THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : In the wake of the release of the Hema Committee report which highlighted the need for women’s safety, the City Corporation is all set to launch a 24x7 cell to provide comprehensive assistance to women facing harassment or in distress. Besides this, the civic authorities are also planning to launch free safe rides for women travelling during the wee hours.
The Women’s Cell will provide legal aid, counselling, medical support and moral guidance to those women who have faced sexual harassment or are in distress. Mayor Arya Rajendran told TNIE that the initiative aims to create a safe and supportive environment for women who come forward with their grievances. She said that the cell will ensure timely intervention and will help prevent crime against women.
The civic body has already begun efforts to develop online software which will be incorporated in the Smart Trivandrum application. “This will be added as a new feature in the Smart Trivandrum application and there will be a ‘press button’ which will send the location and alerts to the civic body and the police. All women should be able to travel independently and freely in our city,” said Mayor Arya.
In addition to the mobile application, the civic body is also planning to introduce a toll-free number or mobile number for registering grievances raised by women and also for providing immediate assistance to them.
“We already have the Integrated Command and Control Centre and under Smart City, we have already set up a traffic control system for police at the AR Camp. The alerts will be directly sent to the police for immediate intervention. A woman who lands in trouble might need more support and we aim to provide legal aid, counselling and moral support for them,” said the Mayor.
The Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) has already approved the project. According to authorities, the new software will be up and running within a month. The civic body will be constituting a technical committee comprising police, lawyers and counsellors to assist. It is also planning to dedicate an electric car to give free rides to women.
“Our city is safe when compared to many other cities. I have also faced such harassment. Even if the number of cases of violence against women is less, we should ensure that such things never happen. Those who fear to travel alone at night can contact us and get a free ride,” the Mayor added.
The civic body is also planning to convene a meeting with NGOs working for women’s safety and welfare. “We will be taking their opinions and including all those inputs to make this initiative better,” she added.