(a) the steps taken by the Government for the safety and security of working women so as to ensure their safe passage from residence to workplace and back;
(b) whether the Government has proposed amendments in the criminal law to provide quicker trials and enhance punishments for criminals to ensure safety and security of women;
(c) if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the measures taken by the State Governments to ensure safety of women during the last four years?
MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)
(a): Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility of maintaining law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens rests with the respective State Governments. The State Governments are competent to deal with such offences under the extant provisions of laws. However, safety and security of women and children in the country is of utmost priority for the Government of India.
The Government of India enacted ‘The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013’ in which a workplace is defined as “any place visited by the employee arising out of or during the course of employment, including transportation provided by the employer for undertaking such a journey.”
Emergency Response Support System (ERSS), which provides a single emergency number (112) based computer aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress has been operationalized in 20 States/UTs in 2018-19.
To address the issues of women safety including in public spaces and public transport, Government of India has approved pilot Safe City projects in eight selected metropolitan cities, namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai under Nirbhaya Fund.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued notification vide GSR No. 1095(E) dated 28.11.2016 whereby Central Government has mandated the provision of vehicle location device and one or more panic button in public transport vehicles w.e.f. 1st April, 2018.
(b) & (c): The Criminal Law (Amendment), Act 2013 was enacted for effective legal deterrence against sexual offences. Further, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of a girl below the age of 12 years. The Act also inter-alia mandates completion of investigation and trials within 2 months each.
(d): Since Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects, hence, besides their own schemes and initiatives, State Governments also implement the various laws pertaining to safety and security of women as well the centrally sponsored scheme such as ‘One Stop Centre Scheme’, ‘Universalisation of Women Helpline Scheme’, ‘Mahila Police Volunteer Scheme’ and various other projects under Nirbhaya Fund Framework which receive the funding support from the Government of India.
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