The Kudumbashree Snehitha extension centres in 84 Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) offices across the State have made socio-psychological interventions in over 1,000 cases referred to them since their launch in March.
The extension centres, a joint initiative of the Kudumbashree and the Home department, are operated by 84 specially trained community counsellors of Snehitha, a gender help desk initiative of the Kudumbashree to support women and children facing atrocities and violence. The counsellors interact with people who approach the police and offer counselling and related services.
A majority of the cases handled by the extension centres were related to domestic violence, familial disputes, alcoholism, drugs, mobile phone addiction, financial issues, and issues related to children.
“The idea is to offer an alternate support mechanism entirely different from the police. Our counsellors try to identify the root causes behind the cases that forced people to seek police support and address them. We offer them counselling and mental succour,” said B. Sreejith, State Programme Officer, Kudumbashree Mission.
Gauging the effectiveness of the programme, a State-level monitoring committee meeting decided to further expand and intensify it. The meeting was attended by Kudumbashree Executive Director H. Dinesan and Women and Children Assistant Inspector General Bastin Sabu at the Kudumbashree State Mission.
The meeting authorised house visits by community counsellors in exceptional cases. In cases without the reference of Station House Officers or DySPs, arrangements will be made to link the parties concerned with the Snehitha gender help desks and community counsellors in the area. Tele-counselling may also be offered wherever possible.
“We have decided to impart training to police officers with regard to the services available through the Snehitha extension centres. Special training sessions will be organised jointly by the Home department and the Kudumbashree for Station House Officers and sub-inspectors at the district level. The programme will be included in the training syllabus of the newly inducted sub-inspectors as well,” said Mr. Sreejith. Community counsellors at the extension centres will also be further trained.
At present, the extension centres operate twice a week. This may be extended based on demand. District-level monitoring committee meetings will be held every month to take stock of the functioning of operation centres. Separate meetings will be held within the rural and city limits in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur districts.
Published – June 27, 2025 07:48 pm IST
