As the head of Odisha’s Crime Against Women and Children (CAW & CW) Wing, S. Shyni, IPS, approaches women and child safety not merely as a question of policing, but as a larger social responsibility. For her, prevention begins much before a crime is committed with conversations at home, in schools and within society.
The CAW & CW Wing, presently under the Crime Branch, began in 2022 and became fully operational in 2023. It serves as the state’s nodal agency for matters concerning crimes against women and children, besides dealing with trafficking and missing women and children. The wing also monitors investigations across districts and works towards improving the quality of investigation and conviction.
But Shyni believes that policing alone cannot create a truly safe society.
Women’s safety is still a larger concern
“Majority of women feel unsafe,” she says, pointing out that women continue to face a fundamentally different safety burden from men. The question, she argues, is not why women need to be cautious, but why society continues to place greater restrictions on women while allowing men greater freedom.
She believes the answer lies partly in challenging patriarchal conditioning from childhood. Even seemingly insignificant practices at home such as expecting daughters to perform household chores while sons are not expected to do the same can establish unequal power equations.
For Shyni, boys and men must be part of the conversation on gender equality. “Why should men not challenge patriarchy?” she asks, arguing that boys should understand how unequal social structures affect their sisters, mothers and, eventually, their own relationships.
Taking conversations into schools
Rather than relying only on one-time workshops, Shyni advocates institutionalising conversations around safety, sexuality, mental health and gender equality within the education system.
The CAW & CW Wing has already sought permission for Special Juvenile Police Unit officers to participate in school Parent-Teacher Meetings and engage with students, particularly in higher classes. In collaboration with UNICEF, the wing is also developing training for police officers so they can better understand children’s needs and communicate with them effectively.
The approach extends to making police stations more accessible to children. In one outreach initiative conducted across 573 police stations in Odisha, adolescents were brought to police stations to familiarise them with the system and introduce them to Child Welfare Police Officers. The objective was to help children see the police as a source of protection before a crisis occurs.
Looking beyond conventional policing
Shyni also highlights the need to understand the changing nature of cases involving adolescents. She points to the complexities surrounding consensual, non-exploitative romantic relationships involving those aged 16–18 and the consequences of criminalisation under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
At the same time, she stresses that child safety must include boys as well as girls. She notes that independent surveys indicate sexual abuse affects boys too, particularly in early childhood, even though such cases are significantly under-reported.
For Shyni, the larger goal is to create a culture where children know whom to approach, understand their rights and feel confident seeking help. Safety, she believes, cannot begin after harm occurs. It has to begin much earlier with awareness, equality, open conversations and the courage to question what society has long considered “normal.”