Vikalp
A digital complaints portal for violence against women, with district police follow-up and complainant feedback.
Read the case study →Consulting & Advisory
For international NGOs, foundations and development organisations
Sutapa Sanyal advises organisations on building systems that keep people safe and hold institutions to account. In 33 years of public service, Sutapa led state-wide work on crimes against women and children, human trafficking, economic offences and cybercrime, and became the first woman to hold Director General of Police rank in Uttar Pradesh.
Areas of work
Safety of women and childrenAnti-human traffickingFraud, economic offences and cybercrimeDrug-related crimeCrime data and hotspot mappingPolice training and institutional reformCommunity resilienceInfrastructure and corporate security
Programmes Sutapa has led
At the Uttar Pradesh Police Mahila Samman Prakoshth, Sutapa led nine connected programmes on women's safety, gender-based violence response, police capacity building and community engagement.
The nine programmes fall into four areas: direct access to the criminal justice system (Vikalp); in-house capacity building (Navchetna); outreach and community policing (Ru-ba-ru, Saathi, Akshaya, Adhikaar, Jagriti, Saarthi); and research and thought leadership (Shodh evam Samwaad).
Navchetna
Gender-sensitive police training on relevant laws, investigation, reporting and responses to survivors.
Explore the training →Ru-ba-ru
Direct dialogue between police and students on gender equality and women's safety.
Read the case study →Saathi
Citizen cadets linked communities and district police through gender-sensitive community policing.
Read the case study →Akshaya
Self-defence training for girls, designed to build confidence as well as practical skills.
Read the case study →Adhikaar
Legal literacy and public information on the rights of women and children.
Read the case study →Saarthi
Work to make public transport safer for women, including engagement with transport staff.
Read the case study →Jagriti
Public awareness on gender-related issues with the help of public figures.
Read the case study →Shodh evam Samwaad
Research and dialogue on violence against women and children, including crime mapping and policy proposals.
Read the case study →Track record
Founded the U.P. Police Mahila Samman Prakoshth, the state unit for crimes against women and children, whose work reached 120 million+ women and children
Set up Vikalp, India’s first police web portal for reporting crimes against women and children, with a 97% police response rate
Led Uttar Pradesh’s apex anti-human trafficking agency and its 35 Anti-Human Trafficking Units
Headed the state’s Economic Offences Wing, investigating fraud, forged financial documents and cybercrime
Trained 8,000+ police officers through the Nav Chetna programme, and delivered 66 child-protection trainings across 15 State Police Academies
As Advisor (Security) to GAIL (India) Ltd., headed security for its pan-India pipeline network and devised an India-wide coastal security plan after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks
Raised over Rs 1.85 crore from government, UNICEF and other agencies for programmes on the safety of women and children
International work
Only Indian invited to the INTERPOL Specialists Group on Crimes Against Children, France, 2017
Recognised by the UK Government and British High Commission as an Indian Woman Leader, 2015, and invited to the UK for discussions with Parliamentarians on violence against women and girls
Anti-trafficking work acknowledged in the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report, 2016
Sutapa has worked with
UNICEF · ActionAid · Plan India · Ford Foundation · Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative · Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation · Ministry of Women and Child Development · NCRB · BPR&D