Haryana women fail to call ‘distress’ helplines

The helplines launched by Haryana Police to curb instances of rape in the state are yet to make an impact as women are still not making use of the facilities. In the past fortnight, since the helplines were launched, few women have called and lodged their complaints, particularly at 1091 - the toll free state-wide helpline.

Police sources disclosed that on average they received seven to eight phone calls on the helpline and that too either by NGO staff or women complaining of domestic torture or other harassment.

"Helpline 1091 has received few complaints of sexual harassment or fear of being sexually violated. If we analyse rape cases, the victims mostly belong to poor families or villages. Awareness of these helplines will take time to reach the interiors of the state. We are making efforts and hope that after a few weeks, women will start making more use of such helplines," a senior Haryana police officer told The Indian Express.

After facing a lot of criticism and failing to curb cases of sexual assault on women, the Haryana police's former Director General, R S Dalal, had launched Helpline 1091 for "women in distress". Simultaneously, the district police chiefs also launched dedicated phone lines to specifically deal with complaints pertaining to assault on women. A senior IPS officer, K Selvaraj, was also posted as Additional Director General of Police, Crime Against Women. All the helplines including 1091 are functional round the clock and monitored by women police staff, so that the callers could interact comfortably and narrate their grievance.

The decision to launch this service was taken in a high-level meeting presided over by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to instil confidence and sense of security in women of the state.

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