E-Paper
DCW trains team of ‘marshals’ to help victims of abuse
New Delhi:
New Delhi:
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has said it has trained a team of 50 ‘marshals’ for quick response to complaints of abuse or any form of violence against women.
The ‘Mahila Suraksha Dal’, a team of civil defence volunteers, has been constituted to work at the grass roots.
The team members go door to door to check on women whose cases are pending with the women commission and counsel them, a member of the commission said.
The pilot project has started in Burari, which was identified by the commission as a vulnerable and crime-prone area based on the number of cases of crimes against women registered at the local police station.
Out of 50 members, 40 are women while the rest are men. They will be paid by the state government. Their emoluments will be the same as civil defence volunteers
“We are distributed in groups of five to six to cover the area. We visit complainants, counsel them and provide assistance in helping them approach police. We tell them about legal provisions. So far the highest cases I have come across here are those of substance abuse, domestic violence and trafficking,” said Sunita Shukla, 42, one of the trained marshals, who leads the team.
Rohit Kumar, 23, a marshal, said, while there are only a few men in the team, many have offered to join after seeing their efforts on ground.
“Initially, people would not take us seriously. After we helped a number of women, who would not even report abuse earlier, many more have offered to join us,” said Kumar, who is pursuing a Masters degree in social work.
The group has been trained in social skills and sensitised to deal with complainants by a theatre group roped in by the DCW for the task.
“We had a three-month-long training, where we learnt how to offer help and gain people’s trust. It has helped us in confidence building in the victims. People now at times call us directly for help,” said Kumar.
The volunteers have also been trained in relevant sections of law.
