A top US human rights official today met the Delhi Commission for Wommen (DCW) chairperson to learn about its programmes, specifically on improving rehabilitation centres for women, and understand the issue of rape and the scenario of trafficking in the national capital.
The United States Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Sarah Sewall and DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal also discussed about areas of possible collaboration to share resources and expertise.
"We are looking into the possibility of a collaboration as we are coming up with a polit programme as a part of which 50 women from GB Road who are rescued should be rehabilitated. We are in touch with the CII and other industrial bodies.
"I feel a shelter home should be set up and there should a working women's hostel, as in if we are able to get them jobs, where do they stay. So it has to be a comprehensive programme and they wanted to contribute in it," Maliwal said.
Maliwal further said that there can be a possible collaboration between the Commission's Rape Crisis Cell and the US government in terms of counsellors, training of staff and sharing the resources and expertise.
Sewall on her part said that it was "an honour" to visit DCW and learn about their innovative and energetic work to protect women.
She also referred to "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong commitment to enhance the situation of girls and women" as she sought to learn more about the challenges that India faces in realising those commitments, saying they were "very similar challenges" faced in the US.
"Keeping women safe from sexual and gender based violence
and keeping women and all citizens safe from trafficking are common global concerns," Sewall said.
On the issue of reducing the age of juveniles involved in heinous crimes, Sewall said that every democracy that is bound by the rule of law has different ways of addressing the concerns about both justice on one hand and child protection on the other and that they have a federal system that has a degree of variety for addressing these issues.
"So the most important thing is that any state that is committed to defending victims rights is able to ensure justice and able to prevent the repeat of crimes and different states will find a different balance. I understand that this is an issue which is currently receiving a lot of attention in India. I think that is healthy debate to have in any democracy.
"The perniciousness of violence against women is something that Americans are constantly forced to recognise even as we think of our nation as being in one in which are women rights are well protected, we continue to be shocked by sexual and gender based violence and so its no surprise that remains significant issue in India," said Sewall.
"The key issue we were discussing in the meeting that how to translate the strong sense of public outrage, the strong sense of political commitment of elected officials into actual implementation of protection and justice on the ground that is the really is the challenge," she added.
