Lok Sabha Question No. 288 (STARRED), answered on 2021-12-17
Subject: Women Helpline Scheme
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Girish Bhalchandra Bapat, Pritam Gopinath Munde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.  *288

TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.12.2021

## WOMEN HELPLINE SCHEME

- *288.   SHRI GIRISH BHALCHANDRA BAPAT: DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE:

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

- (a) whether  any  study  has  been  conducted  to  analyse  the  implementation  of  the Women Helpline Scheme in all the States particularly in Maharashtra and Odisha, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (b) whether the funds are being sanctioned and released to the States and UTs biannually after they have submitted their respective proposals and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the employment of women has been on decline since 2019 and further worsening in consequent quarters;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and corrective steps taken in this regard; and
- (e) whether any study has been conducted to assess the impact of current schemes and  the  need  to  scale  them  up  to  tackle  unemployment  especially  in  the unorganised  sector  effectively,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  if  not,  the  reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION  NO.  *288  FOR  ANSWER  ON  17.12.2021  BY  SHRI  GIRISH BHALCHANDRA  BAPAT  AND  DR.  PRITAM  GOPINATHRAO  MUNDE REGARDING 'WOMEN HELPLINE SCHEME'.

(a) and (b): The Scheme of Universalisation of Women Helpline is envisaged to provide 24 hours emergency and non-emergency response through telephonic short-code  181  to  women  affected  by  violence,  both  in  public  and  private spaces  by  linking  them  with  appropriate  authority  such  as  Police,  One  Stop Centres, hospitals, Legal Services Authorities etc. Women Help Lines (WHL) also support women in distress with rescue van facility and counseling services in  addition  to  providing  information  about  women  welfare  schemes  and programs across the country. They are integrated with One Stop Centres and provide  coordinated  support  to  women  in  distress.  100%  funds  are  released directly  to  the  designated  district  administrations  on  receipt  of  Utilization Certificates (UCs) and Statements of Expenditure (SoE) of the funds previously released.

Presently,  WHLs  are  functional  in  34   States/  UTs.  As  per  information received from States / UTs, till 30.09.2021,  a total of more than 66 lakh calls has been handled by 181- WHL across the country.  The WHL scheme is not functional in West Bengal and Puducherry.

A third party evaluation of the schemes of the Ministry, including analysis of  implementation  the  WHL  Scheme,  which  also  covered  the  States  of Maharashtra  and  Odisha,   was  conducted  during  the  Financial  Year  202021.  The study found the relevance, efficiency and sustainability of the scheme as  satisfactory,  and  recommended inter alia for  systematic  mass  media strategy and action plan to spread awareness about WHL, effective monitoring of  calls  and  assessment  of  the  quality  of  information,  support  and  referrals provided.

(c) to (e): The objectives of Scheme of Universalisation of Women Helpline do not include providing of employment. However, the guidelines of the scheme include details of the human resource requirement under the service delivery framework of the scheme, and States and Union Territories are responsible for putting the same in place for effective implementation of the scheme.

However, in order to enhance the employability of female workers in the country,  the  Government  is  providing  training  to  them  through  a  network  of Women  Industrial  Training  institutes,  National  Vocational  Training  Institutes and Regional Vocational Training Institutes. To ensure economic independence of women through skill development and vocational training, the Government  has  also  introduced  Skill  India Mission. The  National  Skill Development Policy focuses on inclusive skill development, with the objective of  increased  women  participation  for  better  economic  productivity.  There  are schemes like Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana and Stand-up India, for helping the women  to  set  up  their  own  enterprises.The  Ministry  also  implements  the scheme of Working Women's Hostels, crèches for children of working women etc.  The  schemes  of  One  Stop  Centres  and  Universalisation  of  Women Helpline  implemented  by  the  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  to support women facing violence of any kind which may also adversely impact their participation in workforce.

The  Government,  with  the  aim  to  provide  safe  and  secure  work environment to women and to increase their participation in the workforce, has enacted  'The  Sexual  Harassment  of  Women  at  Workplace  (Prevention, Prohibition  and  Redressal)  Act,  2013'  (SH  Act).  The  Act  covers  all  women, irrespective of their age or employment status and seeks to protect them from sexual  harassment  at  all  workplaces  whether  public  or  private,  organized  or unorganized. Further, the Labour Codes, viz. the Code on Wages 2019, the Industrial  Relations  Code,  2020,  Occupational  Safety,  Health  and  Working Conditions  Code,  2020  and  the  Code  on  Social  Security,  2020  which  have been enacted in the last two years, collectively include provisions to promote participation of women in workforce in a dignified manner.

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