New Delhi, Sep 23 (UNI) About 4,350 complaints of domestic violence were received from March till September 18, of which 1,443 were received on WhatsApp, Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani has told Parliament.
Sharing the information in the Rajya Sabha, Ms Irani on Tuesday said that from the beginning of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, the National Commission for Women (NCW) launched an ad campaign through the electronic media and social media, inviting the female victims of violence to come forward and report it.
The Commission, which also launched a WhatsApp number 7217735372 on April 10 for reporting domestic violence cases, received 190 complaints from Uttar Pradesh, followed by 181 from Delhi and 143 from Maharashtra on WhatsApp, the month-wise and state-wise data released by the Ministry showed.
Ms Irani said the additional modes provided by NCW, facilitated reporting of cases, including from women who had been experiencing violence at home for past several years.
'The complaints received by NCW were acted upon, by coordinating with victims, police and other authorities, to provide necessary assistance,' added the Minister, in her reply.
She said giving high priority to the safety of women, the Central government took a number of initiatives in this regard during the past six months.
The Government has ensured that their schemes of One Stop Centres (OSCs), Universalisation of Women Help Line (WHL), Ujjawala Homes, SwadharGreh, and Emergency Response Support System (112) remain available for providing help to women during the Lockdown and Unlock periods, besides undertaking sensitisation programmes for officials concerned of States and UTs for this purpose, her reply said.
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