Failing to endure torture by her employer, 12-year-old Hashi fled the house where she worked as a domestic help but lost her way while trying to return to his village home at Sirajganj from the capital on September 19.
Scared, she asked people how to reach Sirajganj. Finally, she landed in the Victim Support Centre at Tejgaon Police Station in the city after a man informed the police of the girl’s conditions.
She is now happy because she believes that the police are trying to find out her parents and will soon take her back to them.
“They even gave me a new dress and special food on Eid day,” said Hashi, as she was playing with two other children at the Victim Support Centre.
Since its inception on February 17, the centre has supported at least 300 helpless women and children through providing shelter, legal aid and counselling.
“Whenever we receive any information about a victim of torture, rape, domestic violence and trafficking or missing persons from the police stations or NGOs or any individuals, we go to the spot and bring the victims to this centre,” said Assistant Police Commissioner Shamima Parveen.
The centre has the capacity to accommodate eight victims at a time and that mostly the victims of domestic violence come here for advice, she said.
“Most of the victims who come here are traumatised and they are from lower economic group,” Shamima said.
The victims can stay a maximum of five days at the centre. During this period, the police try to find out the addresses of their village home, collect information from the local police station and then send them back.
“If we fail to find out their home villages and a safe place for them, we send them to our partner organisations’ shelter homes where they can receive education and different types of training,” Shamima said.
“We even talk to the chairman and members of the Union Parishads, if necessary, to raise social awareness about trafficking and other issues,” she said, adding that some 22 policewomen are working at the support centre.
The Victim Support Centre was established under the Police Reform Project to provide round-the-clock service through especially trained police. Anybody can also inform the centre of any forms of violence against women and children in person or over telephone.
Its partner organisations include Ain O Shalish Kendra, Association of Correction and Social Reclamation, Aparajeyo Bangladesh, Acid Survivors Foundation, Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Dhaka Ahsania Mission and Marie Stopes Clinic.
“It is such a place where the helpless people, especially women, can have easy access to and seek help. After anybody come to us, it becomes our duty to protect her and ensure her safety,” said Shabnam, an on-duty officer.
Citing an example, she said a woman went to the Kafrul Police Station at night the other day and sought help as her husband drove her out of the house but kept their 15-day-old child with him.
“When the Kafrul police informed us, we brought the woman to the support centre and also managed to know about her husband’s whereabouts and returned the child to the woman who worked at a garment factory,” she said.
The main feature of this support centre is that the police, doctors, lawyers, counsellors and social workers all work together to protect the victims and ensure their rights, Advocate Sultana Kamal of Ain O Shalish Kendra said and stressed the need to establish more such centres across the country.
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