The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Officers in districts to help women in distress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 07, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Officers in districts to help women in distress

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: The State Government has appointed a district protection officer in each district to help complainants under the Domestic Violence Against Women (Prevention) Act, Social Welfare Secretary N.S. Palaniappan said on Tuesday.

Social Welfare officers in each district had been asked to serve as District Protection Officers until further orders. Qualified personnel would soon be appointed full-time district protection officers, who would coordinate the response of the police and service providers such as hospitals, counselling centres, rehabilitation centres and legal aid officers. One counsellor would be appointed in each district to resolve disputes and provide legal guidance to women in distress, Mr. Palaniappan said at a consultation.

Representatives of NGOs made several pleas to the new chairperson of the Commission, K.M. Ramathal. All of them agreed it was imperative to make the Commission a statutory body, with the member secretary of the National Commission for Women, N.P. Gupta, articulating the demand first. Henri Tiphagne of People's Watch said it was essential to have separate financial and staff allotments for the Commission. R. Gita of the Construction Workers Union said committees should be established in the organised sector to look into complaints of sexual harassment while the welfare boards could serve the purpose for the unorganised sector.

Advocate Shanthakumari spoke.

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