Panaji: Goa police have moved a proposal to state govt to establish the second women police station in the state in South Goa to handle women-related cases, including rape and sexual assault. The women police station in South Goa will provide relief to the survivors, who now have to travel to Panaji.Currently, only one women police station is in operation in Panaji. Besides the women police station, other police stations also register crimes against women and children, but the women police station is only established to investigate women-related cases.Goa police said that they want to establish a women police station on temporary premises and subsequently shift it to the newly constructed building for Fatorda police station. They said they wanted around 30 staff at the police station.The home department will ask Goa police to give a detailed presentation on its proposal, a senior govt official said.Goa police statistics revealed that on average, the state sees four women raped or sexually assaulted every week. From 2021 to 2025, a total of 922 women — aged between five and 70 — were either raped or sexually assaulted.“Cases ending in acquittal, along with issues highlighted in the judgements, are thoroughly analysed to identify areas for improvement in investigation and to enhance the conviction rate,” said chief minister Pramod Sawant, who is also the home minister.According to police, Goa’s crime rate stands at 5.2% for rape cases and 8.1% for Pocso cases when compared to the national average.Police said that higher reporting and registration of offences in Goa reflect greater public awareness, easier access to police mechanisms, and increased public confidence in approaching law enforcement agencies.“It is pertinent to note that a majority of cases registered under rape-related offences involve situations where the accused and survivor are known to each other, cases of alleged rape on the pretext of marriage, consensual relationship disputes that later result in complaints, as well as elopement-related matters involving minors under legal provisions,” said police.To investigate crimes against women, there are around 670 women police personnel in the state police force. Of these, 462 are constables, 59 are head constables, 88 are assistant sub-inspectors, 40 are police sub-inspectors, and 11 are police inspectors; however, most of the women police personnel have chosen to go to side branches, which has hampered the investigation, a senior police officer said.
