Women Help Desks at Police Stations

The government has announced a sanction of 100 crore INR to set up and strengthen Women’s Help Desks at police stations. The amount is sanctioned from the Nirbhaya Funds. The project is to be implemented by the governments of the state and union territories. The desks are to be the first and single point of contact for women entering the police stations. The desks are to be manned by trained women police officers. They will be trained to be approachable and public friendly with sensitisation regarding women’s issues. The desks will also solicit help of panel of experts like psychologists, lawyers and NGOs to enable legal aid, training, rehabilitation, counselling and shelter. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs made this announcement in light of the recent media coverage surrounding the inefficiencies of our police infrastructure in ensuring safety of women.