Workshop for School Counsellors in association with NIMHANS

Workshop for School Counsellors in association with NIMHANS

The Women Safety Wing (WSW) is an exclusive vertical of the Telangana State Police working to ensure the safety, dignity and empowerment of women & children in the state. The wing monitors the quality of investigation into crimes against women & children which specifically include prevention of trafficking, sexual offences, domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, NRI issues & cyber crimes. Providing a safe environment to women & children while coming up with issue-specific solutions is a task WSW addresses with all its earnestness.

In furtherance of the same, WSW has been collaborating with various educational institutions across the State to create awareness about SHE Teams (to address safety in public places), BHAROSA Centres (one-stop support centres for women and children affected by violence and sexual abuse) & various other modules to instill the sense of safety and security in both public places and virtual spaces. Some of the initiatives worth mentioning in this regard include CybHER- (making Cyberspace Safe for Her) which enabled WSW reach out to more than 50 lakh parents & youth online during the pandemic especially in urban & semi – urban areas advocating cyber safety. Cyber Congress is an initiative taken up by the WSW in association with the Education Department in which 1,650 Government schools were selected to train the students to become Cyber Ambassadors for SHE Teams to understand & advocate cyber crimes.

Why this workshop?

Based on the outcomes of previous engagements and the recent developments in the crime patterns along with rapid cultural changes resulting in need for cumulative focus by various stakeholders on adolescent safety, the WSW, TS Police has decided to organize a Rapid Assessment of adolescents (Age group 14-18 years) in select metropolitan corporate schools to understand their perspectives and how they make decisions in challenging or tough situations in association with SAMVAD, a National Initiative & Integrated Resource for Child Protection, Mental Health & Psychosocial Care (supported by the Ministry of Women and Child Development), Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bengaluru.

During the course of the programme, the respective school counsellors will be trained and oriented to work on the systematic assessment with school-going adolescents. Consequently it will be used to develop an awareness programme for adolescents by Telangana Police and NIMHANS that will address the gaps in their understanding and enhance their decision-making abilities in challenging circumstances. Representatives of Glendale Academy, DPS Nanakramguda, Silver Oaks International School, CHIREC International School, Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, Oakridge International School, Meridian School, DPS Nacharam and Pallavi Model School participated in the workshop.