Waiting to be heard

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 17: “It has been two years since the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act was floated in Parliament. But our superintendents here do not know who the protection officers are and how to contact them when there is a case,” — Usha Padhi, director of social welfare Usha Padhi.

Padhi was speaking at a capacity-building workshop for protection officers (POs) and service providers here today. The two-day workshop has been jointly organised by the state women’s commission, the Centre for World Solidarity and We Can (Orissa).

Under the PWDV act, 30 POs, working under women and child development department, have been. Also, there are as many service providers — most from civil society groups to let victims get justice.

“The sluggish nature of law protectors add to the growing menace of violence. The same should not have been reflected in the attitudes of POs,” added Padhi. The workshop aims to train the POs and service providers on roles and responsibilities assigned to them.

Despite spiralling figures, the number of reported cases remain abysmally low in Orissa. This is largely due to lack of awareness. A recent survey by Regional Medical Research Centre in three states of eastern India, including Jharkhand, Bengal and Orissa brought some disturbing facts. Some 67 per cent of women are subjected to domestic violence in Rural Jharkhand, closely followed by Orissa at 65.6 per cent and Bengal at 53.9.

In terms of sexual violence, Orissa stood at number two with 27 per cent reporting such incidence. Urban Orissa recorded the highest per cent of psychological and sexual violence at 62 and 42 per cent respectively.