Assessing the Efficacy of India's One Stop Centre Scheme in Supporting Survivors of Violence

Аннотация

Violence against women (VAW) remains a pervasive global issue, with significant socio-economic and public health implications. In India, recognizing the multifaceted needs of women affected by violence, the government launched the One Stop Centre (OSC) Scheme under the Nirbhaya Fund. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the OSC Scheme, examining its operational framework, achievements, and persistent challenges in providing integrated support services to survivors. Drawing upon a review of existing literature, policy documents, and news reports, the study highlights the scheme's pivotal role in offering immediate medical, police, legal, and psycho-social aid, along with temporary shelter, under a single roof. While the OSCs represent a crucial step towards survivor empowerment and a coordinated response to VAW, challenges related to funding utilization, infrastructure, staffing, and inter-agency coordination continue to impede their full potential. The analysis suggests that despite commendable efforts, sustained commitment, enhanced resource allocation, improved operational efficiency, and increased public awareness are imperative to fully realize the scheme's objectives and ensure comprehensive support for all women survivors across India. Keywords: One Stop Centre Scheme, gender-based violence, survivor support services, India, women’s empowerment, integrated care, crisis intervention, victim assistance, social welfare programs, policy evaluation. recommendations made by the Justice J.S. Verma Introduction: Violence against women (VAW) is a Committee, constituted in the aftermath of the 2012 profound human rights violation with devastating Delhi gang rape case, commonly known as the Nirbhaya consequences for individuals, families, and societies case. The scheme, implemented under the Nirbhaya worldwide [1]. Globally, statistics reveal the alarming Fund, aims to provide integrated support and prevalence of physical, sexual, psychological, and assistance to women affected by violence, both in economic violence against women, underscoring an private and public spaces, under one roof [2]. The urgent need for robust preventative measures and establishment of OSCs marked a significant policy shift comprehensive support systems for survivors [1]. In from fragmented, siloed services to a unified, multi- India, VAW manifests in various forms, deeply rooted sectoral approach designed to address the immediate in complex socio-cultural norms, patriarchal structures, and long-term needs of survivors. The Nirbhaya Fund, and economic disparities. These forms range from established in 2013, serves as a non-lapsable corpus for domestic violence, sexual assault, and harassment to the safety and security of women, with significant trafficking and harmful traditional practices, leaving portions allocated to initiatives like the OSCs [3]. survivors often isolated and struggling to access justice and rehabilitation. The rationale behind the OSC scheme is based on the understanding that survivors of violence often face Recognizing the urgent need for a holistic and multiple barriers in accessing help, including the need coordinated response to VAW, the Government of to navigate various government departments (police, India launched the One Stop Centre (OSC) Scheme in health, legal aid) and non-governmental organizations 2015. This initiative was a direct outcome of the American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research 1 https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajsshr American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research (ISSN: 2771-2141) separately, leading to re-victimization and delays in the broad headings of the IMRaD format, specifically receiving critical support. By consolidating these focusing on detailing the "Results" (the scheme's essential services, OSCs seek to minimize trauma, features, successes, and challenges) and interpreting expedite the justice process, and facilitate the physical these findings within the "Discussion" section. Specific and psychological recovery of survivors. As such, an in- attention was paid to identifying convergent and depth analysis of the scheme's implementation, divergent viewpoints across different sources operational mechanisms, and existing challenges is regarding the scheme's effectiveness and areas crucial to evaluate its efficacy and identify areas for needing improvement. The aim was to synthesize a improvement. This article aims to provide such an coherent picture of the OSC Scheme's current status analysis, thereby contributing to the ongoing discourse and impact. on gender-based violence intervention in India.