Akbar (Sub Inspector), Shajed (Sub Inspector), Jamir Uddin Ahmad (Second Officer) of the Dinajpur Kotwali thanna or the Sadar thanna as it is more popularly known, say, “Women rarely come to us with complaints on domestic violence. They prefer to keep quiet. They fear public shame and the issue becoming public knowledge. Police are their last resort because of this. There is also an inherent fear of the police as the institution of the police has been associated with brutality and indifference for far too long. Moreover, it is not easy for a woman to go alone to a police station to report an incidence of violence, given the fact that there are very few women personnel at the police stations. Even more deterring is the paper work involved and the constant visits required for follow up action.

As police persons, we are aware of our shortcomings. Our police station has, for instance, a huge constituency to take care of. We have a slim staff and only two women constables. We have one vehicle and we have to plan our investigations carefully. Our rules regarding domestic violence have not changed in years. In fact, we still follow procedures laid down by the British. We admit that earlier used to de-prioritise cases of domestic violence. As we are overburdened, such cases would slide to the bottom of our list. We also felt we were not social reformers and maintaining law and order was our priority. We were reluctant to register a case unless it involved rape or murder.

Now we feel otherwise. We have been sensitised to see that domestic violence is an offense that needs to be registered. We now instantly register cases on domestic violence and investigate it. We are also making active efforts to network with women’s organisations, civil society groups, hospitals, doctors and nurses to address the crisis of domestic violence more effectively.

We strongly recommend that more organisations take up legal awareness campaigns for women on a priority basis so that they can be made aware of their rights. We think this particular campaign can help change patriarchal attitudes but it is of utmost importance that the entire community is involved. Only then will social change become a reality. We are also keen that Police Academies train young police personnel to be far more gender-sensitive in their dealings. It is happening in some places but obviously a lot more needs to be done.”