To protect women from any kind of violence including domestic violence, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has launched several domestic violence helpline numbers for reporting domestic violence incidents during the year 2020-21.
One such domestic violence helpline number is 7827170170 to provide 24×7 online support to women in distress through referral by linking them with Police, Hospitals, District Legal Services authorities, psychological counselors, etc.
The portal is driven by the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) mechanism through Digital India in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
WhatsApp Helpline Number
To assist the women facing domestic violence during the pandemic when the survivors were confined at homes with their abusers, a WhatsApp number 7217735372 was also launched as an emergency response during the lockdown.
In matters which require urgent intervention, the State Police authorities were also approached through telephone calls and email for providing immediate assistance to these women.
A total of 1430 complaints were reported during the period of its functioning (10th April 2020 to 16th September 2020).
Universalization of Women Helpline Scheme
The Government implements the Universalisation of Women Helpline (WHL) Scheme on 1st April 2015 with the aim to provide 24×7 emergency and non-emergency responses, including assistance to women facing any kind of violence and distress, through a toll-free telecom service with shortcode 181 across the country by referral service.
Women helpline is operational in 34 States and UTs and it has handled more than 68.70 lakh calls since its operationalization.
The Government also implements an Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) under Nirbhaya Fund, which is a pan-India, single, internationally recognized number, i.e. 112 based system for various emergencies such as police, fire, and ambulance services, with the computer-aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress. It has been operationalized in 35 States and UTs.