Lok Sabha Question No. 3024 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-13
Subject: Rights of Woman
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3024 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2024

## RIGHTS OF WOMAN

## 3024.  SMT. HARSIMRAT KAUR BADAL:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any specific interventions have been made towards reducing violence against women in the country during the last five years, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the manner in which the awareness about women's rights is being promoted among  rural  populations  in  the  country  indicating  the  funds  allocated  and schemes implemented for the purpose;
- (c) whether the violence against women in the country has risen during the last five years, if so, the details thereof and reasons therefor along with the corrective steps, if any, proposed/taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (d) the manner in which the Government plans to ensure safer environment for women in the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) to (d):  'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India and the responsibility to maintain law and order, protection of  life  and  property  of  the  citizens  including  investigation  and  prosecution  of  crime against  women  rests  primarily  with  the  respective  State  Governments;  they  are competent to deal with such crimes.

As per the data reported by NCRB, which is available upto the year 2022 at its website https://ncrb.gov.in/en/crime-india, the number of crimes against women in 2021 and

2022 were 428278 and 445256 respectively. Increased reporting of crime may be attributable  to  the  increased  level  of  awareness  among  citizens  due  to  various measures taken by  government in the last few years including the operationalisation of helplines such as Women Helpline -181 and Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112),  concept  of  Zero  e-FIR  and  provision  of  institutional  support  to  the survivors.

To promote women's empowerment and their safety, and to increase their participation in the workforce, government has taken several steps. Some recent laws and policies that directly and indirectly cater to the safety of women in the workplace are listed below:

- i. The Government of India with an aim to modernize and improve the criminal justice system has enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha  Sanhita  (BNSS)  and  Bharatiya  Sakshya  Adhiniyam  (BSA)  which came into effect from 1st July, 2024. In BNS 2023, the offences against women and children earlier scattered in Indian Penal Code, 1860 have been brought together and consolidated under Chapter-V of BNS. The BNS has introduced new provisions to strengthen laws related to women and children, specifically, Section  111  related  to  'organized  crime',  Section  69  related  to  sexual intercourse  on  false  promise  of  marriage,  employment,  promotion  or  by suppressing the identity, Section 95 related to hiring, employing or engaging a child to commit an offence etc. In respect of the crimes related to buying a child for  the  purposes  of  prostitution  (Section  99),  gang  rape  (Section  70)  and exploitation  of  a  trafficked  person  (Section  144),  punishment  has  been increased.  Further,  in  respect  of  certain  severe  crimes  against  women  like buying child  for  the  purposes  of  prostitution  (section  99  of  BNS),  organised crime  (Section  111),  kidnapping  or  maiming  a  child  for  purpose  of  begging (Section 139), mandatory minimum punishments have been prescribed. Also, Sections 75 and 79 of BNS 2023 provide additional legal protections against harassment, covering actions like unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual  favours,  sexually  coloured  remarks  and  also  word,  gesture  or  act intended  to  insult  modesty  of  a  woman.  Such  a  woman  facing  sexual harassment  at  workplace  has  an  option  to  file  a  complaint  under  these provisions.
- ii. Additionally,  provisions  under  section  398  BNSS  which  introduce  Witness Protection Schemes, acknowledging the critical need to shield witnesses from threats  and  intimidation  and  Section  2(1)(d)  of  BSA  which  now  enables electronic  or  digital  record  on  emails,  documents  on  computers,  laptop  or smartphone,  messages  and  voice  mail  messages  stored  on  digital  devices under definition of documents can also be referred for protection of women from harassment at workplace.
- iii. Further, the Labour Codes, collectively include provisions to promote participation of women in workforce in a dignified manner and with adequate safety measures adopted by the employers. Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020 consolidates and amends laws regulating the safety, health, and working conditions of workers, with specific provisions to ensure the safety of women at the workplace. Code on Wages, 2019 aims to ensure  a  minimum  wage  for  all  workers,  including  women,  and  includes provisions to promote gender-neutral job advertisements and eliminate gender bias  in  recruitment  and  promotion.  Code  on  Social  Security,  2020  provides social  security  to  workers,  including  women,  and  includes  provisions  for maternity benefits and creche facilities.
- iv. The Ministry of Women and Child Development recently launched the SHe-Box portal  duly  encompassing  various  provisions  of  'the  Sexual  Harassment  of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013' (SH Act). This portal provides  a  publicly available centralised repository of information related to Internal Committees (ICs) and Local Committees (LCs) formed across the country, whether in government or private sector. It also provides  a  common platform to  file  complaints  and track  the  status  of  such complaints. The portal includes a feature where complaints registered on it will be automatically forwarded to the IC/ LC of the workplaces concerned within the  Central  Ministries/  Departments,  States/  UTs  and  in  Private  sector.  The portal  provides  for  designating  a  nodal  officer  for  every  workplace  who  is required to ensure updation of data/ information on a regular basis for real time monitoring of complaints.
- v. Under Nirbhaya Fund, Government has taken several measures to improve safety of women at workplace:
- a.  The component of One Stop Centre (OSCs) under 'Sambal' sub-scheme of 'Mission Shakti', a comprehensive Umbrella Scheme for safety, security and empowerment of women is implemented under the Nirbhaya Fund. The OSCs provide women affected by violence and who are in distress with a range of integrated  services  under  one  roof  such  as  Police  facilitation,  medical  aid, providing legal aid and legal counselling, psycho-social counselling, temporary shelter up to 5 days.
- b.  A  fully  functional  dedicated  24×7×365  toll-free  Women  Helpline-181  (WHL) under  Nirbhaya  Fund  is  also  functional  to  provide  emergency  and  nonemergency  response  to  women affected  by  violence  and  those  in  distress across the country. This helpline is fully integrated with 112. To provide help and support to needy women and women in distress, Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112) has been established in all 36 States and UTs for various emergencies, with computer aided dispatch of field/police resources. As of October 31, 2024, a total of 81,64,796 women have been assisted through 181 across the country.
- c. In  addition,  under  Nirbhaya  Fund,  the  Central  Government  has  provided assistance  to  States/  UTs  for  setting  up/  strengthening  Women  Help  Desks (WHDs) in all police stations. So far, 14658 Women Help Desks have been established in police stations.
- d.  To  ensure  safety  of  public  places  where  women  work  and  live,  various components  under  Safe  City  Projects  have  been  implemented  in  8  Cities (namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai). To ensure safe transportation for women, rail and road transport projects like Integrated Emergency Response Management System (IERMS), Video Surveillance System at Konkan Railway, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based Facial Recognition System (FRS) integrated with Video surveillance Systems, including Command-and-Control Centre at 7 major railway stations and  tabs  for  safety  of  women  passengers  on  board  the  train  by  Ministry  of Railways,  and  projects  like  Vehicle  Tracking  Platform  with  command  and

control centre across States/ UTs, and some State specific projects like Uttar Pradesh  Road  transport  Corporation  (UPSRTC),  Bengaluru  Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC),  etc.  by  Ministry  of  Road  Transport  and  Highways,  have  been implemented.

- vi. Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) has also undertaken several  initiatives,  which,  inter-alia  include  training  and  skill  development programs for Investigation Officers, Prosecution Officers and Medical Officers. BPR&D has also prepared Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) for 'Women Help Desk at Police Stations' to ensure their smooth functioning. Emphasis has been laid upon appropriate behavioural and attitudinal skills of the police in course of prevention and detection of crime against women and children and interaction with victims of crime. Webinars on women safety with sensitivity, gender  sensitization  of  police  personnel  etc.  have  also  been  organized  by BPR&D.
- vii. Recognizing  the  need  for  psycho-social  counselling  to  women  affected  by violence and those in distress, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has  engaged  the  services  of  National  Institute  of  Mental  Health  and  Neuro Sciences  (NIMHANS)  for  providing  basic  and  advanced  training  under  the project named 'Stree Manoraksha' to the staff of One Stop Centres (OSCs) across the country on handling psycho-social and mental health care needs of women facing violence and distress.
- viii. Further, the Ministry of Women and Child Development also administers subscheme 'Samarthya' under Mission Shakti in which the component of Shakti Sadan is for relief and rehabilitation of women in difficult circumstances.
- ix. Another component Sakhi Niwas (Working Women's Hostels) of Mission Shakti provides safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women, with day care facility for their children, wherever possible, in urban, semi urban, or  even  rural  areas  where  employment  opportunities  for  women  exist.  The government has also earmarked Rs. 5000 Crore during the current financial year for providing financial assistance to States for establishing working women
5. hostels  under  the  Scheme  of  Special  Assistance  to  States  for  Capital Investment (SASCI).
- x. The Government, through institutions like the National Commission for Women (NCW) and its counterparts in States has been spreading awareness through seminars, workshops, audio- visual, print and electronic media etc. to sensitize the  people  about  the  safety  and  security  of  women  and  also  about  various provisions of the legislation and policies etc. 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. In respect of the registered complaints, NCW takes up the matter with stakeholders especially the Police Authorities to ensure that the complaints are redressed and brought to logical conclusion.

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