Soon, Govt To Initiate Scheme For Women’s Safety

The government is all set initiate a new mission to combat women's safety in the country. In the next two months, it will take up a series of measures and launch a comprehensive program.

The National Mission for Safety of Women (NMSW) will allocate roles to other ministries. The NMSW will cover all aspects, including free medical care and legal aid to sexual assault survivors. It will also engage public prosecutors in states and establish nearly 1,023 fast track courts for speedy justice.

Steps towards Change

On 24th August, the cabinet secretary headed an inter-ministerial committee. The committee planned to put the proposal before Cabinet in the next one month to ensure faster action on the mission. The mission's implementation will be carried on for three years, till 2021-22.

The proposal will ensure collection of a national database of sexual offenders. Additionally, a web portal for reporting cyber crime against children and women will be set up.

The Ministry of Information and Technology will look after the regulation of sexually explicit/ violent content on the web. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is charged with the responsibility of providing quick medical help to victims of rape and sexual assault. Thus, it will initiate a scheme for reimbursement of costs to hospitals and clinics for medical and surgical aid to the victims.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Transport will make it mandatory to use original equipment manufacturers from July next year. This initiative will help to disable the child lock feature in taxis at the time of sale or manufacture. Also, each and every transport vehicle such as bus and taxi will have to install vehicle tracking devices and panic alert button from November this year.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will set up a dedicated wing to handle issues related to women's safety and security. It will also deploy a joint secretary for smoothly carrying out the task. Furthermore, it will make use of the pan India ‘112’ emergency number for providing assistance and support.

Read Also: Two Minor Girls From Jharkhand Accuse 11 Men of Rape

Megha Thadani is an Intern with Shethepeople.tv