Women and child safety: Govt rolls out big action plan

Chennai: Amidst criticism, the state govt on Wednesday announced a series of conferences, skilling initiatives for staff, and short films aimed at enhancing safety and preventing crimes against women and children. Social welfare minister P Geetha Jeevan said experts would conduct conferences for govt and NGO representatives, focusing on relevant laws, programmes, and necessary action.

Replying to the debate on demand for grants for the social welfare department, the minister outlined the govt's plans to provide training to social welfare officers through renowned skill development institutions. The training will focus on crime prevention and immediate response protocols when information is received. Regional training will also be provided for field workers. "Books and short films covering the laws and schemes for women's safety will be produced at 1 crore. Through these, awareness will be spead among school students, college students, and workplaces," Jeevan said.

AIADMK (Madurantakam) MLA K Maragatham raised concerns about women's safety in the state, citing an increase in crimes against women. The minister responded by highlighting several initiatives already in place to ensure the safety of women and children, to prevent crimes and harassment. The initiatives include Kaaval Uthavi, a mobile application, Students in Responsible Police Initiatives (Sirpi), Aval project, Police Akka, and Pallikoodam projects.