All-women police stations were introduced in the State to provide a safe and secure environment to women complainants to approach the police.
Women complainants said that they felt vulnerable and uncomfortable sharing their stories of abuse and harassment with male police officers.
Keeping these factors in mind, the Government of Karnataka commissioned 36 all-women police stations across the State.
These police stations primarily take up cases related to violence against women and children.
All-women police stations, as the name suggests, should have a majority of women police personnel.
However, among the 36 all-women police stations, only ten of these police stations have women Station House Officers (SHOs) and Police Inspectors (PIs).
Rest of the 26 all-women police stations are headed by male SHOs and PIs.
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A police officer said, “The purpose of the all-women police stations’ is to provide a congenial environment to women complainants.
This is not yielding any result.
What is happening at these police stations is that victims give their statements to women police constables, women assistant sub-inspectors and women police sub-inspectors, who in turn brief their male counterparts about the case.
The latter take decisions regarding the cases.
These police stations should be headed by women as they are the ones to take the final call in every case.”
An SP-rank officer stated that with this kind of an arrangement, deserving women police inspectors are losing out on getting posted at these stations.
Defending the current structure, sources in the police department said women police inspectors are less in number and in many cases they would opt out of serving at all-women police stations for personal reasons.
All is well: Sood
However, Praveen Sood, DG&IGP, Karnataka told Bangalore Mirror that all-women police stations are called so not because they are manned by women police officers, but because they deal with crimes and offences related to women and children.
“We require both men and women at every police station.
A women’s police station doesn’t need to be headed by a woman police inspector.
We don’t have that many women inspectors in the State,” he said.
Praveen Sood, DG&IGP, Karnataka
According to Sood, it would be a disincentive for women inspectors if all of them have to serve at women’s police stations throughout their lifetime.
“A woman police officer would like to work at a normal police station, traffic police station, CID and intelligence too,” he said.
Male SHOs in the State outnumber women as we have a shortage of women police inspectors, Sood claimed.
“Even if we had a good number of women police inspectors, they cannot be working at women police stations throughout their career.
“All women police stations predominantly constitute women officials but this doesn’t mean that only women will man them,” Sood said.
We have to work towards a society where not only women handle women, but also men should be taught how to handle women gently.
Similarly, we have policemen along with women in Pink Hoysalas­–Praveen Sood, DG&IGP, Karnataka
He stated that even if all-women police stations had male SHOs, there are women police sub-inspectors, women ASIs, women constables and head constables working under them.
“Every complainant is not handled by the inspector or the SHO.
The heads primarily look after the management of the police station,” the police commissioner added.
“In the future, if we have enough women inspectors willing to work at women police stations, then we will post them.
But as of today, the structure will remain the same as there is a substantial number of women in every women’s police station,” Sood said.
According to him, the substantial number of men at the all-women police stations can deal with the accused who are predominantly men.
“Policemen are required to take the accused to the restroom, interrogate them, take them to spot mahajars (crime scene), and also escort them to courts,” the top cop said.
“We have to work towards a society where not only women handle women, but also men should be taught how to handle women gently.
Similarly, we have policemen along with women in Pink Hoysalas,” Sood concluded.