The Nirbhaya scheme for enhancing women’s safety, piloted in Kochi earlier, will be revamped and implemented more effectively across the State, State Police Chief Loknath Behera has issued orders to this effect.
The services of women volunteers will be utilised at the regional level as part of extending and strengthening steps for improving women’s safety.
A managing committee — with Additional DGP B. Sandhya as nodal officer, IG S. Sreejith, Women Police Battalion Commander R. Nishanthini, Kollam City Police Commissioner S. Ajitha Begum and Kozhikode Deputy City Police Commissioner Merin Joseph as members — has been constituted for the State-level implementation of the Nirbhaya scheme.
As part of the Nirbhaya Keralam, Surakshitha Keralam scheme, groups of five women volunteers each will be engaged as Nirbhaya volunteers at the Panchayat/Municipality/Corporation and ward levels.
Create awareness about circumstances wherein there can be violence against women, create awareness on gender equality, organise campaigns on violence against women with the cooperation of other women’s organisations and Jagratha samithis, help Janamaithri beat officers in house visits, make available the service of professional counsellors for those who have been victims of violence, organise activities to prevent crimes against children in coordination with school PTAs, arrange self-defence training programmes in schools and colleges, assist Janamaithri in organising seminars on women’s safety, create legal awareness in association with the legal services authority, arrange self-defence training programmes in urban areas in cooperation with residents’ associations are some of the tasks assigned to the Nirbhaya volunteers.
In cooperation with other voluntary organisations working for women, awareness programmes can be organised for the general public and men on decent behaviour towards women and preventing violence against women.
Nirbhaya volunteers will be selected, mostly from panchayat-level Jagratha Samithis or Kudumbasree members by a panel headed by the District Police Chief. Those inducted as volunteers will be trained in communication skills, gender issues, self-defence, police schemes and given awareness on cyber crimes, child protection, protection of senior citizens and rehabilitation of the victims of violence.
The respective station house officer should call the meeting of the Nirbhaya volunteers every month. District Police Chiefs will meet the volunteers and review their work every six months.
A district-level monitoring committee chaired by the District Police Chief, along with the Crime detachment DySP, Women’s Cell CI and Kudumbasree Mission coordinator will review the functioning of the volunteers every three months.
