Centre ready to launch rape crisis centres: Maneka

Bs_logoImage
Press Trust of India Chennai
Last Updated : Jul 12 2014 | 9:30 PM IST
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi today said the Centre was ready to launch Rape Crisis Centres across the country that would offer a range of support services for women victims of molestation.
"To begin with, there will be one Rape Crisis Centre per district. We are ready and we are waiting for yes from the rest of the government (RPT) government," she said indicating concurrence from several other Central ministries.
"Women need to be protected in many ways and there are no superficial solutions," she told reporters after participating a book release function here.
"Women have to be given protection in many ways like education, employment, more specialised policing and rape crisis centres," she said, adding, the government was working in different ways through various ministries to achieve this.
The proposed Rape Crisis Centres intend to offer medical and legal services besides police help to victims of rape and sexual assault. The facilities were likely to be linked to a national helpline.
Earlier, she released a book "Sacred plants of India," authored by Nanditha Krishna and M Amirthalingam under the auspices of CPR Environmental Education Centre.
"All plants in our country are sacred...They serve many purposes including medicinal and culinary."
Stating that "we are lucky to have so much biodiverity" in the country, she expressed sadness in the shrinking of biodiversity day by day.
"This book is valuable. We have to record every single bit of history in terms of nature so that we can get a big picture of India."
Referring to her visit to Italy some years ago, she said a village commune had been engaged in scientific research and they had documented even the speech of plants.
"I saw it myself and heard. They have made a machine which you attach to plants and hear them speak", the minister said.
Renowned agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan received the first copy of the book.
Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Access to Exclusive Premium Stories

  • Over 30 subscriber-only stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Jul 12 2014 | 9:30 PM IST