ISLAMABAD, Nov 12: The women development ministry will set up 20 crisis centres for women at the district level with Rs500,000 as an endowment fund in each province.

This was stated in the recently released “Implementation Matrix, 2002” of the ministry.

It said the centres would offer round-the-clock help-line services, ranging from legal aid to psychological counselling.

Similarly, family protection and rehabilitation complexes will be established at selected places for women in distress.

These complexes, comprising shelter homes, Darul Amans and crises centres, will be linked with family courts, police stations, legal and medical aid centres and rehabilitation facilities through credit and marketing services.

The ministry also plans to set up programme management units through donor funding that will be responsible for looking after objectives and activities of the National Strategic Framework for Family Protection.

In addition to this, nation-wide awareness campaign on family protection issues and growing intolerance within the society to have zero-tolerance approach will be launched.

Setting up of referral system to enable women and children have access to the information and support at the community and institution levels will also be carried out.

The ministry is also designing diploma and degree courses for crisis management of women in distress that will be taught in the public sector universities with the objective of building expertise in the subject.

The implementation matrix said the gender sensitization and training programmes undertaken by the federal law ministry for police officers and other law enforcement agencies had proved a step forward in the right direction and considering its importance, it has been included in police reforms.

Under the heading, “areas of concern and linkages to national plan of action,” it said, the propagation of laws and policies designed to end violence against women was required on emergency grounds.

It also expressed concern over the insurance of active functioning of medico legal units in hospitals; legal definition of domestic violence as criminal offence; provision of relief and assistance to women and minors who were victims of domestic violence and creation of relief and support structures.

Regarding institutional mechanism for the betterment of women, it said the recruitment of women in effective positions, specially in the police, through provincial and central service commissions and strengthening of women’s presence in the judiciary and legal professions, was also required.

It said the undertaking of training programmes for gender sensitizing with focus on violence against women for staff members of the law enforcement agencies, particularly prison staff and administration, members of judicial and legislative bodies, should also be encouraged.