Chennai: They rush to protect women victimised by domestic violence and mostly get caught in the crossfire between the warring parties.
Protection officers, appointed by the government to safeguard women affected by domestic violence, are themselves in need of protection at such times. There are cases where officers have been threatened and insulted by the families of the offenders and errant husbands. In some instances when the officials visit the woman’s house, they are chased away by the offenders.
This is only part of the tale of the protection officers. The other is that they are not regular government staff and have to dip into their pockets for their travel or even to get a photocopy of a court order that could change the life of a petitioner for the better.
‘Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005’ (PWDVA) came into effect in Tamil Nadu in 2006. Full-time protection officers were appointed in all districts. They were asked to register domestic violence complaints, take up the case with the courts and assist the victim to get quick justice - within 60 days. Tamil Nadu leads in implementing the Act as the protection officers were also recognised in the recent national-level meet by the Union women and child development ministry in New Delhi.
Protection officials say that because of awareness, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of domestic violence cases in the country in 2012 with 3,838 cases, whereas the total number of cases registered across India was only 4,567.
While Tamil Nadu has been performing far better than any other state in implementing the Act, the officials are not taken care of. Some of them shared their plight with Deccan Chronicle and urged the government to provide them basic facilities for better performance.
Sushma (name changed), an officer, recalled how a group of goondas chased her in an auto when she ‘broke open’ a house, based on a court order, that belonged to a man who ditched his wife and children.
“I merely executed the court order. I was asked to break the lock and ensure that the woman was allowed to stay in a portion of her husband’s house,” said the officer. She added that in some cases even police officers are ignorant of PWDVA and do not assist them in doing their duty.
The sad part is that protection officers do not get any travel allowance. An officer said she often took an auto or a cab to be able to reach the victim and rescue her. “When I get a call from a victim, I have to rush to the place. We protection officers work under contract and are not regularised in government service even after six years. We have to spend money from our pocket for our travel and to get documents ready for court proceedings,” said the officer.
