On November 2, 2019, The govt. of India is to set up and strengthen Anti-Human-Trafficking-Units (AHTUs) and Women Help Desks (WHDs) in police stations across the country for safety and security of women and girl victims of trafficking. The Empowered Committee (EC) under Nirbhaya Framework chaired by Rabindra Panwar, Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) recommended this proposal to the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA).
Proposal in brief: Setting up of WHDs in 10,000 police stations and AHTUs in the remaining districts of India, costing Rs. 100 crore each which were recommended to be borne by the government under the Nirbhaya Fund.
Key Points:
i.The purpose of WHDs are for grievance redressal of women mainly focusing on crime against women and children. The WHDs would also create a conducive environment for distressed females to approach the police stations without any hesitation and fear. These WHDs would be headed by a woman police officer not below the rank of Head Constables.
ii.The EC also recommended to provide psycho-social counselling and legal counselling to the beneficiaries under the AHTUs and also to monitor its functioning by appointing state level nodal officers.
About women and child development ministry:
Founded- 30 January 2006.
Headquarters- New Delhi.
About Nirbhaya fund:
Nirbhaya Fund is an Indian rupee 10 billion corpus announced by the Indian govt. during the2013 Union Budget. The purpose of this fund is to support initiatives by the government and NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) working towards protecting the dignity and ensuring the safety of women in India.
