To provide justice to the women victims of atrocities and to enable them to return to the normal course of life, a Nirbhaya Board has been constituted in Haridwar district. It is tasked to monitor the cases of sexual harassment against women and the action taken for their rehabilitation.
Notably, several schemes have been formulated following the Nirbhaya case on 16 December 2012. It was then decided that a board was to be formed in all the States for the purpose. National Criminal Injuries and Rehabilitation Board was also formed to speed things up. The scheme also provided for the setting up of Criminal Injuries and Rehabilitation Board at the district and state levels.
Accordingly, a Government order was issued in October 2013 for forming board committee in four districts of Pauri, Tehri, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital of the State and in October 2015, the other districts were directed to constitute such boards.
City development officer Sonika said, “We had received the letter notification in November 2015 but things were delayed due to Panchayat elections in the district. Now, the Nirbhaya Board has been formed which would have its first quarterly meeting in April.”
Notably, many States and Union Territories across the country had formed such boards in 2014 while Uttarakhand along with six other States- Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Nagaland - has undertaken this project in the past two years.
The board comprises district magistrate as chairperson, SSP and CDO as vice chairpersons, members, including CMO, district welfare officer, district Government counsel (criminal cases) and representatives of two NGOs.
The district administrative system shall work as a facilitator for the rehabilitation of women victims under this scheme. The district programme officer Dr Mohit Chaudhry said that till now in the past one year, only one case of sexual harassment had been registered and the matter kept pending in the court. “We are trying to rehabilitate the woman,” added the DPO.
Mention worthy, as per the orders of the Supreme Court in the Delhi Domestic Working Women’s Forum case, the National Commission for Women drafted the Scheme for the Rehabilitation for Victims of Rape, 2005. The scheme gives details about the constitution, functions and the budgetary allocation of the authorities constituted under it. It provides for compensating rape victims, irrespective of whether the perpetrator has been brought to justice. It provides for legal aid and other measures that will help such victims.