JJ to get city’s second centre for sexual abuse survivors

The city will get its second crisis centre for survivors of sexual abuse and other crimes against women. The proposed centre at Sir JJ Hospital in Byculla, which

The city will get its second crisis centre for survivors of sexual abuse and other crimes against women. The proposed centre at Sir JJ Hospital in Byculla, which was recently approved by the state women and child welfare department, will start services by March.

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King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, Parel, already has a crisis centre.

The ‘Nirbhaya Centre’ will have experts to provide legal, medical, and psychological aid to survivors of gender-based abuse. The centre will also have a forensic expert to help police in gathering evidence against the perpetrators of such crimes. “We are trying to establish a one-stop crisis centre in all state-level district hospitals. In the second stage, we will focus on starting the centres at secondary-level hospitals,” said a senior official from the state women and child welfare department.

In 2014, the Union woman and child welfare department instructed all states to establish one such centre in each district. The state government-run Sir JJ Hospital receives over 2,000 cases of violence against women, including cases under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, every year.

“We will not only assist rape survivors but handle cases of domestic violence, acid attack, and other forms of abuse against women. We will have psychiatrists, medicine specialists, gynaecologists, along with forensic experts to examine the women,” said Dr Pallavi Saple, dean of the hospital.

Officials assured that the anonymity of patients will be maintained at the centre. To provide legal aid, the centre plans to tie up with a non-government organisation (NGO).

Neena More from the Society for Nutrition, Education & Health Action (Sneha), that is handling the cases at KEM Hospital, said, “When a woman comes to us, we inform the police and provide all medical examinations. Our priority is to counsel the women and help them to handle the trauma.”

In September 2019, KEM Hospital started city’s first one-stop crisis centre which was inaugurated by Union women and child development minister Smriti Irani.