The Commission approved financial assistance for a research study on the “Rights of Women Prisoners in Indian Jails: A Sociological Study” proposed by the National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science (NICFS), New Delhi, which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The objectives of the proposed study have been outlined in the preceding Annual Report of the Commission. The study is to be completed within a period of one year.

The Commission has also approved a proposal that it received from ‘Vimochana’, a Forum for Women’s Rights based in Bangalore, to conduct a study on “Complaints made by Women at Police Stations in Bangalore.” The main objectives of the study are to:

· Make an overall assessment of the kinds of complaints that are made at police stations by women;

· Evaluate the manner in which these complaints were being handled by police personnel;

· Ascertain the extent of knowledge the complainants have about their legal rights;

· Ascertain as to who assists the complainants when they lodge their complaints in police stations;

· Suggest measures that may be adopted within police stations and outside with regard to improving citizen’s access to FIRs, the procedure for drafting complaints and follow-up on the investigation and prosecution of complaints.

For this study, Vimochana will set up desks run by two social workers each in two police stations in Bangalore city, where there is a higher reporting of crimes against women, particularly those resulting in unnatural death