Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 397/16

ENTRIES FOR NATIONAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM

: Secretary, Press Council of India, Puman Sibbal has informed that the Press Council is completing 50 years of its establishment this year and to mark the occasion a Golden Jubilee Commemoration on November 16th is being contemplated. A function to this effect will be held in Delhi, coinciding with conferment of National Awards for Excellence in Journalism by honoring Journalists/Photographers/Freelancers excelling in print Journalism in various fields. The entries for Awards have been invited through advertisement and also through the Notice posted on the website of the Press Council of India, www.presscouncil.nic.in with other documents.

Press Release No. 398/16

TRAINING ON ACCESSIBILITY AND ACCESS AUDIT

As part of the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan), the office of the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in collaboration with CBM India Trust and Bethany Society today kick-started a two days training onAccessibility and Access Audit at the Bethany Society Campus, Shillong wherein the Meghalaya Minister for Social Welfare, Smti. Deborah C. Marak was the Chief Guest. The inaugural session was also attended by Commissioner & Secretary, Social Welfare, Shri. T Dkhar, Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Smti. C Kharkongor, and Advisor, Disability CBM, Shri. T D Dhariyal among others. The objective of the training is to prepare officials of the PWD (Buildings), Health (Engineer Wing), MUDA and Directorate of Urban Affairs, members of the Persons with Disabilities, students of architecture, NEHU to conduct Access Audit on the identified buildings to ensure that PwDs are able to access physical facilities. Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan), unveiled during the observation of World Disability Day on 3rdDecember, 2015, is a flagship programme to create awareness and implementation of the principle of universal accessibility enshrined in existing national laws and schemes. The campaign was formulated by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. In her inaugural address, Smti. Marak said that universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) is critical for enabling them to gain access for equal opportunity and live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life in an inclusive society. Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan is a right step towards inclusive society, she said adding that accessibility for persons with disability to all infrastructure and activities should be one of the parameters of development. The Minister also informed that the State Government has forwarded proposals for construction of ramps in Government buildings and sanctions for the same are awaited. The target is challenging, but reachable, with the cooperation of all stakeholders, she added. She assured Government’s assistance during the access audit so that the objectives can be implemented in letter and spirit. She further informed that a number of Government buildings in Shillong are identified for access audit whereby audit findings would be submitted to the Ministry for retrofitting and conversion of the buildings. Funds will be sanctioned under the Scheme for Implementation of the Persons with Disabilities Act (SIPDA), she said.

Shri. Dhariyal informed that CBM in India was started in 1967 and CBM India Trust was established in 1994. The objective of the Trust is to promote quality health care for PwDs. In recognition for its ongoing work on highlighting universal accessibility for inclusion, CBM India has been empanelled as one of the domain experts and resource in accessibility for the Government of India’s Accessible India Campaign. He also informed that the Trust has been assigned the task to organise awareness campaign and capacity building for officials of various departments in creating an enabling and barrier-free environment for PwDs. The campaign targets at enhancing the accessibility of PwDs to information, transportation, physical environment, communication technology and other services and towards this end, the campaign seeks to make at least 50 percent of all government buildings in the national capital and all state capitals “fully accessible” for the disabled by July 2018, he further informed. Stressing on the importance of cooperation, coordination and convergence, Shri. Dhariyal said that with the support of the State Government in capacity building, pool of experts for access audit can be generated from the State so that they can be master trainers for future participants. Others who took part in the inaugural session were Smti. C Kharkongor who delivered the welcome address, Shri. Carmo Noronha, Executive Director, Bethany Society who chaired the programme and students of Jyoti Sroat Inclusive School who presented the welcome song.

Press Release No. 399/16

WORKSHOP HELD

A workshop on management of sexual abuse was organised by the State Resource Centre for Women (SRCW), Social Welfare Department in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) Shillong and ICARE on 28thJuly, 2016 in Shillong. The Chief Guest, Chairperson, State Commission for Women, Smti Theilin Phanbuhnoted that sensitization of personnels at different levels in all spheres such as medical, educational, police and at the community level should be widely spread so as to curb the problem of sexual abuse. Smti Meena Kharkongor, Chairperson, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in her speech stated that coordination of personnels of different departments should be present so as to tackle crimes in the society and country as a whole. Ms Ivyreen Warjri, Mission Director, State Resource Centre for Women highlighted that since sexual assault and rape cases is on the rise, therefore medical staffs, law enforcement agencies, police personnel and non – governmental agencies should be well coordinated with a convergent effort to work together with the agencies concerned to tackle the loopholes so as to bring Justice, restore Dignity and assist in the Rehabilitation of the survivor of sexual assault. The participants includes medical team of doctors and allied health professionals from Ganesh Das Hospital, NEIGRIHMS, the police, lawyers and NGOs who deal with victims of sexual abuse. The resource persons, Dr. Shaibya Saldana, Enfold Trust, Bangalore and Prof. Sandra Albert, Director IIPH, Shillong are both medical doctors with a special interest in sexuality education and its role in preventing sexual violence and crime. An interactive session exploring the dynamics of sexual assault was followed by a skill building session on conducting a forensic interview and appropriate medical examination and management. The implications of the key laws pertaining to sexual assault: Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2013 (POCSO), Criminal law Amendment Act, 2013 were discussed in detail. POCSO is one of India’s progressive laws that address sexual violence against children. It particularly pays attention to dealing sensitively with the abused victim or survivor. Understanding that the child is always at a disadvantage when faced with an adult intelligent manipulative perpetrator, the law supports in multiple ways. Notable features are it gender neutrality and that it covers a wide variety of situations including inappropriate touch, showing of pornographic material to children as well as all forms of penetrative sexual assault. POCSO upholds mandatory reporting so that doctors, teachers or any adult who recognises that abuse is occurring, is mandated to report it to the nearest police station, failing which the person can be held accountable. This is done to ensure that institutions, schools and families do not try to brush aside or hide such cases.