Safeguarding Women During Lockdown: 7 Complain Of Abuse During Odisha Police’s Phone-Up Programme

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Police’s programme to call women and check about their welfare seems to be working.

Of the 304 calls they made on Saturday, seven women complained of abuse. The ‘Phone-Up’ programme is aimed to curb domestic violence in the state.

Those called had reported domestic abuse previously, as per records maintained by the State Crime Record Bureau (SCRB), Director General of Police (DGP) Abhay informed.

“We received adverse reports from seven women during yesterday’s exercise. Police officers in the districts, from where the women complained of domestic violence, have been told to take necessary measures,” DGP Abhay elaborated.

Once a woman reports domestic abuse, a senior police officer visits her place to verify her health condition, following which necessary action is initiated.

“The victims can also approach us through Odisha Police Citizen Portal and Sahayata Mobile App. These initiatives taken by the government will break the chain of violence women had been facing at home since the imposition of lockdown,” said another police officer.

The Odisha government had earlier launched a WhatsApp number — 7205006039 — for reporting domestic violence during the nationwide 19 lockdown.

Another WhatsApp number (7205006039) has been started by the Women and Child Development Department while there is the existing Women Helpline Number, 181.

A WHO report said a few days earlier that cases domestic violence have been increasing the the coronavirus lockdown period. So the administrations are adopting measures to safeguard the safety and security of women.