Aid on doorstep for women facing domestic violence

Debabrata Mohapatra | TNN | Apr 14, 2020, 04:14 IST

Bhubaneswar: If everything goes as planned, women facing domestic violence in their houses during the lockdown will find cops on their doorstep for immediate assistance. The commissionerate police are planning to receive complaints from, and deliver FIR copies to, women’s homes.
Though the city police have not yet compiled any data on whether cases related to domestic violence are on the rise, they said they are prepared to deal with such cases, if reported.
“We realise that women in distress are unable to visit police stations during the lockdown. After receiving their complaints over telephone, our personnel will visit their houses and extend help. We will ensure that proper social distancing protocol is maintained by our personnel during counselling and interaction with the complainants in their houses. The women facing domestic violence will receive all police-related services on their doorstep,” additional commissioner of police Anup Kumar Sahoo said.
Some states have reportedly witnessed a rise in domestic violence cases during the lockdown. The National Commission for Women (NCW) recently spoke to all state commissions and asked them to address the issues of the needy women.
The state commission for women (SCW) said it is planning to issue a helpline number to address issues relating to atrocities against women during the lockdown. At present, the SCW office is closed as it is located in Satya Nagar that was declared a containment zone following detection of four positive cases recently.
“We are only receiving complaints through email (oscw.od@nic.in). Since not many are conversant with technology, we are receiving fewer complaints through email. Efforts are on to launch a helpline number. After receiving complaints through email, we coordinate with police across the state for giving justice to the women. Our counsellors have been providing tele-counselling to the women in distress,” said Arabinda Pattanaik, SCW’s legal assistant.
While the SCW used to receive at least 30 complaints related to domestic violence daily before the lockdown, they have received only two cases in the past 20 days. “We are also in touch with government’s Sakhi or One Stop Help Centres for women in districts. Women in distress can also seek help from the government’s 181 helpline number,” Pattanaik said.