Lok Sabha Question No. 862 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-23
Subject: Sexual Offences Committed against Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Locket Chatterjee

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UN-STARRED QUESTION NO.862 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2021

## SEXUAL OFFENCES COMMITTED AGAINST WOMEN

## 862.    MS. LOCKET CHATTERJEE:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  note  of  the  sexual  offences  committed against women in West Bengal;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the efforts that are taken by the Government to effectively stave off the rising cases of crimes against women; and
- (c) the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  deter  the  rising  tendency  of  child sexual abuse in the State?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) & (b): After taking suo-motu cognizance of the twitter and other media reports about alleged  violence  against  women  including  the  cases  of  heinous  crimes  like  rape  and murder, an Inquiry Committee constituted by National Commission for Women (NCW) visited  the  State  of  West  Bengal  on  5 th -  6 th May,  2021.  The  Committee  held consultation  with  various  Government  functionaries,  institutions  and  violence  affected individuals/  women.  The  Committee  was  informed  of  physical  assault,  threat  calls, stone pelting, molestation etc. The Committee observed that the State Government was not  taking  any  conclusive  or  effective  steps  to  provide  security  to  women  and  was neglecting the voice of women victims, the police appeared  to be supporting unlawful elements instead of protecting people of the State, and proper shelter homes were not available in the State.

"Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens including investigation and prosecution of crime against women and children rests primarily with the respective State Governments.

Nevertheless, the Central Government gives high priority to ensuring safety and security of women and has undertaken various legislative and schematic interventions in this regard. These include legislations such as 'The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018', 'The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013', 'The Sexual Harassment of Women at  Workplace  (Prevention,  Prohibition  and  Redressal)  Act,  2013',  'The  Protection  of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2006', 'The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961', etc. The schemes/ projects include One Stop Centres (OSCs) for violence affected women,

Universalisation  of  Women  Helplines  (WHL),  Emergency  Response  Support  System (ERSS)  which  is  a  pan-India  single  number  (112)/  mobile  app  based  system  for emergencies, a cyber-crime reporting portal to report obscene content and assistance to States/ UTs for strengthening cyber forensic capabilities , safe city projects in 8 cities (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai), training  and  skill  development  programs  for  Investigation  Officers  (IOs),  Prosecution Officers  (POs) and  Medical  Officers  (MOs),  distribution  of  Sexual  Assault  Evidence Collection (SAEC) Kits to States/ UTs, establishment of state of the art DNA Laboratory at  CFSL,  Chandigarh,  assistance  to  20  States/  UTs  to  strengthen  Forensic  Science Laboratories,  assistance  to  States/  UTs  for  their  respective  victim  compensation schemes  under  Central  Victim  Compensation  Fund  (CVCF), setting  up  of  1023  Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for speedy disposal of cases of rape and cases under POCSO Act, setting up/ strengthening of Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) in all districts  of  the  country,  setting  up/  strengthening  of  Women  Help  Desks  (WHDs)  at Police  Stations , Integrated  Emergency  Response  Management  System   (IERMS)  at 983  railway  stations,   deployment  and  management  of  vehicle  tracking  platform etc. The  Government has also put in place Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences, an online analytic tool for tracking and monitoring of investigation. A National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) has also been created. In addition, Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Home Affairs have issued advisories to States/  UTs  from  time  to  time  on  various  issues  pertaining  to  safety  and  security  of women and children.

(c):        The  Government  of  India  implements  the  'Protection  of  Children  from  Sexual Offences  (POCSO) Act,  2012',  which  provides  for  mandatory  reporting,  child  friendly recording of statement and evidence and speedy trial of the cases. It is stipulated in the POCSO Act, 2012 that National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and  State  Commissions  for  Protection  of  Child  Rights  (SCPCR)  shall  monitor  the implementation  of  the  provisions  of  the  Act.  The  Protection  of  Children  from  Sexual Offences  Act,  2012  has  been  amended  in  2019  to  provide  for  more  stringent punishments in cases of child sexual abuse. As already mentioned, for expeditious trial and disposal of cases related to rape and POCSO Act, the Government implements a scheme  for  setting  up  of  1023  Fast  Track  Special  Courts  (FTSCs),  including  389 exclusive POCSO Courts under which financial assistance has been provided to States/ UTs. Further,  the  Government has also provided financial  support  to  States/  UTs for their victim compensation schemes.

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