Lok Sabha Question No. 5696 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-27
Subject: Safety of Women and Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri N K Premachandran

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UN- STARRED QUESTION NO. 5696 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2026

## SAFETY OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN

## 5696.  SHRI N K PREMACHANDRAN:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  initiated  action  to  ensure  the  security  of  women  and children, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the number and details of cases of domestic violence, rape molestation, acid attacks and sexual harassment during last ten years, State-wise and year-wise;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to implement POSH Act strictly to ensure the safety and security of women at work place, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the details of cases registered under POSH Act during the said period, State-wise and year-wise; and
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  initiated  any  action  to  prevent  the  online  sexual exploitation  through  social  media  and  unregulated  Apps,  if  so,  the  details  thereof indicating the number of such cases reported during the last ten years, State-wise and year-wise?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e): Ensuring safety and security of women and children is of highest priority for the Government. It has been Government's endeavour to put in place effective mechanisms to provide a safe environment for women and children to live and fulfill their potential. However, '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 in crimes against women and children rests with the respective State Governments and UT Administrations; they are competent to deal with such offences under the extant provisions of laws.

The Central Government has taken following measures to ensure the security of women and children.

Under  the  umbrella  scheme  Mission  Shakti,  integrated  services  are  provided  for  safety, protection and empowerment of women through its two verticals; Sambal and Samarthya. One Stop  Centre  (OSC)  is  a  component  of  the  Sambal  vertical  that  provides  integrated  and immediate support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence and those in distress,  both  in  private  and  public  spaces  all  across  the  country.  It  provides  services  like medical  aid,  legal  aid  and  advice,  temporary  shelter,  police  assistance  and  psycho-social counselling  to  needy  women.  Women  Helpline  (WHL-181)  provides  24-hour  toll-free telecommunication  services  to  support  women  in  both  emergency  and  non-emergency situations. It offers assistance to women affected by violence and provides information about government schemes and services all across the country.

In order to strengthen transparency and accessibility in service delivery with respect to reliefs and  rehabilitation  to  women  in  distress,  the  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development (MWCD) launched Mission Shakti Portal (https://missionshakti.wcd.gov.in/) on 22.01.2025. The Mission Shakti Portal data is now accessible via the Mission Shakti Mobile Application with multi lingual feature thereby expanding outreach and convenience for users. The Portal provides a publicly accessible list of Protection Officers under the  Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005, Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) under the  Prohibition  of  Child  Marriage  Act  (PCMA),  2006  ,  Anti-Human  Trafficking  Units (AHTUs) under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA), 1956  and Nodal Officers of various  schemes,  including  OSCs,  WHL,  Shakti  Sadan,  Sakhi  Niwas,  Anganwadi-cumCreches, etc. A new feature has also been added whereby a woman in distress can now book an appointment with her nearest OSC through both the portal and the mobile application. The portal  also  consolidates  all  major  helplines  for  easy  public  access:  Women  Helpline (181), National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) Legal Aid (15100), Child Helpline (1098), Emergency  Response  Support  System  (112),  National  Cyber  Crime  Helpline  (1930),  Tele Manas (14416).

Under the  Samarthya  vertical  of  Mission  Shakti,  Shakti  Sadan  has  been  established  as  an Integrated  Relief  and  Rehabilitation  Home  for  women  in  distress,  including  victims  of trafficking and domestic violence, with an aim to create a safe and enabling environment for the women in difficult situations, to enable them to overcome the adverse circumstances.

The  Sexual  Harassment  Electronic Box  (SHe-Box)  Portal  (https://shebox.wcd.gov.in/) launched by the MWCD as a digital governance initiative for effective implementation of the Sexual  Harassment  of  Women  at  Workplace  (Prevention,  Prohibition  and  Redressal)  Act (PoSH Act), 2013, is a major step towards women empowerment by ensuring them a safer workplace and an easy access to a redressal mechanism. This platform provides a secure and confidential way for women to report instances of workplace related sexual harassment and fostering a culture of accountability.

The National Commission for Women (NCW), an autonomous body under MWCD, in addition to handling complaints through regular mode, assists women in distress through a dedicated 24x7 Helpline -14490 for reporting domestic violence and harassment cases. The Commission also takes cognizance of the grievances relating to violence against women reported in social media.

The Ministry has also launched " Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat" campaign to raise awareness on the issue  and  eliminate  child  marriages  across  the  country  with  a  'Whole  of  Government'  and 'Whole of Society' approach. Additionally, a new portal has also been launched to provide a publicly  available  centralised  repository  of  information  of  CMPOs  appointed  across  the country  and  effective  reporting  mechanism  for  incidences  of  child  marriage  cases.  These enhancements mark a significant step towards strengthening last-mile connectivity, improving ease of access and empowering women with digital tools for safety and support.

The  National  Commission  for  Protection  of  Child  Rights  (NCPCR)  a  statutory  body established under the MWCD has a mandate to safeguard children's rights and security. It oversees the implementation of key child protection legislations, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, the Right to Education Act, 2009 and the Child Labour Act, 2016. To strengthen child safety, the NCPCR has  issued  several  manuals  and  guidelines,  such  as  the  Manual  on  Safety  and  Security  of Children  in  Schools  (2017 -18),  Being  Safe  Online  (2017)  for  raising  awareness  among children,  parents  and  educators,  and  Guidelines  on  Preventing  Cyber  Bullying  for  School Children  (2024).  These  initiatives  reflect  Government's  commitment  to  ensure  a  safe environment for children both offline and online.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, compiles and publishes statistical data relating to crimes in its annual publication 'Crime in India'. The latest published report is available upto the year 2023. The detailed State-wise, year-wise and crime head wise statistics are available on the NCRB's official website (https://ncrb.gov.in).

The SHe-Box Portal of the Ministry which was launched on 29 th August, 2024, encompasses various compliance provisions of the PoSH Act and developed with an aim to create a robust data management system, addressing the earlier gap of having no centralized database to access details of Internal Committees (ICs), Local Committees (LCs), or complaints filed under the Act. This platform provides a secure and confidential way for women to report instances of workplace harassment and track their status, fostering a culture of accountability.

Workplaces can now upload compliance-related data including details of IC members, annual reports  as  mandated  under  the  PoSH  Act  and  records  of  awareness/  training  programs  for employees and IC members ensuring transparency, accountability and effective monitoring of workplace safety by appropriate authorities. The State-wise details of cases registered on the Portal since its launch is at Annexure .

The Government of India adopts a whole of government approach to address offences targeting women  and children, with concerned Ministries implementing legal, technological, enforcement and victim-support/ rehabilitation interventions within their respective mandates.

The  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  (MHA)  undertakes  measures  relating  to  law  enforcement, investigation  and  cyber-crime  reporting.  The  Cyber  Crime  Prevention  against  Women  and Children  (CCPWC) scheme has been implemented under the Nirbhaya Fund. A dedicated National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) and Cyber Crime Helpline (1930) are operational to facilitate reporting of cyber offences including those affecting women and  children.  MHA  also  undertakes  awareness  initiatives  and  capacity  building  for  law enforcement agencies through training programmes and standard operating procedures.

In  recent  years,  major  legal  and  institutional  reforms  have  been  undertaken  to  strengthen protection of women and children. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which came into force on 1 July 2024, contain strengthened provisions relating to offences against women and children, including trafficking, organised crime, gang rape and exploitation. These laws also provide improved procedural safeguards and recognise electronic and digital records as  admissible evidence, thereby strengthening prosecution in cyber crimes.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY) administers 'The Information Technology Act, 2000' and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and  Digital  Media  Ethics  Code)  Rules,  2021  which  provide  a  framework  for  addressing unlawful  online  content,  including  punishment  for  publishing  or  transmitting  obscene  or sexually  explicit  material  electronically  and  empowering  law-enforcement  agencies  to investigate cyber offences.

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## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (A)  TO  (E)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5696 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2026 REGARDING 'SAFETY OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN' ASKED BY SHRI N K PREMACHANDRAN.

The State and UT-wise details of cases registered on SHe-Box Portal since its launch on  29 th August, 2024.

|    | State Name                                 |   Complaint registered |
|----|--------------------------------------------|------------------------|
|  1 | Andaman And Nicobar Islands                |                      0 |
|  2 | Andhra Pradesh                             |                      5 |
|  3 | Arunachal Pradesh                          |                      0 |
|  4 | Assam                                      |                      1 |
|  5 | Bihar                                      |                     16 |
|  6 | Chandigarh                                 |                      1 |
|  7 | Chhattisgarh                               |                      4 |
|  8 | Delhi                                      |                      9 |
|  9 | Goa                                        |                      0 |
| 10 | Gujarat                                    |                      8 |
| 11 | Haryana                                    |                      7 |
| 12 | Himachal Pradesh                           |                      5 |
| 13 | Jammu and Kashmir                          |                      4 |
| 14 | Jharkhand                                  |                      2 |
| 15 | Karnataka                                  |                     23 |
| 16 | Kerala                                     |                      2 |
| 17 | Ladakh                                     |                      0 |
| 18 | Lakshadweep                                |                      0 |
| 19 | Madhya Pradesh                             |                      4 |
| 20 | Maharashtra                                |                     18 |
| 21 | Manipur                                    |                      0 |
| 22 | Meghalaya                                  |                      0 |
| 23 | Mizoram                                    |                      0 |
| 24 | Nagaland                                   |                      0 |
| 25 | Orissa                                     |                      5 |
| 26 | Puducherry                                 |                      0 |
| 27 | Punjab                                     |                      2 |
| 28 | Rajasthan                                  |                     13 |
| 29 | Sikkim                                     |                      0 |
| 30 | Tamil Nadu                                 |                      7 |
| 31 | Telangana                                  |                      7 |
| 32 | The Dadra And NagarHaveli And Daman AndDiu |                      0 |
| 33 | Tripura                                    |                      0 |
| 34 | Uttar Pradesh                              |                     14 |
| 35 | Uttrakhand                                 |                      0 |
| 36 | West Bengal                                |                      6 |