A POLICE Corporal with over a decade of service, is under close arrest after being accused of sexual harassment by two physicians at the Lethem Hospital.Hospital sources indicated that the female doctors made separate reports last week to the police about the harassment. When contacted, ‘F’ Division Commander, Senior Superintendent Ravindradat Budhram, confirmed that an allegation was made against a police rank, who is under close arrest, pending the outcome of the investigation. He said legal advice will be sought after the investigations are completed.

This month, the Ministry of Social Protection, through a collaborative effort with UNICEF, commenced training police ranks on how to handle cases of sexual and domestic violence.

At the opening of the training workshop, Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, said violence against women is a violation of their freedom, dignity, safety, human rights and must be condemned in all its forms. The minister is confident that the training will result in better practices and application of effective measures to protect victims and witnesses. She said that for a long while the police has been criticised for not doing enough to protect women from violence. She urged more inter-agency collaboration and coordination of services to improve the safety of women.

Last year, the protocols to equip Police Officers and other professionals with the necessary guidelines and procedures required to improve overall response to victims of sexual violence were developed by the Ministry of Social Protection with support from UNICEF. The Police training sessions will be undertaken during the period February to March 2017.