In the wake of a student’s death in Balasore after she accused a professor of sexual harassment, the Odisha government on Saturday announced a new initiative called Shaktishree, which aims to ensure a safe academic environment in colleges and universities in the state.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who announced the initiative, said it would be implemented in 16 state-run universities and 730 government and aided colleges.
The announcement came at a time when the Majhi government has been under fire from various quarters over the death of a college student, who set herself on fire after her complaints alleging sexual harassment by a professor were ignored. The incident put a spotlight on the safety of women in the state and triggered nationwide outrage.
Under the new initiative, every college and university will have an “empowerment cell”, which will be managed by women students. “The cell will ensure training of female students in fields like self-defence, legal rights and mental health. It will also create awareness on various aspects of digital safety,” said Chief Minister Majhi.
A dedicated mobile app will also be launched to help women students raise their complaints with internal complaint committees and connect to mental health experts in case of stress and anxiety. It will also have facilities like an SOS button in case of emergency.
The state government has also decided to come up with a code of conduct for university and college professors. Professors will now have to take an online training module with focus on women’s safety, gender equality and professional ethics, officials said.
A campaign, called SAFE (Shaktishree Actions for Female Empowerment), will be launched in colleges, under which self-defence training will be organised twice a year. It will also include workshops on women’s safety and rights. The Chief Minister said this move would boost the confidence of women students.
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State-run colleges and universities will now have to submit a campus safety report, highlighting the steps taken by authorities to ensure the safety of students.
Under the Shaktishree initiative, the Chief Minister said an adequate number of CCTVs would also be installed in all colleges and universities, and that a control room would be set up for monitoring.
