A fear of police stations and of interactions with the police in general is commonplace. Media reports and films often detail accounts of police brutality, of indiscriminate firing on protesting masses, of rapes within police stations, and of deaths in custody.
When it comes to reporting sexual violence, a major deterrent is the belief that the police can be patronising, insensitive or traumatising towards victims of these crimes. The general stigma attached with victims of sexual crimes, and reflected in the attitudes of state authority, is a major reason a large part of such cases go unreported.
As a solution to this problem Amnesty International and Bengaluru Police Station had in July launched an initiative called "get ready to report". A virtual reality kiosk offered a simulated experience of being inside a police station, with a step-by-step explanation of the process to file a First Information Report, along with other handy tools.
Now the community initiative is being replicated in Pune. The creators of the project are looking for funding to scale it up to take to other cities of India. The campaign will produce guides in the form of virtual reality kits, animated videos, missed call and WhatsApp services with the money raised.
"We have to start by sensitizing our police to the community's fears and by making police stations friendlier to the community. Secondly, we must stay informed about rights as guaranteed by law", the campaign page reads.
Knowledge of a how a police station operates will certainly be useful and empowering.
A similar tool called the virtual police station has been created by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. Here you can login and learn the procedures of a police station, and understand the roles of the policemen present.
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