CHENNAI: Ever been harassed on a public bus or found it hard to locate an all-women police station nearby to register a complaint? Fret not. The State government is planning to install panic buttons on all public buses and increase the number of all women police stations to make the city safer for women.
It is learnt that these are two major projects that will be taken up with the 425-crore Nirbhaya Funds allocated to Chennai, as part of the Central government’s Safe City Project. These projects will be implemented over a three-year period.
“Detailed project reports will be prepared, once the State government releases the funds,” said a senior corporation official, explaining the civic body narrowed down on these projects after multiple consultations with the city police and social welfare department.
“It has been observed that harassment on public transport is a harsh reality many women face and that accessibility to all women police stations can be improved to increase reporting of crimes,” the official said.
The funds will also be used to increase women police patrols in the city and also provide restrooms for women police, officials said. There are plans to institute a designated helpline for harassment and distress complaints under the aegis of the State Social Welfare Department. The inception report has also proposed the considerable allocation of funds for sensitising school children to gender equality and ways to ward off sexual predators.
These measures which have been planned have been welcomed by social activists who have deemed it as a long overdue step in the right direction. However, there have been calls for a ‘crisis shelters’ on the lines of those proposed in Ahmedabad.
“Women, who suddenly decide to stop harassment by walking out of their homes, need a place to stay with their children,” said Vaishnavi Jayakumar, co-founder of city-based NGO Banyan.
Vaishnavi Jayakumar also stressed the importance of making helplines accessible to women with speaking impairments. “These women are among the worst affected by harassment. Their inability to expose their harassers is taken advantage of,” she said.
Part of Centre’s Safe City Project
It is learnt that panic buttons and more all-women police station are two major projects that will be taken up with the `425-crore Nirbhaya Funds allocated to Chennai, as part of the Centre’s Safe City Project