Mumbai: Women's rights advocacy group, Majlis, has launched a 'First Response Volunteer Programme' to respond to cases of sexual and domestic abuse cases in Mumbai.
The programme will offer legal and social support to women and children facing sexual and domestic violence. In the west, community first responders are volunteers who are trained to attend certain types of emergency calls in the area where they live or work. The aim is to reach an emergency situation before the experts arrive.
Majlis is in the process of selecting volunteers from different areas of the city. Advocate Audrey Dmello of Majlis, said that they will have an interview process to select volunteers. Selection will be mostly based on empathy towards the issue.
Explaining the process in which the FRV programme will work, Majlis said a FRV first conducts a home visit and submit a report. Cases are referred to Majlis by police, Child Welfare Committee, and NGOs. First Response ensures that victims feel supported and are informed about their rights.
As a token of appreciation Majlis will pay an honorarium and conveyance to FRVs, said Dmello. "There is a lot of handholding provided by Majlis while they do the home visit and to submit the report," said Dmello.
Majlis, started by lawyer and women and child rights activist, Flavia Agnes, says it has has supported over 5000 cases of sexual violence since 2012. Majlis has a five-point model to provide legal and social support to victims. Majlis has a team of women lawyers, social workers, academicians and activists who work for the protection and promotion of women and children's rights through legal representation, advocacy and training.
Majlis' Rahat offers legal and social support to women and children victims of sexual and domestic violence.
Flavia Agnes Centre for Learning is a multi-disciplinary hub for advancing knowledge, promoting research and fostering discourse on the intersection of gender, law and society.
Majlis First Response Volunteer Programme: To apply fill this form. https://forms.gle/gb4vRaYGeFDDbJHu9
