Covid Helpline: Malaa Bolaaycha Aahe (I Want to Speak) 

There is increased domestic violence due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the lock-down. Social workers and Coordinators of the Special Cells for Women are making efforts to reach as many survivors of violence as possible, and for this, our team at the VAW Cell working with and  in the Commissionerate of WCD (Govt. of Maharashtra) Pune has created a helpline named Malaa Bolaaycha Aahe,  through which district-level Protection officers, Police, and other crisis-interventionists and any women survivors in Maharashtra are connected by the TISS team (Coordinators & VAW Cell Programme Officers) to the relevant district/taluka-level Special Cells social workers. 

In Maharashtra, the social workers of Special Cells for Women have also been involved in work with migrant relief camps, as per Govt. order dated 1st April 2020 by Commissioner WCD, GoM. 

     We are also in communication  with the office of  the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, to address issue of VAW through directives to all State helplines to (a) continue to provide legally mandated response to all distress calls from women survivors of violence, while also connecting said callers to Special Cells social workers & coordinators, (b) for Police & District administrations to provide vehicular support to all crisis-interventionists, to assess, identify and provide information of/linkage with all VAW response services in particular to all women, a required.(c) to provide for basic protection equipment such as masks, sanitisers, gloves, soap & handwash facilities to all crisis-intervention units/personnel, and (d) to direct all community workers (SHG facilitators/animators, ANM, ASHA & Anganwadi workers, Relief Camp workers & distributors etc.) to assess, identify and provide information of/linkage with all VAW response services in particular to all women, as required.