Over 1.7 L cases addressed, managed by DCW in 8 yrs: Swati Maliwal

NEW DELHI: After being nominated as the AAP Rajya Sabha MP and before quitting as the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief, Swati Maliwal on Friday released the work done by the DCW during the last eight years, claiming that under her leadership, the Commission has effectively managed and addressed more than 1.7 lakh cases.

In her eight-year term as DCW Chief from 2015, Maliwal, while addressing a press conference said that after becoming the DCW Chief, she established a comprehensive network of programmes within the commission to support the women across the city.

"A women's helpline (181) was launched to assist any distressed woman or child in Delhi and has handled 40 lakh calls till now. This also involved deploying a fleet of vans and hundreds of trained counsellors ready to respond immediately upon receiving a complaint," she said.

The commission's helpline now receives more than 2,000 calls daily, with a cumulative total of over four million calls over the past six years.

Another notable initiative was the appointment of a team of lawyers in all trial courts to aid victims of sexual assault.

"This legal support has played a crucial role in securing interim compensation for thousands of people in need," she said.

She added that in the past eight years, more than 2,500 women and children were rescued from various dangers such as trafficking, child marriage, child labour and illegal confinement.

Notable cases include saving 39 Nepali girls from potential trafficking to Gulf countries, rescuing a 15-year-old girl sold into a brothel at the age of nine, and aiding in the rescue and rehabilitation of a severely abused 14-year-old domestic worker from Jharkhand.

Maliwal said that through the DCW's Rape Crisis Cell, the Commission assisted survivors of sexual assault in 1,97,479 hearings in the court.

"A total of 60,751 sexual assault and sexual harassment survivors counselled by the Crisis Intervention Centre counsellors. The Commission has assisted in registration of 29,800 FIRs of sexual assault and sexual harassment. The Commission assisted in moving 8,215 applications for victim compensation in the past eight years," she added.