GS 2: Governance | Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these scheme

Why in news?

More than 1,90,000 victims across the country have accessed the OSCs, sponsored by the Centre under the Nirbhaya fund .

Sakhi One Stop Centre:

• Ministry of WCD has formulated a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up One Stop Centre, a sub – scheme of Umbrella Scheme for National Mission for Empowerment of women including Indira Gandhi Mattritav Sahyaog Yojana.
• It is a scheme sponsored under the Nirbhaya fund set up for safety of women after the gang rape of a paramedical student in December 2012 in New Delhi.
• It being established across the country to provide integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces in phased manner.
• The scheme envisages an OSC for medical, legal, psychological and police help for victims of gender-based abuse such as sexual assault or domestic violence.
• So far, 234 OSCs have been set up and 485 more are in the pipeline to cover all 719 districts in the country.
• According to government data shared before Parliament, more than 1,90,000 women across the country have accessed these centres.

Functioning of the OSCs:

• When a victim of domestic violence comes here, she is asked what relief she wants.
• If she wants a compromise, the husband is called and both of them are counselled.
• After this, she is asked to sign on an agreement letter and is sent back to her home and a follow-up is conducted.
• If a rape victim comes to the centre , it is first ascertained whether she is speaking the truth.
• First the centre in-charge speaks to her and then a counsellor cross-examines her.