Women and children throughout the country now have a designated office to report if they face violence or any difficult circumstances. Every district now has a Women and Child Protection Desk. Lhuentse is the latest district to offer such services for women and children in difficult circumstances. Such desks are manned by skilled professionals dedicated to preventing and responding to violence against women and children.
Now, the country has one protection desk in every district and three Women and Child Protection Units in urban centres in Paro, Phuentshogling, and Thimphu. These centres were established by the Royal Bhutan Police with support from the UNICEF.
The first Women and Child Protection Unit was established at Thimphu Police Station in 2007.
Records with the police show that between 2007 and 2024, more than 12,650 women and nearly 3,750 children who were victims or survivors of gender-based violence sought the support of these desks and units.
These desks and units are designed not only to prevent and respond to cases of violence, abuse, exploitation, and trafficking but also to support child survivors, witnesses, and offenders to reduce unnecessary family separation.
The establishment of these services was first identified as a critical need during the 2005 national consultation on women and child-friendly police procedures.
Besides Lhuentse, two more protection desks were established in Gasa and Pema Gatshel this year.
“The reason for Lhuentse being the last one to have a protection desk is that statistically, case-wise, Lhuentse has a very low crime rate in general because the population itself, registered in Lhuentse, is around 14,000, and the number of people residing in Lhuentse is less than that. So, comparatively, we have a very low crime rate compared to other districts, but among the crime rate also, almost 30-40 per cent of the crime is related to women and children,” said Lt. Kelzang Lhamo, Officer Commanding, Lhuentse Police Station.
“So, the establishment of the Women and Child Protection Unit here at Lhuentse will have a major impact in providing quality service to the people,” added Lt. Kelzang Choden, Officer Commanding, Lhuentse Police Station.
Some of the most common issues the protection desk manages are related to domestic violence and referral to shelter and psychosocial support.
It also helped women and children get medical treatment and other support such as referral to social services and, in some cases, facilitating school admission for children.
In a joint news release, the police and UNICEF stated that they will work on improving collaboration between the justice sector and social service providers such as THE PEMA and CSOs. The stakeholders are also expected to enhance the rehabilitation and reintegration of Children in Conflict with the Law into their communities to promote well-being.
Samten Dolkar
Edited by Phub Gyem
