DCW launches separate email id for reporting cases of harassment under #MeToo; panel urges women to lodge complaint

New Delhi: The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has launched a separate email address to report cases of sexual harassment under the #MeToo movement.The DCW has set up a separate email id for reporting the complaints at metoodcw@gmail.com. One can also call 181 for any assistance regarding the same, the DCW said in a statement. The commission has also appealed to the women of the #MeToo campaign to report the incidents of sexual crimes to the police and women commissions, it said.[caption id="attachment_5346771" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. Reuters[/caption]"This reporting will pave the path for putting these sexual predators behind bars, something that should have been done long ago," it added.India's #MeToo movement, which started with Tanushree Dutta alleging that actor Nana Patekar harassed her during a film shoot in 2008, has escalated sharply with increasing numbers of women coming forward with their complaints.Giving the example of Union minister MJ Akbar against whom several women have come out, the DCW claimed, "He never had to pay for his actions and all the women and girls he preyed upon still await justice". "While exposing these sexual predators is definitely an important first step, the commission believes that these men should be put behind bars and prosecuted for the horrific crimes they have committed," it said in the statement.