Every time there is a shocking case of rape or assault on women, the authorities come up with a new helpline number for women. Helpline number 1091 was instituted after the December 2012 Nirbhaya rape incident and there has been sufficient publicity for it, some good, some bad.
But here’s what happened when a woman (name withheld) in Ahmedabad recently called up the helpline in distress. A 34-year-old female divorcee was in a relationship with a married man, who had claimed to be trapped in a bad marriage and promised to divorce his wife. But when he refused to start divorce proceedings months after his promise, the complainant decided to cut her losses and ended the relationship. Angry at being dumped, the man allegedly came to her flat around 1 a.m. on Thursday and assaulted her.
According to Ahmedabad Mirror, which carried the story, he even threatened to kill her if she reported the matter to the police. He took her phone when he left, with a promise to return the next day. The scared woman tried to call the cops but her call didn’t go through. The next day, she called a lady friend who is a practicing advocate in a family court and they decided to call the helpline. But when she called up 1091, the counsellor heard her out and then told her that she should call the helpline the next time her boyfriend visits her house and threatens her.
“I told the counsellor that my ex had visited my house the day before and assaulted me. He also threatened me. But the counsellor told me that I should call the helpline the next time he comes to my house and tries to hurt me. I was surprised and a little confused by her response. She then asked me to go to the Mahila Crime Branch to file a complaint for ‘this time’,” the woman said. When she went to the Mahila Crime Branch, the cops on duty told her that since the man who assaulted her was not her husband, they would not be able to help her. Instead, they advised her to go to her local police station and file a complaint there.
The coordinator of the helpline later justified their behaviour by saying that the 34-year-old divorcee’s call was not an ‘emergency’ and they only handle ‘emergencies’. It leaves us all to wonder what is their idea of an emergency.
But the 1091 has been fraught with troubles and technical glitches since its inception just like other women helplines in the past. For more than 6-8 months after it was instituted, technical glitches prevented calls from going through and when they did, the response was patchy at best.
Last year Times of India carried a report based on their own investigations on how the helpline works. They found many cops and even police control room officers either unaware or unable to remember the helpline number.
‘The senior inspector deployed as Control Room Officer (CRO) for Monday, who identified himself as ‘PI Patil’, could not recall the number 1091 even after taking adequate time to refresh his memory. He seemed to have asked some of his colleagues present in the control room, regarding the number and none could recall it,’ reported TOI.
A women activist claimed she herself could not get justice even after repeatedly informing the women helpline about an indecent caller troubling her. “I informed the staffers manning the helpline seven times regarding the harassment to me, by a male caller but there was no follow up or action to my alerts. Where is the utility of such a system when it cannot bring justifiable action,” she asked.
Another prominent social worker from the same city stated she was being harassed over the phone, by a cop, under the influence of alcohol. She was targeted by the constable because she had helped his estranged wife. The activist called up women’s helpline on two occasions but no one turned up to extend any help. “The helpline staffers refused help stating since the miscreant caller was a policeman, they cannot take any action,” she stated.
Seems like the helplines too face the same issues as our police system. Both were created to help out the people, but all of us know how well that’s working out, don’t we?
Image Courtesy: BCCL
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