CHENNAI: A two-year-old initiative of the Coimbatore police is likely to be replicated by all districts and city police commissionerates across the state to make college campuses safer and ensure that sexual harassment complaints don’t go unheard.
The ‘Police Akka’ (sister) scheme, where an experienced police woman is deputed to every college having female students to build a sense of trust and solve their harassment-related issues, was suggested as a model to be emulated at a special meeting convened by Chief Secretary N Muruganandam with representatives of all colleges across the state, officials said.
Conceptualised by Coimbatore commissioner V Balakrishnan, the scheme works outside the ambit of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) set up under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act. It was introduced after feedback from students expressing reservations about approaching the college management about such issues fearing judgment from authorities. Some students were also apprehensive that escalation to the level of a police complaint might lead to their parents stopping their education.
The scheme, thus, was devised as a trust-based problem solving method, a senior official said. Personnel from the level of constable to senior sub-inspector (SSI) were selected based on their aptitude and empathetic working style and assigned to 71 colleges in the city, the official added.
Under the scheme, the ‘police akka’ is introduced to the students during the orientation programme at the start of the academic year. She meets them once a fortnight. Her contact number is displayed on the notice board and shared to the students with an assurance of complete confidentiality.
Over time, students have opened up about issues like harassment from male friends and eve teasing on public transport. In fact, some policewomen have built such a good rapport that students have called to seek assistance for mobile phone theft as well, the official added.
In two years, 473 complaints have been received through this channel which have been addressed either informally by the personnel directly talking to the perpetrator or filing a case in serious issues.
The ‘police akka’ acts as a trustworthy intervention so that issues don’t fester and are nipped in the bud, the official said. They also work with the college management to take up complaints with the ICC as well, the official added.
Such an initiative helps students feel that they have personalised access to someone in the police force which will add to their sense of security and a feeling that their problem would be heard and addressed, inside or outside the institution, said Dr NA Arivukkarasi, assistant professor at Madras School of Social Work (MSSW).
