PPWV Bill will help control violence against women:Hameeda Waheed

Lahore: Provincial Minister for Women Development Hameeda Waheed ud Din has said that unanimous approval of Violence Bill by Punjab Assembly will help control violence against women.

Talking to media after unanimous approval of Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Bill, at Punjab Assembly, here today, the Minister said that due to increasing incidents of violence against women, the government felt the need for evolving an effective mechanism for protection and provision of shelter to women and rehabilitation of the women subjected to violence. She said that Violence Bill will provide protection to women against domestic violence, emotional and psychological and economic exploitation, abusive language, stalking and cyber crimes.

Hameeda Waheed ud Din further said that under the bill, if the court agrees with the stance of the complaint that she has been subjected to violence or can be subjected to violence, it can issue interim order, protection order, residence order and monitory order and violation of this order can be punished with fine and imprisonment. She further said that under protection system, shelter homes and women centers will be set up under a phased programme for the protection and provision of relief to women. She further said that all necessary facilities will be available at these shelter homes and women centers.

Hameeda Waheed ud Din appreciated the efforts of women assembly members with regard to unanimous approval of Violence Bill.

earlier; Chief Minister’s Special Monitoring Unit (Law & Order)’s initiative of the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Bill-2015 comes on the agenda of the Punjab Assembly today, for voting, after holding numerous meetings to thoroughly address and incorporate all reservations of members of the civil society, leaders of the opposition, and members of the committee.

Minister Population Welfare, Minister Women Development, Minister Social Welfare, Law Minister, female MPAs and the women caucus lent their support throughout for the approval of this historic bill. While Mr. Salman Sufi, Senior Member SMU (Law & Order), spearheaded this bill on directions of Chief Minister Punjab, who wanted to ensure that legislation should not merely be rhetorical but should make a real difference in the lives of women victims.

Salman Sufi said, “It is for the first time that a bill comprehensively provides protection through an in-built implementation mechanism to ensure speed justice-delivery to women victims of violence.” With such strong implementation mechanisms in place, this bill has the power to transform Punjab completely and greatly help reduce the high rates of VAW crimes in the province.

The bill include comprehensive protection from crimes including abetment of an offence; domestic abuse; emotional and psychological abuse; economic abuse; stalking; and cyber crime.

It provides civil remedies to aggrieved women victims or those authorized by the aggrieved—protection, residence and or monetary order—for all the above-mentioned offences, which are in addition to, and not contradictory or abrogating existing laws on violence against women crimes.

GPS tracked electronic bracelet-anklets for perpetrators of VAW crimes have been introduced in this bill to enforce protection orders and provide strong implementation mechanism.

Effective implementation of bill has been ensured through the establishment of Violence Against Women Center (VAWCs) which will provide first-aid, legal assistance, immediate protection to the aggrieved, collect evidence within due time to facilitate investigation and effective prosecution, audio-visual recording of all actions, provide post trauma rehabilitation with the help of a psychologist, initiate cases of state-inflicted violence against women, establish a toll-free helpline to facilitate the aggrieved, mediate between aggrieved and defendant for non-cognizable offenses if requested by the victim and act as a community centre for women.  Formation of district women protection committee to supervise VAWCs and ensure registration of all VAW cases in the district’s police stations to VAWCs. District Women Protection Officers and or Women Protection Officers have been granted power to force enter any place to rescue the aggrieved with her consent.  Penalties for obstructing protection officers, filling false complaints and penalty for breach of court orders, such as tampering with GPS tracked bracelets, have been incorporated into this bill.