With regard to curb the sexist interrogation and moral judgements on women survivors, the Mahabubnagar Police in Telangana on Tuesday initiated a gender sensitivity training, Gender Fellowship for Constable Officers, on women survivors of violence. The training will involve first responders and will focus to create an environment that will offer a more sensitive reporting of women survivors. 

This initiative is a part of the district police’s effort to create a gender-sensitive force as well as to promote a robust and accountable reporting system for crime against women (CAW), Mahabunagar Superintendent of Police Rema Rajeshwari said. While Mahabubnagar Police launched the training in partnership with a Delhi-based organisation, People for Parity (PFP), initially, 30 police constables have been picked to undergo this training.

The training includes PUKAR (a call for help) – that will emphasise on capacity building of police to handle cases regarding Violence Against Women (VAW). The sensitivity training will include establishing the difference between sex and gender; defining violence and understanding different forms of violence against women; to understand and break gender stereotypes and beliefs that they hold and to develop skills for empathetic communication with women while reporting violence against them.

As per a report published in the Hindustan Time, according to SP Rajeshwari, the number of incidents of crime against women in the district prompted her to launch this training. In 2015, 29 murders, 9 dowry deaths, 33 abetment to suicide, 48 kidnapping, 89 rape, 135 outraging modesty, 91 harassment cases were recorded in the district, while in 2016, 26 murders, 5 dowry deaths, 40 abetment to suicide, 51 kidnapping, 71 rape, 131 outraging modesty, 172 harassment cases were recorded. “As there is sizeable reporting of such cases, the district police administration deemed it necessary to train the first responders (constables) to deal empathetically with such victims of CAW. This will be a continuous effort as the 30 police constables will train their counterparts in each police station after the completion of the fellowship,” Rajeshwari said.