TS police open Pride Place to support LGBTQIA community

Hyderabad: The Women Safety Wing of the Telangana State police on Tuesday inaugurated 'Pride Place', the country's first police-driven initiative that will work exclusively to support individuals from the LGBTQIA community. The Director General of Police, M Mahender Reddy, released the logo of Pride Place and a booklet containing details, including the Standard Operating Procedures of the initiative. Congratulating the team, he said several judgments were made in support of the queer community and new laws were brought into effect in recent times.

He stated, "It is now time for various stakeholders to come together and enforce these laws. This cell will act as a one stop solution for the Trans people in the State. This initiative may just be a small step today, but I strongly believe that it is going to create a long-lasting impact on our society. The cell has been formed according to the guidelines issued by Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the main objective will be to create awareness about rights of Transgender and LGBQIA people and work towards prevention of crimes, monitoring cases of offences against transgender persons and ensure timely registration, investigation and prosecution of such offences. The cell also aims to create safe spaces for the community." "As part of the initiative, police personnel will be trained and sensitised on Trans and LGBQIA issues with protection cells to be established at both State and district levels. These cells will be headed by a police official and will work closely with a coordinator from the Trans community along with legal advisors. We will do our best to ensure that we bring a safe and secure feeling among them," said Swati Lakra, ADGP, Women Safety Wing. She further added, "The initiative is a combined effort of the police department and NGOs working towards uplift of the community. Mamata Raghuveer, founder of Tharuni, an NGO working towards women welfare along with Tashi Choedup from Anveshi Research Centre played pivotal roles in conceptualising the cell."

Harshini Mekala, a transgender woman, has been selected as coordinator for Pride Place and will be responsible to take forward the initiative and enable queer community involvement.