Is India Safe for Women? Advice for Women Travelling in India

Each of the four governments describes the risk plainly, and their advice is the best starting point for planning:

• United Kingdom. The Foreign Office says there is a risk of sexual assault, including attacks on female foreign visitors in tourist areas and cities, and that women travellers often experience verbal and physical harassment by individuals or groups of men. It adds that British women have been victims of sexual assault, including rape, in several states.
• United States. The State Department's advisory summary says rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India, and that violent crimes, including sexual assault, happen at tourist sites and other locations.
• Australia. Smartraveller says women in India may experience unwanted attention, harassment, assault and sexual assault, and that it is rare for the people who commit these crimes to be successfully prosecuted. It advises women to avoid travelling alone, even in major cities and tourist sites.
• Canada. Canada's advice says crimes against women frequently occur, that foreign women are often the target of unwanted attention, and that staring, verbal abuse and groping can happen anywhere, including at tourist sites. Attackers sometimes act as a group, it adds, and local authorities may not always respond adequately to reports.

None of them advises women against visiting India. What they ask for is planning: how you move around, where you stay and who you spend time with.

• Goa and Delhi. Canada asks women to be particularly vigilant in both. The UK notes serious incidents involving British nationals in Goa in recent years, including sexual assaults.
• Public transport. Canada names all forms of public transport, and Australia lists public transport, cars, taxis and rickshaws among the places to avoid being alone, especially at night.
• Ashrams, yoga centres and retreats. Canada names yoga centres, ashrams and other places of spiritual retreat. Australia reports consistent, ongoing allegations of sexual misconduct involving religious groups and their leaders, and suggests finding out about your hosts before you travel.
• Isolated places. The UK advises avoiding isolated areas, including beaches, when alone at any time of day. Australia adds less populous and unlit areas, from city streets to village lanes.

• Do not travel alone after dark. The UK, Australia and Canada all give this advice, on foot, on public transport and in taxis or rickshaws.
• Book transport rather than hailing it. Use a pre-paid taxi at the airport, a taxi booked through your hotel or an official stand, or a trusted ride-hailing app, and share the journey with someone at home. Canada adds: do not share taxis with strangers. More on this is in our guide to getting around India at night.
• Refuse food and drink from strangers. The UK, Australia and Canada report travellers robbed or assaulted after taking spiked food or drinks. Canada extends this to snacks, gum and cigarettes offered by new acquaintances.
• Respect local dress codes. Canada lists this among its precautions for women, and the UK asks all visitors to respect dress and customs, particularly at religious sites and in rural areas.
• Be careful with new acquaintances, and reach the police immediately if you feel threatened, as Canada advises.

Scams can be a way to get a traveller alone, too: Australia warns that strangers posing as tour guides or taxi drivers may take visitors to an isolated place. Our page on tourist scams in India covers them.

• 181, the Women Helpline. Run under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, it answers at any hour, every day of the year, for emergencies and other help, and links women to the police, One Stop Centres, hospitals and legal services.
• 112, the emergency number. It reaches police, fire and ambulance. When the government launched it in 2019 as a women's safety measure, it described a panic button on smartphones (press the power button three times quickly) and the free 112 India app, whose SHOUT feature alerts registered volunteers near a woman who needs help.
• Report it. Canada asks its citizens to report a sexual assault immediately to the local authorities and to the nearest Canadian government office, and the UK publishes guidance for victims of rape or sexual assault in India. Contact your own embassy or high commission, which can help you through the process.

Much of the governments' advice comes down to arriving and moving around with arrangements already made. On our trips, a driver meets you at arrivals with a name board and tracks your flight, so a delay does not leave you looking for a taxi; the details are on our airport transfers page. You travel in a private car from our own fleet, with drivers who are known to us, as how we vet hotels, guides and transport explains, and the local guides on our panel are checked before they meet a traveller, as our page on local guides sets out. The wider picture, from the regions governments warn against to India's emergency numbers, is in our India safety guide.