Last weekend, The Goan reported the harrowing ordeal of an 11-year-old sexual assault victim in Panaji. This incident has exposed the chinks in our policing system and the oft-repeated talk of women's safety. The girl, in her complaint, stated that she was sexually assaulted at the Caranzalem beach. The unfortunate part was that she had to wait for six agonising hours at the Panaji Police Station because no woman police officer was available to register her complaint.
For the girl and her family, the very institution meant to protect them in times of crisis inflicted another trauma. That an emergency in the heart of the State’s capital could trigger a desperate search across police stations in Old Goa and Agassaim for a single female officer exposes just how badly basic policing and victim-support systems have failed. This is far more than an administrative lapse; it is a serious indictment of the State’s law-enforcement system.
The incident also stands in stark contrast to the State government’s public narrative on women. Political platforms regularly highlight schemes aimed at the welfare, empowerment and protection of women and girls. Yet when a girl actually needs that protection, the ground reality tells a very different story. A government cannot claim to champion women’s welfare through policy declarations while failing to provide even the most basic institutional support when women and children are subjected to sexual assaults.
This failure is particularly disturbing because it is neither new nor isolated. Reports indicate that police stations across North and South Goa have been struggling with serious staff shortages at virtually every level, from Police Inspectors to Constables. There have been instances reported by this newspaper where transfer orders issued by senior police officials and publicly backed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant have been ignored despite warnings of disciplinary action and salary freezes. Officers transferred to crucial locations such as Panaji have reportedly remained at their old postings for years. Meanwhile, specialised units remain understaffed, and women’s help desks at major police stations are routinely left unmanned.
There are reasons to worry because the State’s crime figures paint a disturbing picture. Goa recorded an average of nearly four sexual assault cases a week, with 922 women and children reported as victims between 2021 and 2025. Whatever contextual explanations authorities may offer, including cases involving acquaintances or disputes arising from relationships, none of them can justify such gaps in policing. Behind every case is a person who deserves prompt access to justice.
For a child reporting sexual violence, being forced to wait for hours or navigate a male-dominated police environment because no female officer is available is not a minor inconvenience. It strikes at the very protections intended to safeguard vulnerable children under the POCSO framework.
If the government is serious about protecting the safety and dignity of women and children, it must move beyond rhetoric. It must look at these failures from a larger perspective of women's safety. Women officers must be available at every police station, and help desks must be staffed around the clock, without exception. These are not extraordinary administrative reforms, but basic requirements of a functioning law-enforcement system.
Until the administration closes the widening gap between its promises of women’s welfare and the reality faced by victims on the ground, its pledge to protect the girl child will remain little more than a hollow promise.
