State’s women cops to be sensitised on dealing with sexual violence survivors

CHANDIGARH: Women cops will be sensitised about dealing with survivors of sexual and genderbased violence during a day-long workshop organised by Haryana State Health Resource Centre at Panchkula on Friday. About 44 women police officers, two from each district, will attend this convergence workshop.

The State Health Resource Centre, which took the initiative of establishing gender health support centres called Sukoon for providing assistance to survivors of sexual and gender based violence, has addressed the issues of over 2,000 women since 2016. As per the latest crime statistics made public by the National Crime Record Bureau, Haryana ranks sixth, in the total crimes against women in the country.

HSHRC executive director Sonia Trikha said the first Sukoon centre was set up at Civil

Hospital, Panchkula, in July 2014 based on a model carved by Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes at Bhabha Hospital, Mumbai. At present, eight Sukoon centres are operating at Civil Hospitals in Ambala, Faridabad, Gurugram, Jind, Panchkula, Panipat, Rewari and Yamunanagar.

Dr Trikha said convergence

workshops with police officials were required to address the difficulties faced by the survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. “The police personnel should attend phone calls made by counsellors from civil hospital with due priority and reach Sukoon centre without delay. The survivors should not be referred from women police stations to local police stations for follow up of the case. The victim should not be pressurised to enter into a compromise with the accused, especially in cases of domestic violence, and should be provided with complete information under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,’’ she said. Many a times a male cop is sent for filing the first information report and the survivor is not comfortable in recording the statement. Thus, a woman cop should be designated for recording the statement and carrying out investigation in all such cases.

Dr Trikha said that the hospital was the first point of contact for a survivor of sexual and gender-based violence to avail services like medical and psychological aid.

“Therefore, it was easier to get in touch with them in a hospital based setting. That’s where the gender health support centres like Sukoon are based,’’ she said.