Pune City police and Amnesty International India partner to enable safe reporting of sexual violence

The Pune City Police and Amnesty International India today launched the ‘Pune Gets Ready to Report’ initiative to empower women in the city to report sexual violence with safety and dignity.

The initiative is part of Amnesty International India’s ‘Ready to Report’ campaign. It will involve neighborhood communities working with the Pune Police to enable safe and dignified reporting of sexual violence, in line with international standards.

Launching the initiative at the Chaturshungi police station, Sunil Ramanand, Joint Commissioner of Police, Pune City said, “I congratulate Amnesty International India for this excellent initiative. Through this campaign we hope to educate women about their rights and the process to take forward their complaints on sexual violence.”

“Unless women report a crime, it is difficult for the police to act. We are collaborating with Amnesty International India in five Pune police stations where our staff and officers will take a pledge to enable to freely report cases of sexual offences,” said Sunil Ramanand.

The Joint commissioner inaugurated a ‘virtual kiosk’ set up by Amnesty International India that offers a simulated experience of being inside a police station and explains the step-by-step process of filing an FIR in Marathi and English. He joined local residents in painting a canvas at the Chaturshungi police station on the theme of ‘women’s safety’.

“National statistics show that for every one woman who reports sexual violence to the police, there are 99 that do not. Women often do not feel confident about walking in to a police station to report any form of sexual violence. Sometimes, they are not aware of the formal procedure to file an official complaint,” said Sanamdeep Singh, Campaigner at Amnesty International India.

“Through our ‘Ready to Report’ campaign, we hope to inform women and make it easier for them to approach the police.”

Amnesty International India will also offer people training on “Know Your Rights” and the process of filing an FIR through virtual reality kiosks in select neighbourhoods, interactive voice responses, WhatsApp, e-learning videos and Haptik (a mobile-based chat platform that offers support services).

The ‘Know Your Rights’ program aims to inform people about reporting sexual violence and clear misconceptions about reporting. Through the program, Amnesty International India aims to reach people directly by equipping volunteer networks and groups with tools such as e-learning platforms.

The police stations from Pune that will be part of the initiative are Chaturshungi Police Station, Dattawadi Police Station, FarazKhana Police Station, Women Cell- Commissioners office and Yerwada Police Station.

These stations will host events to build relationships with neighborhood communities.

For more details on the ‘Ready to Report’ campaign, visit www.readytoreport.in