Gujarat’s women helpline proved useful, now to be extended to the whole state

A women’s helpline launched for female victims of harassment by GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (GVK-EMRI) in association with Gujarat government received nearly 6,500 calls during the test run, reported Times of India. Seeing the response, the 181 Abhayam helpline will now be extended to the whole state by January next year.

Kartik Mehta, an official of GVK-EMRI who is a part of 181 Abhayam team told Times of India, "The number of calls received since February definitely indicates that Vadodara and Rajkot are safer than Ahmedabad and Surat. But the reach and awareness of the service is still limited so it wouldn't be appropriate to draw conclusions yet. Vadodara has been repeatedly termed a safe city for women and it seems to be living up to the image."

The data collected over the past nine months revealed that the cases of domestic violence are high in the state and need more attention that street safety. The report states that the helpline received 550 calls from Vadodara alone, in these nine months. Most of the harassed women were however, looking to get counseled and did not register complaints.

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Smriti Solanki narrates one such incident where a woman was saved by the helpline. The woman was on a highway, when six unidentified men approached her started teasing her. They later pulled out a knife when she resisted.

Solanki stated, “We informed the highway police immediately after we received the call. They reached there in eight minutes. All the while she insisted that I stay on the line with her. The men had already fled the spot and she was dropped home safely by the police."

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/Womens-helpline-to-cover-all-Gujarat-in-2015/articleshow/45019246.cms