Ladies complaint units

Saturday, August 11, 2012 - Women of Pakistan face many problems in the public arena although the nature of problems varies throughout the country. Some issues are considered family matters which cannot be discussed in public while for others there is no place to report. We have police stations to report all kinds of crimes but nobody has ever noticed that these police stations are usually not equipped to facilitate women complainants. This keeps women from seeking police assistance and to get solutions for their problems. This has not only created a culture of silence it has increased the vulnerability of our women who are trapped in the vicious cycle of violence. Police station is a place where citizens register their complaints to get justice. The access of women to police stations is very limited, because of several reasons of which the most important is absence of women in police stations. The police stations in Pakistan are male dominated and male police officers usually do not pay heed to a woman’s problem because of a mindset that family matters must be settled at home.

It is not just a matter of domestic violence if women do not feel safe in public we will lose a potential workforce that can play an important role in the development of our country. With the support of National Police Bureau, and GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation) certain measures have been taken to facilitate the women in the police stations. The positive development in this regard is the establishment of Ladies Complaint Units in different police stations of Pakistan. The main objective of these units is to facilitate the women that face injustice or violence. The ladies complaint units have female staff to deal with women complainants thus removing the element of communication gap. These complaint units provide an environment where women can discuss their issues with confidence without any fear or shame because they know that they won’t be judged for their actions.

Ladies complaint units can also play the role of a bridge between the local reconciliation committees and the affected women for resolving their issues within our cultural boundaries.In addition to registration of complaints the ladies complaint units refer the affected women to other support services like legal aid, medical help, shelter or psychological counseling. Ladies complaint units must not be restricted to urban areas only rather they must be established in rural areas facilitating rural women to seek police help. Setting up of ladies complaint units is a new step in policing in Pakistan making police service a true representative of the population it serves. It is likely to change the negative image of police and make it responsive to the needs of both men and women.

—Mianwali