Commissioner of Police Gautam Sawang on Friday said there were no repeat offenders of the 1,770-odd youngsters, who were apprehended by the Mahila Mithra squads formed by the city police to tackle the menace of eve teasing.
Addressing a workshop on ‘Effective communication strategies to counter the gender-based violence’, he said the youngsters were quick to realise their mistakes and many admitted to their ignorance of their behaviour which came in to the purview of eve-teasing.
“The need of the hour is to take a look at the issue at the grassroot level. Gender equality should be reinforced through the curriculum in schools and colleges,” he said.
The senior cop said eve teasers were not given any punitive punishment but were sent to counselling in various police stations and also NGOs such as Vasavvya Mahila Mandali.
“They should be given a chance to introspect and realise their mistakes,” he added.
He said the Mahila Mithra squads were formed exclusively by women police personnel. “Majority of the offenders were teenagers. We need to take a look at the issue in a comprehensive manner and the government of Andhra Pradesh is very sensitive towards gender equality. It is taking up several innovative programmes such as Women’s Parliament in March to reach out to the general public in a proactive manner,” he said.
Mr. Sawang advised the organisers of the workshop to utilise the social media in a more effective way to bring in gender equality in society. “It takes time, but a beginning has to be made,” he added.
