Women's police stations (WPS; also units or offices) (, ) are

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

s specializing in handling crimes with female victims. The "women's police station" concept was first introduced in the

Kozhikode District Kozhikode (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The Kozhikode Municipal Corporation has a corporation l ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on 27 October 1973. In 1985, a similar concept was introduced in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

; this station processed over 2,000 reports in its first six months of operations. Similar stations have also been established by police in Africa.

Officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

at these stations are only allowed to respond to certain crimes, such as psychological violence,

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

family violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

, as well as specific types of threats and

sexual violence Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted Human sexual activity, sexual act, an attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion, or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of ...

. Some units offer financial help, counseling, and medical care for women who are having trouble.

Aim

Women's police stations are located in mostly Latin American countries where rates of rape and

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

are high. In 2022, over 4,050 women were recorded victims of

femicide Femicide or feminicide is the intentional murder of women or girls because of their gender.Shalva Weil, "Femicide Across Europe: Research and prevention of femicide across Europe". Research Gate, October 2018. In domestic fields, 50% percent o ...

across 26 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean. That year, Brazil recorded 699 femicides; however, researchers found that in areas with women’s police stations, the homicide rate for women aged 15 to 24 decreased by 50%, and by 17% for women overall. However, some women in Latin America do not even know about their rights to accessing these stations; in Brazil, a majority of surveyed women had received training or information about their rights at least once from various sources, with 54% reporting access to such resources. This compares to 42% in Nicaragua, 34% in Peru, and 23% in Ecuador.

Results

Women's police stations have greatly expanded since 1985. As of 2010, Brazil had the most WPS, with 475, followed by 34 in Ecuador, 59 in Nicaragua, and 27 in Peru. Women's police stations have played a critical role in broadening victims' citizenship rights by providing a platform to report violence, which was once overlooked and viewed as a private matter. In São Paulo, these stations registered 310,058 cases of violence against women in 2000 alone. Language barriers and the inability to get to a station is still a problem. Women's police stations are located in more populated areas making it hard for women in

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

s to get to them, and women who do not speak the same language as the policewomen can not communicate effectively. Over 80% of Brazilians consider WPS the most effective government policy to address domestic violence while more than 50% of citizens in cities with WPS can identify their locations. However, the effectiveness of WPS is heavily contingent on perceptions of police legitimacy to encourage reporting. Empirical evidence suggests that WPS in Brazil can produce positive effects on perceptions of trust in police for both men and women, contributing to better evaluations of police effectiveness. There is also evidence on the positive effect of WPS in men's attitudes condemning violence against women in municipalities in Brazil with the specialized services.

References

{{Authority control Feminism and health Gender-related violence Misogyny Violence against women in Brazil Police stations

Police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

Aim

Results

See also

References