One-stop centres for women find just a few takers in State

The Ministry of Women and Child Development in Tamil Nadu had sanctioned 32 one-stop centres for women who are victims of various forms of abuse. Even as only six of them are functioning currently, there are only a few takers for the services provided by these centres. Over the past four years, only 197 women have approached the centres so far after their inception in 2015.

Lavanya (name changed) found that she was pregnant after she was sexually harassed. When she approached the police, she was referred to the Medical Board for termination. The medical board directed her to government hospitals and she had to run from pillar to post.

Later, the victim had to approach the Madras High Court to allow termination as the length of pregnancy exceeded 20 weeks as she was juggled between police stations and medical board. Despite one-stop centres being the sole authority to provide all medical and legal aid, Lavanya was unaware of such a facility and suffered from trauma and depression due to lack of support from authorities.

Shalini (name changed) was married at the age of 17 and was a victim of domestic violence as her husband and in-laws started demanding dowry. She approached her parents regarding the same. But they stopped her from approaching the police it was a child marriage and they would be in legal trouble. Though Shalini approached the police, her parents forced to withdraw the complaint and she and had to return to her in-laws’ home. Lavanya and Shalini are not the only victims who are unaware of one-stop centres.

There are hundreds of other women who suffer from violence and harassment but find no shelter to support and help them.

There are a total of 234 one-stop centres across the country and 1,90,527 women affected by violence have been benefitted by the same. In Tamil Nadu, only 197 cases have been attended at the centres. They include cases of domestic violence, dowry, physical assault and others. However, the centres have proved more effective in other southern States as the number of beneficiaries is more.

While 26,884 victims have been rendered help from 13 such centres in Andhra Pradesh, 7,807 women have been offered support at 9 centres in Telangana. A total of 517 victims were benefitted in Karnataka. Though Kerala has only 4 centres, 393 victims have been assisted so far.

Despite 32 proposed centres to facilitate rehabilitation and medical services for the rape and assault victims in Tamil Nadu, only six of them are functional in the State.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development initiated the concept of one-stop centres in the country to offer support to women affected by violence. Since the announcement to set up 32 centres in 2015, only six of them — Tambaram, Chengalpet, Salem, Madurai, Coimbatore and Trichy — are functionaltill date.

When contacted, director of Social Welfare Department V Amuthavalli said that the other centres are being planned. “The construction of the centres will be done in a phased manner,” she said.

An allocation of Rs 8 lakh each has been made to construct the centres. Two more centres in Kancheepuram and Tirunelveli are expected to be opened in 2018. The authorities at the Social Welfare Department said that the appointment of the committee is what is delaying the process. The centres are led by a team of five people including a counsellor, caseworker and multipurpose worker.

The centre aims to facilitate access to an integrated range of services including medical aid, police assistance, legal aid, case management, psycho-social counselling, temporary support services to affected women. However, many women are unaware of the existence of these centres and their roles.

Though Ministry of Women and Child Development had earlier stated that it is regularly monitoring and reviewing the implementation of these centres through workshops and conferences with State governments, the late implementation of the same seems to be out of their notice.

While the delay in setting up the centres remains the key issue, women activists also stress on the need of creating awareness and easing accessibility.

“It is common to witness women suffering from domestic violence and harassment going through various procedures while seeking legal and medical help and very often the process is delayed. One-stop centres should function in a way that all such issues are brought under one roof, rather than the victim going in search for it. There is a need for more such centres in the State and a strengthened system under the same to offer help to the victims,” said Sudha Ramalingam, senior advocate at Madras High Court.

“Delay in opening the proposed centres is also responsible for the low awareness among the public and there is a need to stress on steady implementation of the allocated centres in the State to make it readily accessible for all,”she added.