Lok Sabha Question No. 6128 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-04-04
Subject: Legal Assistance to Survivors of Sexual Violence
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: A.P. JITHENDER REDDY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

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## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6128 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 04 th  APRIL, 2018

## Legal Assistance to Survivors of Sexual Violence

## 6128: SHRI A.P. JITHENDER REDDY:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the steps taken by the Government to ensure effective legal assistance to the survivors of sexual violence;
- (b) whether any training programmes are conducted to sensitise the judicial officials on proper handling of the cases of sexual violence, if so, the details of the training programme and if not, the reasons for not conducting such a programme; and
- (c) whether there has been any nationwide study undertaken by the Government to determine the effectiveness of the 524 fast track courts established for expeditious trials in cases dealing with crimes against women and children, if so, the details and the results of the study and if not, the reasons for not conducting such a study?

## MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION

## ANSWER TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a): Under section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 free legal aid is provided to all eligible  persons including victimized women for fighting cases of  sexual assault, rape, dowry, domestic  violence,  etc.  Provision  of  free  legal  aid  includes  representation  by  an  Advocate  in legal proceedings; preparation of pleadings, memo of appeal, paper book including printing and translation of documents in legal proceedings; drafting of legal documents, special leave petition etc.;  rendering of any service in the conduct of any case or other legal proceeding before any court  or  other  Authority  or  tribunal,  and  giving  of  advice  on  any  legal  matter.  Free  Legal Services also include provision of aid and advice to the beneficiaries to access the benefits under the welfare statutes and schemes framed by the Central Government or the State Government. Legal  services  are  provided  by  legal  services  institutions  at  all  levels  from  taluk  court  to Supreme Court to all eligible persons including women under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Further, National Legal Services Authority has formulated two schemes namely, NALSA (Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation) Scheme, 2015 and NALSA (Legal Services to Victims of Acid Attacks) Scheme, 2016 aiming to provide legal assistance to address the concerns of women so as to ensure social protection and dignity of the victims available to any other citizen. Apart from above the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has established 20,134 legal aid clinics in the country .  In addition, under Access to Justice Project 46 legal aid clinics were set up by the Government in Tuensang and Mon districts of Nagaland in 2016-17.  The Government in partnership with UNDP also implemented another project during 2009-2017 on Access to Justice.  Under the project, 4 legal aid clinics were set up in Odisha in partnership with National Law University, Odisha and 2 legal aid clinics were set up in Mumbai in partnership with Tata Institute of Social Sciences.  Thus the total number of legal aid clinics comes to 20, 186.

The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  is  implementing  a  One  Stop  Centre Scheme to provide integrated support including legal assistance to women affected by violence and  a  Scheme  for  Universalisation  of  Women  Helpline  to  provide  24  hours  immediate  and emergency response to women affected by violence. Apart from this, the Ministry of Women & Child Development, in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs, seeks to engage Mahila

Police Volunteers (MPVs) in States/UTs, who act as a link between police and community and help women in distress.

In  April,  2017,  the  Government  has  launched  new  legal  empowerment  initiatives, namely, Tele  Law and  Pro bono legal  services.  Tele  Law  scheme  has  been  launched  in  1800 gram  panchayats  in  11  States  of  the  country  for  providing  free  legal  aid  to  eligible  persons including  women.  Out  of  15621  cases  registered  under  the  scheme,  legal  advice  has  been provided  in  12415  cases.  Under  the  Pro  Bono  legal  service  scheme,  227  advocates  have registered.

(b): The National Judicial Academy has conducted 4 training programmes during 2014-15 to 2017-18 to sensitize Judicial Officers on sexual violence cases. A total of 135 Judicial Officers have been trained in these programmes.

(c): A Study of Pre-Trial and Trial Stages of Rape Prosecutions in Delhi was conducted by the  Government  during  January  2014  to  March  2015  with  support  of    United  Nations Development Programme. This  study  covered  different  stages  of  procedure  relating  to rape trials,  to  examine  their  compliance  with  the  legal  norms designed to facilitate gender justice. The three  stages  pertain  to:  the  pre-trial  stage,  the  trial  stage,  and  the  need  for  as  well  as  the availability of support services. These three stages were examined through close observation of 16  cases  selected  across  four  special  fast  track  courts  in  Delhi,  through  a  combination  of methods.  The  Study  Report  is  available  at  the  website  of  the  Department  of  Justice  [at http://doj.gov.in/page/towards-victim-friendly-responses-and-procedures-prosecuting-rapestudy-pre-trial-and-trial].bv

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