Margão: A delegation of women from Bailancho Ekvott and Goa Women’s Forum (GWF), on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women called on the Superintendent of Police, South and the deputy director of Panchayats (South) and appealed to put in place measures to prevent crimes against women and children in the district.

 

The delegation led by Bailancho Ekvott’s Auda Viegas and GWF’s Lorna Fernandes called on SP (South Goa) Abhishek Dhania and expressed concern over the rising number of crimes against women and highlighted the need for a community-focused plan to prevent crimes against women and children. A 12-point proposal was also handed over to the SP. The proposal includes suggestions to make beat police system effective in villages and towns, to make tenant verification systems fully operational, consider setting up of a neighbourhood crime watch cell by involving women of the villages, to ensure the presentation of an annual state of law and order, security and crime report to village gram sabhas, and to set up a district-level fully-fledged police station to handle the prevention and investigation of crimes against women and children with a women PSI in all police stations who would function as contact nodal officers.

 

Awareness by way of a crime prevention education cell for educational institutions, involving district level crime prevention week, increasing frequency of messages through posters, leaflets and banners as well as on newspapers and social media and to increase police interactions with the community through meetings, house visits and through website, email and SMS were also suggested.

 

The police were also urged to prepare a separate crime prevention plan for senior citizens and ensure the functioning of senior citizen volunteer committees for every village panchayat and municipal council and to collaborate with tourism agencies for a special crime prevention plan for coastal villages.

 

The delegation submitted five requests to the deputy director of panchayats (South) Prasidh Naik including the delinking of the office of the block development officer (BDO) from the post of ‘Protection Officer’ under The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (Goa Rules). Activation of the Goa Panchayat Mahila Shakti Abhiyan (GPMSA) to devote its full attention to empowering the newly-elected women panchayat members to conduct meetings, prepare agendas, prepare budget proposals, convene focus groups discussions as required for GPDP, draft proposals to the various departments and ministries, organise block-level training for women panchayat members on how to prevent crimes against women and plan for block wise sensitisation and orientation workshop for women panchayat members on the issue of trafficking were also placed as suggestions.