HELP App recorded violence against women, to be considered as FIR: Sazzat

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali on Saturday said every incident of violence against women will be considered as first information report (FIR) if these are recorded with the HELP App.

"If any incident of violence against women is recorded in the HELP App, it will be immediately treated as an FIR," he said.

The DMP Commissioner made the remarks in an inauguration ceremony of the Help App introduced by the Bangladesh Broadcast Journalist Centre (BJC) at the Daily Star Bhaban here.

At the event, the DMP Commissioner also said that any type of violence
against women and children is distressing.

"In many cases, the victims of these incidents hesitate to inform the law
enforcement agencies. Their guardians also keep the incidents secret for
various reasons," he said.

Sazzat Ali stated that domestic workers are the most abused women folk in the society.

"Sometimes they are also subjected to sexual harassment. As good citizens, it is our duty to ensure a congenial environment for domestic workers," he added.

The HELP (Harassment Elimination Literacy Programme) App helps to ensure women's safety in public transport. It is a mobile application project
through which a woman can seek immediate help, receive emergency services and report the incident if she is a victim of violence in public transport in Dhaka Metropolitan city.

It will be implemented initially on the capital's Bashila-Sayedabad road as a
pilot project initiated by the BJC with financial support from the European
Union (EU).

Women victims of violence will be able to avail this service by installing QR
codes on buses running from Mohammadpur bus stand to Sayedabad and with the help of volunteers stationed in this area.

Dr. Fauzia Moslem, president of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, was present as a special guest at the event chaired by Rejwanul Haq, president of Broadcast Journalist Centre (BJC).

Journalists from electronic and print media and other relevant stakeholders were also present on the occasion.