Jammu:
While the Covid 19 pandemic has brought the entire world to a standstill and has not only further widened the deeply entrenched gender inequalities in our society but has also invisiblised issues of women and girls, an organization is silently working towards making lives of women of conflict-hit region of Jammu and Kashmir better.
With no immediate solution in sight for combating Covid 19 which has deeply impacted the women and girls of Jammu and Kashmir, Women Helpline-181, a scheme of Ministry of Women and Child Development, Govt of India and program of Department of Social Welfare, Govt. Of J&K, has emerged as the only ray of hope for hundreds and thousands of women and girls in this region who have been caught in the web of domestic violence, dowry abuse, mental torture, sexual assault, eve teasing, cyber-crime, child sexual abuse, rape etc.
In the absence of any government bodies to help the women of Jammu and Kashmir since August 2019 when the J&K Women Commission was shut down after it was given the status of Union Territory, the Women Helpline – 181, which is managed and implemented by Aman Satya Kachroo Trust (AmanMovement.Org) under public private partnership model, has been engaging over 400 calls on daily basis since corona pandemic started.
“The average number of calls on our helpline in lockdown period of April-September went up by nearly 100 percent against average number in pre-lockdown period,” informs Purnima Dhar, Manager women Helpline 181 adding that between April and June, they responded to and represented more than 2500 calls pertaining to ration supplies and other essential needs from migrant & non-migrant workers alone.
Between April-September 2020, Women Helpline registered 922 complaints of women in distress, the number is nearly 80% higher compared to the same period of previous year. Out of total 619 complaints registered for domestic violence, 317 complaints were registered from April to June 2020 while 302 were registered from July-Sept. 2020. Five complaints were received In the matter of POCSO and Sexual Violence. A total of 47 complaints were received in the matter of Cyber Crime and Obscene Calls. About 115 cases were registered for Social Welfare Support.
The rise in complaints must not be only credited to pandemic impact alone but also to the lot of national buzz and state advertisements of 181 WHL for women in distress. The inference here is that, the rise in awareness will lead to more women coming forward and reporting the incidents of violence and injustice. The scheme of Women Help Line (WHL) is designed in a way that girls and women in distress can have access to justice, welfare and government by dialing a 3-digit toll-free number 181.
“Our performance during COVID period of 6 months since its outbreak is exceptional. WHL 181 helped allotment of lawyers in 138 complaints through various District Legal Services Authority. In 192 complaints, we engaged with Police and 63 complaints were sent to Protection Officers under PWDVA (Protection of Women from Domestic Violence act), “ informs Ms Dhar, Manager Women Helpline 181 adding that 60 Domestic Incident Reports were created by WHL & integrated OSC centers.
