BENGALURU: The police’s role in ensuring women’s safety is limited to treating the symptoms of the problem and not the problem itself, City Police Commissioner M N Reddi said on Saturday.
He was speaking at a workshop on women’s safety organised at the Press Club. He said offences against women are symbolic of the problem, but don’t tell the whole story. “The police have a limited role in solving the problem. We file FIRs, investigate the case and bring
the perpetrators to book. We set up systems that help prevent crimes against women. But the crimes are just symptoms of a deeper problem,” he said.
So what is the problem? The stereotypes that we are taught to believe in right from childhood. Abusive behaviour towards women stems from these stereotypes, Reddi said. “It is endemic and (stereotypes) are even encouraged in some parts,” he said. “They are built during childhood. That is where we should start.”
He maintained that the police would always be on the alert against those indulging in sexual abuse. “We make sure to book them at least under the Karnataka Police Act for creating nuisance in the society. We note down their names in our register. If we do not do this, many indulging in such acts for the first time are encouraged to continue down that path,” he said. He asked the media not only to report instances of violence against women but to also discuss the issue in depth.
A Long Way to Go
D Roopa, Joint Commissioner of Police, City Armed Reserve, said discrimination still exists despite the fact that women have come a long way in the last few decades.
“Even though women are in a lot of male-dominated sectors and doing extremely well, questions are still raised as to whether a woman is capable of doing the job. When a man is assigned a job and something goes wrong, circumstances are usually blamed. But in case of a woman, the perception is that she was unable to handle the job,” she said.
She said open discussions on gender and gender sensitivity need to continue for there to be a visible change. And the onus is on women to go out there and prove themselves, she added.
The workshop included a discussion on the laws on women’s safety and protection, and a martial arts session for the participating women.