The Central government will set up One Stop Centres (OSCs) across 10 missions to provide assistance to Indian women who are survivors of gender-based violence.
The missions where the OSCs will come up are Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada and Singapore, a senior official of the Ministry of Women and Child Development said at a press briefing.
“Our commitment to the Ministry of External Affairs is to set up a One Stop Centre in every mission around the world. They will provide emergency and non- emergency support to women victims, including legal aid, medical support and counselling,” the official said.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development will also set up 300 OSCs in the country in addition to the nearly 700 existing ones across all districts. “The aim will be to cover districts with high rates of crimes against women. Such districts can have more than one OSCs,” according to the official.
The Ministry has also decided to set aside ₹ 74 crore under the Nirbhaya Fund to provide shelter, food and transportation to rape survivors who are abandoned by their families, especially those who become pregnant. This will be done with the aim to ensure they are able to provide evidence before court.
“The fund will be given to the District Magistrate, and they will devise a mechanism to ensure critical care for rape victims,” the official explained.
