RONO HILLS, 2 Oct: Rajiv Gandhi University has signed an MoU with capital police, Itanagar, for the joint operation of the Counselling Centre at Ane’s Home, which will soon be functional at the women police station, Itanagar.
This initiative will provide critical psycho-social and legal aid to victims of sexual abuse, domestic violence and trauma.
The objective of this MoU is to establish a collaborative framework between capital police and RGU at Ane’s Home, ensuring the provision of psycho-social support, legal aid, and trauma counselling services to the victims of sexual abuse, domestic abuse, child custody welfare law (CCWL), missing persons cases, and other forms of trauma and abuse.
RGU, through its volunteers from the departments of social work, psychology, national security studies, and law, will provide psycho-social and legal support to victims on a case-by-case basis.
The MoU was signed by Chamrak Arun, APPS, DySP (hq), capital police, Itanagar, and Dr. N.T Rikam, registrar, Rajiv Gandhi University.
The capital police team, led by SP Rohit Rajbir Singh under the guidance of DGP, Arunachal Pradesh Anand Mohan, has envisioned and established Ane’s Home – a healing centre for trauma victims
at the women police station, Itanagar. The centre is designed to provide refuge, protection, and justice to victims of sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and other forms of trauma. The centre comprises a library/auditorium, fitness centre, child safe room, legal aid clinic, counselling centre for trauma victims, gym, and cafeteria. The centre is fully constructed and equipped with all basic amenities required for its operation.
RGU vice-chancellor prof. Saket Kushwaha emphasized the importance of mental health, psycho-social support and legal aid in the effective delivery of criminal justice and timely assistance to the most vulnerable in society. He highlighted that this collaborative effort will be one of its kind in the country, facilitating much-needed crisis intervention for the well-being of victims and promoting empathetic policing.
Registrar N.T Rikam, acknowledged and commended the proactive initiative taken by the departments of social work, psychology, national security studies, and law at RGU, in joining forces with capital police to serve the larger interests of victims of sexual abuse, domestic violence and trafficking cases in the state.
As per the MoU, RGU will offer crisis intervention services for victims, including mental health assessments by the department of psychology, psycho-social support by the department of social work, para-legal aid by the department of law, and policy frameworks on trafficking and drug dependency issues by the department of national security studies, as required. RGU will also aim to provide suitable training programs to build the capacity, enhance the knowledge, and improve the skills of police personnel in handling child sexual abuse and domestic violence cases with a trauma-informed approach, as needed.
