As many as 477 complaints about domestic violence have been received from across Karnataka by two helplines since the imposition of the COVID-19 lockdown, according to the State government.
While 315 complaints were received by the 193 ‘Santhwana’ centres, which function 24x7 at taluk and district levels, the remaining162 calls were received by the 24x7 national women’s helpline for Karnataka on domestic abuse, the government told the High Court, in its response to the court’s query on the facilities available to handle cases of domestic violence during the lockdown.
Depending on the need of the caller, counselling and legal aid were provided through the counsellors of the Santhwana centres and, wherever required, rescue services were provided with the help of the jurisdictional police in Bengaluru city, the government said.
However, a special Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice B.V. Nagarathna observed that the government’s statement was not clear on whether, after receiving the calls, protection officers were informed to take action.
Meanwhile, the Bench was informed by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) Sthat one-stop centres with two women lawyers had been set up by all the District Legal Services Authorities across the State to provide legal assistance to women and children during the lockdown. The names of female lawyers, with their contact details and e-mail IDs, have been sent to the Director, Department of Women and Child Development, the KSLSA told the Bench.
Doctor’s assistance
Noting that the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) had taken steps on mental illnesses suffered by citizens owing to the lockdown, the Bench asked Naveen Kumar of NIMHANS to participate in the proceedings through videoconference facility on April 28 to assist the court.
