Women's Safety: Chennai College Hires Female Guards

In a bid to bolster students' safety in Chennai's Women's Christian College, the institution has deployed female security guards on its campus.

While male security guards would still be there, the presence of three women security personnel is likely to be comforting for girl students. They have been recruited from agencies and come with a basic skill set and experience.

Students opting for the hostel facility will specifically benefit from this step.

"We felt that it would be beneficial to both parties, for students as well as the guards, who may feel more comfortable and at home,"- Principal

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Duties 

The college authorities might rope in more security guards, depending on the requirement. They have also been allocated duties that involves checking IDs of students and visitors, ensure that they walk on the pathway and avoid vehicles coming in and out of gates, and also ensure that the gateway leading to the road is not blocked.

The need to hire female security guards

"We felt that it would be beneficial to both parties, for students as well as the guards, who may feel more comfortable and at home. We want at least one woman guard near the hostel blocks in case of any emergencies. I had thought about this idea earlier but was able to implement it now," said Lillian I Jasper, who recently took over as the college principal in June.

"Sometimes, share autos park right in front of the gates and the drivers who, usually haggle with our male security members, somehow aren't aggressive when the women guards ask them to remove the vehicles and instead oblige," added the principal while talking about the positive outcomes this step would have.

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T Shanthi, a female security guard posted near the gates and in charge of checking visitors, says that she has worked as a security guard earlier at a hospital and residential set-ups.  She has been working in this field for nine years.

Other colleges with female security guards

Besides Women's Christian College, there are some other colleges also where female security guards have been hired. For instance, Stella Maris College and  Valiammal College for Women both have one female security personnel posted for disciplinary and checking duties.

Deploying female security guards in educational institutions is a great step towards removing any kind of fear in students' minds about their safety.

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