The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) is an autonomous panel but it needs more autonomy to function in a strengthened manner, said its chairperson Swati Maliwal on Saturday.
In an interview to The Hindu, Ms. Maliwal said the panel should be treated like a government department and be given adequate funds and resources to deal with the rising cases of crime against women and children. “If more powers were given to the panel, where we could issue directions for implementing a certain rule, it would strengthen us,” she said.
The DCW chief said they receive funds through the Delhi government’s Department of Women and Child Development. “We should receive funds directly,” she said.
Online threats
The DCW has been doing ground visits in the Capital and exposés on social media platforms.
Talking about the rising trend of rape and death threats on social media, Ms. Maliwal said the platform is “unsafe even for the DCW chairperson”, citing the recent rape threats she received after writing to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on October 10 seeking the removal of filmmaker Sajid Khan from Bigg Boss, a reality TV show, over #MeToo allegations.
“This culture [rape threats] has been normalised; whenever women try to speak up, they are silenced," she said, requesting women not to get scared and report such matters to the police so that collective action can be taken against the trolls. On her complaint, the Delhi police have registered an FIR and an investigation is under way, said a police officer.
Offensive content
On the rampant child pornography rackets operating on Twitter, against which the DCW complained recently, she said, “Twitter’s social media policies need to be strengthened; such offensive content cannot be readily available. There needs to be a change in the laws that govern these social media platforms.”
“When action is delayed, it adds to the existing chaos,” said Ms. Maliwal, explaining that in the pornography case, where videos of children were sold for ₹20, Twitter India’s responses were delayed, leading to a delay in arrests. “Quick mechanism is needed in such crucial cases,” she said.
Women safety
Citing the recent National Crime Records Bureau report, which stated that in 2021 crimes against women rose by 40% over the previous year, Ms. Maliwal said while the police are now focusing on registering more cases, “that is not the only reason for the rising numbers”. She said the system of policing needs to change. “The police need to speak to victims of assault to understand the gravity of these crimes and the trauma they cause,” she said.
The police need to be equipped with more staff on the ground, women police officers should be available at each police station to assist the victims of assault — both women and minors.
On rising cases of sexual assaults on minors, she asked the Delhi government to create more awareness and gender sensitisation in schools and at home. “The justice system needs to be quick,” she said, adding that more fast-track courts are needed. In POCSO cases, not more than six months should be taken to announce a judgment, considering the gravity of the crime, she said.
The DCW chief said local bodies like mahila panchayats have been set up to raise awareness on issues concerning women and children safety. “We have partnered with NGOs too, which help us in reaching the ground level; we can't just raise awareness on social media, it has to start from homes,” she said.
“In cases of rapes, several Delhi government hospitals were found not recommending HIV testing for victims and accused. We have asked the hospitals to take this issue seriously and conduct HIV testing on the first visit, as well as follow-up visits in the third and sixth month,” she said.
Ms. Maliwal stressed said that special codes need to be mandatorily used to keep the identity of rape victims hidden.
Acid sale
The women’s panel head also said that the Delhi government has not strengthened its mechanisms to stop the sale of acid. According to Supreme Court guidelines, Central and State governments need to regulate the sale of acid to curb the attacks. However, the DCW has found acid being readily available in shops in several districts in Delhi.
Ms. Maliwal said the Delhi police should conduct regular surprise inspections to prevent acid from entering the Capital. “Subdivisional Magistrates should coordinate with the police to bust the acid trade,” said Ms. Maliwal, adding that the penalty amount collected from the violators is not being used for rehabilitation of acid attack survivors, which the Supreme Court has termed mandatory.
Published - October 16, 2022 12:44 am IST
