.

Considering that there are only 715 public toilets in Chennai, one would expect at least these toilets to be located at convenient locations. If women from  the the low income communities are not coming forward to use these facilities, what is the rationale for having them in the first place?

Thanks for your votes. Come back and vote for the next poll!

Somya Sethuraman

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