KATHMANDU: A 24-hour toll free helpline service-‘Khabar Garaun 1145'- has come into operation from today, the last day of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

The helpline, launched by the National Women Commission, is aimed at putting an end to GBV cases in the country as anyone can call in and report their or others incident of GBV and receive sustained support from the concerned authorities.

The service backed by an online Case Management System (CMS) with a focus on receiving, registering, and referring calls from individuals in distress, will later refer the calls, after the initial assessment to the appropriate services, which includes shelter, healthcare, psycho-social counselling, child support, or legal aid.

Launching the helpline, Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Bikram Bahadur Thapa reaffirmed the government's commitment to reduce all forms of violence against women in the country.

Similarly, in the programme, Supreme Court's Justice Sapana Malla stressed on the fulfillment of the basic necessities and social protection among women to reduce the violence against women in real sense. She further expressed the significance of 24/7 helpline to combat the GBV.

National Human Rights Commission of Nepal member, Mohna Ansari on the occasion called for all to raise the voice against the GBV, stressing the necessary support by NHRC for the proper functioning of the Helpline.

As per the National Women Commission's findings, 66 per cent of women who have experienced any type of physical or sexual violence have not sought any help or talked with anyone about resisting or stopping the violence they experience.

The press release by Commission further states a report  which mentions that 52 percent women in Nepal — 14th among 15 countries with the highest prevalence of intimate partner violence — do not report the incidents of violence due to fear of humiliation while 12 percent do so due to fear of society ostracizing her.