Ministry of Home Affairs has circulated a detailed advisory to all concerned departments of the State Government to handle rape victims at all stages from filing a complaint in a police station to undergoing forensic examination and in providing all possible assistance including counseling, legal assistance and rehabilitation. Preferably these victims may be handled by women so as to provide a certain comfort level to the rape victim.
The above advisory on women also includes advise to adopt appropriate measures for swift and salutary punishment to the persons found guilty of violence against women, improve the quality of investigations, minimize delays in investigations of crime against women, set up ‘Crime against Women Cells’ in districts, advised to undertake gender sensitization of the police personnel, special women courts and initiate steps for security of women working in night shifts at call centres. Majority of the States/ UTs have established ‘Women Cells’. Some States/UTs have also set up ‘All Women Police stations’ at district level and ‘Mahila /children help desk’ at police station level.
As per Seventh Schedule, ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Constitution, and as such the primary responsibility of prevention, detection, registration, investigation and prosecution of crimes, including crimes against SC/ST, Women and Children, lies with the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations.
This was stated by Shri Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in Ministry of Home Affairs in written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Source : PIB Release, December 20, 2011
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