The Department of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has joined hands with the Delhi Police’s Special Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC) to organise a series of three-day refresher training programs for the police officers posted at the Crime against Women Cells. The first training in this series was organised from May 17th to May 19th at the Department of Social work, JMI. The training aims to augment the skills and knowledge of participants in effectively working with women experiencing violence in the matrimonial relationship.
The inaugural ceremony was graced by Sh. P.N Khrimey, IPS, Joint Commissioner of Police, SPUWAC & SPUNER, Prof. Ravinder Kumar, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Ms. Indu Bala, ACP (Training), SPUWAC and Prof. Neelam Sukhramani, Head, Department of Social Work, JMI. The distinguished guests expressed their unwavering support for this collaborative endeavour.
Speaking at the event, Sh. Khrimey appreciated the efforts saying “This partnership between the Department of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia and SPUWAC is a testament to our commitment towards creating a safer environment for women and children in Delhi. We believe that collaboration is key to addressing the challenges faced by women and children in our society. This partnership sets an example for other institutions to follow and shows that together we can make a difference”.
Prof. Neelam Sukhramani drew on the National Family Health Survey- 5 (2019-21) data to emphasise the relevance of the initiative. The NFHS data reports that about one-third of women between the ages of 15 to 49 years still experience spousal violence and only 14% among them have ever sought help for the same. This calls for the service delivery systems to strengthen their response mechanism.
The curriculum of the training program has been prepared in the backdrop of the contemporary reality and the expressed need for skill augmentation. The three day programme covered a range of themes revolving around gender, gender based violence and its impact, couple enrichment, understanding self and skills of working with victims/survivors and their eco-system throughout the training, participants will engage in a series of interactive sessions and practical exercises.
The sessions were led by expert facilitators from the Department of Social Work, JMI and Delhi University alongside subject matter experts from diverse fields and experienced professionals. The 35 participants for the first batch of training are drawn from all the Crime Against Women Cells operating in various districts of Delhi including the nodal office at Nanakpura.The training team at the Department of Social Work, JMI comprises Prof. Neelam Sukhramani, Dr. Rashmi Jain, Dr. Hem Borker, Ms. Arshi Showkat and Ms. Anjali Joshi.
It is worth noting that the Department of Social Work, JMI has a long history of collaboration with the Crime Against Women Cells, with the first training program dating back to 2008, spanning seven days. Since then, regular training sessions have been conducted at different intervals. Additionally, the department was one of the Technical Support Agencies for an intervention project in 20 police stations of Delhi with financial support from the Nirbhaya Fund. The pilot project from 2017-20 is a testament to its abiding commitment to combating crimes against women and children.
