Women’s emergency helpline,181, is to be launched next week for getting immediate access to police, medical, legal, psycho-social or rescue shelter assistance. The helpline also would provide information about the law, existing schemes and government programmes related to women empowerment and protection, according to police.

The helpline will function from the Amma Call Centre premises in Ambattur. As of now, the 1091 helpline is functioning in Chennai, providing police assistance to women in distress. However, the round-the-clock toll-free 181 helpline under the Department of Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme should provide all types of assistance.

“The staff, who are social workers, can immediately handle the grievances of the callers. They have undergone training from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and will work on a three-shift basis,” said an official from the Social Welfare Department.

“We have also joined hands with One-StopCentres (OSC), where victims of violence can stay and get necessary support services under one roof,” the official added.