An expert panel comprising advocates volunteering legal aid and
counsellors will be constituted to provide free guidance to victims, who
approach the civic body seeking help.

The civic body decided
to set up the centre considering the growing incidents of atrocities
against women and children being reported from across the state.

The first ‘bliss centre’ will be set up at the Kudumbasree office attached to the corporation building.

The civic body has earmarked a sum of Rs 1 lakh for the materialization of the proposal included in the budget for 2013-2014.

Deputy mayor P T Abdul latheef said that the civic body is planning to
set up the ‘bliss centre’ linking it with Kudumbasree so that the needy
won’t have any hesitation to approach for help.

“The experts in
the panel will provide guidance to the victims after hearing their
cases. The civic body is planning to set up the centre at the
earliest,” said the deputy mayor.

According to the crime statistics with the Kerala police, a total of 13,002 crimes against women were reported in the state in 2012.

The Kozhikode city had registered 539 crimes against women and Kozhikode rural had reported 638 such crimes in 2012.

In 2011, the state had registered 13,279 cases. Kozhikode city had
registered 556 and Kozhikode Rural 675 crimes against women in 2011.

In 2010, a total of 10,781 crimes were registered against women in the
state. It was 426 in Kozhikode city and 694 in Kozhikode rural in 2010.
In the crime against children category, a total of 1,324 crimes against
children were reported in the state in 2012. It was 1,452 in 2011 and
596 in 2010.

K S Jayashree, general secretary of
Streechetana(an organization for the empowerment of women) welcomed the
move saying that it will provide a much-needed support infrastructure to
the victims.

“We have been finding it difficult to help the
women and child victims of atrocities as such instances are on a rise in
the city. We have limitations in rendering legal aid to women and child
victims as the organization don’t have a legal aid units to help those
approacheing us seeking legal aid. We are referring such women and child
victims to the lawyers known to us,” said Jayashree.

“The
civic body should provide the aid to the victims without bias and such a
centre is need of the hour in the corporation limit,” she added.