After enduring domestic violence and harassment for nearly 35 years, Anusuya (name changed) could finally make up her mind to lodge a complaint against her husband. However, she had no clue how to file a first information report in the police station or the legal proceedings to be followed to stand up for herself.
That’s when she came to know about the One-Stop Crisis Centre through an advocate friend. She approached the centre, seeking help to save herself and her children from her abusive husband. “Fortunately, we don’t have to shuttle between the police station and the court to handle the problem as the centre is taking care of every aspect,” says Anusuya who was accompanied by her daughter.
Ever since its inauguration in January, the facility initiated by the Women and Child Welfare Department, has been offering counselling, medical aid, legal guidance and police assistance free of cost under one roof. “A total of 64 cases have been registered till now. Of them , seven have been solved at counselling level before approaching the court. While the court has given decision for eight cases, 49 cases are pending,” says B.D.J. Latha, social counsellor at the centre.
From family disputes to dowry harassment, extra-marital affairs to domestic violence and rape, the centre has been dealing with a range of cases ever since its inception. With two home guards and a social counsellor taking care of the facility, the staff members say a legal counsellor’s post is yet to be filled. The centre can be reached at 0891-2564575.
Right now, the facility is available in a congested room at Family Planning Ward in King George Hospital where the counselling for victims takes place in an open forum. “We would soon be approaching Collector to seek a 300 square yard area for the centre at Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences so that we can shift the premises later,” says Ch. Kameswaramma, Regional Deputy Director of Women Development and Child Welfare Department.
