Kathmandu, March 27

The helpline service run by National Women Commission has encouraged more women to come forward and register complaints against violence. Since the helpline service was launched on 10 December 2017, as many as 15,022 cases of violence against women have been registered at the commission.

According to the commission, earlier not more than 350 cases were registered annually.

“More women are coming forward as they can share their problems without disclosing their identities. Moreover, they are not required to visit the commission to register their complaints,” said Palita Thapa, project manager at National Women Commission.

Thapa said the helpline had helped women register their complaints without any difficulty. She informed that 85 per cent of the total complaints registered at the National Women Commission were related to domestic violence, while the remaining cases are related to rape, cyber crime, inability to get legal documents and polygamy.

In the 14 months since the helpline came into operation, 353 women have received legal aid, 193 got psycho-social counselling, 176 children of victims received educational support and 74 women got shelter.

“We have also been providing beautician, tailoring and vocational training to the victims of violence,” said Thapa.

A report released by Dalit Women Association, which collected data from National Human Rights Commission, National Women Commission and Central Police Office recently shows that the number of cases of sexual violence against Dalit women is increasing.