Kerala government urged not to shift sexual assault survivors to single home in Thrissur
KOZHIKODE: Various women’s organisations in the state have come out against the government order on relocating survivors of sexual assault crimes at various Nirbhaya homes to a single-facility in Thrissur.
According to activists, the move will put undue stress on the girls who are already traumatised and struggling to return to normal lives.
They pointed out that the Kerala government’s decision is unscientific, especially since the cases of each child are handled at their respective districts, and asking parents to travel to Thrissur from various parts of the state for the proceedings of their child’s case is unethical.
Advocate P K Noorbeena Rashid, general secretary of National Women’s League told TNIE that the government order was issued on June 13 dismissing the objectives on which the Nirbhaya homes were founded.
“The first Nirbhaya home came into existence in Thiruvananthapuram. The government has come up with some illogical reasoning that by closing down Nirbhaya homes across various districts and setting them up in a centralised unit will reduce the expense of the government. The girls are brought to such institutions because of the trauma they have experienced. Hence, the government should be careful not to make harsh decisions that affect them psychologically,” she said adding that 50 percent of the children are from SC/ ST communities.
She called on the governement to withdraw the order as it has not considered the practical difficulties of the children and their families. Noorbeena also criticised the State Level Coordinating Committee, chaired by the chief Minister, which has not convened a meeting or evaluated the functioning of the Nirbhaya homes in the past five years.