The High Court of Karnataka on Monday ordered issue of notices to various departments of the State on a PIL petition seeking direction for setting up of a committee to contain incidence of sexual assaults, effective mechanism for disbursement of victim compensation and other schemes aimed to provide safety and security for women and children.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice Budial R.B. passed the order on the PIL filed by Peoples’ Movement Against Sexual Assault.
It was pointed out in the petition that a panel to contain incidence of sexual assault will have to be set up as mooted by the National Commission for Women in its guideline on relief and rehabilitation of victims of rape based on the directions issued by the apex court.
The petitioner also sought directions to the News Broadcasting Standards Authority and the Press Council of India for strict enforcement of laws and self-regulatory norms formulated to preserve confidentiality of identity, address or any detail of victims of sexual assault or their families, to adhere to sensitive, non-sensational reportage of such incidents, and to evolve accessible grievance redressal mechanisms against objectionable or offensive content in local languages.
Also, the petitioner requested the court to issue direction to authorities to provide accessible toilet facilities in both urban and rural areas for all, besides establishing daycare and crèche facilities in local areas for the benefit of working women belonging to economically weaker sections.
