On November 19, 2019 the Union Minister of Women and Child Development(MoWCD) and Textiles, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, addressed the 2nd edition of the South Asia Safety Summit 2019 in New Delhi. The summit was organised by WCD and online social media and social networking service,Facebook. Facebook has collaborated with Women and Child Development(WCD) Ministry to increase digital literacy in India .
Aim: The aim of the summit is to highlight the issue of safety while individuals and communities are connected on the digital platform.
“We Think Digital” website launched:
Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani launched “We Think Digital” digital learning programme during the summit. The website is an online education portal with many tutorials to help people think critically and share thoughtfully online. “We Think Digital” is a 4-part course and the topics covered include privacy, safety, security, digital discourse and knowing your digital footprint. The programme will focus on online safety, privacy and misinformation.
Cyber-crime portal launched:
Along with the Ministry of Home Affairs(MoHA), Ministry of WCD has launched a cyber-crime portal to help women to lodge complaints of cyberbullying, online shaming and online threats.
Key Points:
i.The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2017 reported that nearly 3 lakh crimes registered against women were committed by husbands and relatives. It was also reported in the NCRB data that 42% of men justify domestic violence and 62% of women support domestic violence. To tackle these issues, the above initiatives were launched.
ii.Steps taken by WCD ministry to service the need of women:
- One stop centres are being introduced in the country. The WCD ministry also aims to open 10 one stop centres every month. An operational one stop centre will be launched in every district by the end of the year.
- Anti-trafficking units will be set up in the country. It is also the first ever such initiative undertaken by the govt.
- Women help desks are being set up in the country in each police station to make it more accessible to women and children.
- WCD also list all sex offenders in India that would be helpful in case of background checks of employees.
About Ministry of Women and Child Development:
Founded- 30 January 2006.
Headquarters- New Delhi.
Minister of State(MoS)- Sushri Debasree Chaudhuri.
