Sakhi One

Stop Annual Centres in Report 2019-2020

Project Management Unit Tata Institute of Social Sciences, & Department of Women Development & Child Welfare, Govt. of Telangana April 2020 A

SAKHI ONE STOP CENTRES IN TELANGANA

Table of Contents

Prelude ...... 3

1. Background ...... 4

2. Sakhi OSC Centres: Structure & Roles ...... 6 Project Management Unit ...... 8 District Management committee ...... 8 District Sakhi OSC Staff ...... 9

3. What do the Sakhi Centres do and for whom? ...... 10 Nature of services provided by the Sakhi Centres ...... 11 Socio-demographic profile of women accessing services ...... 19

4. Types of violence reported by survivors ...... 21 Domestic violence during COVID 19 lock down ...... 25

5. Convergence with state institutions ...... 26

6. Analysis of Domestic Incident Reports (DIRs) ...... 27

7. Training and capacity-building workshops ...... 30

8. Some illustrative Case Studies ...... 34

Appendix: List of NGOs with their contact details ...... 0

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SAKHI ONE STOP CENTRES IN TELANGANA

Prelude

It has now been more than two years since Sakhi One Stop Centres were set up across the districts of Telangana, to address the issue of gender-based violence (GBV) through the providing of integrated services to women and girls affected by violence. GBV was not regarded as a crime, a violation of human rights or as a social problem of great magnitude, even till a few decades ago. Forms of violence against women were not recognized as a priority in its own right. Nor was violence seen as a product of deeply-entrenched social, economic and cultural structures and practices that endorsed the unequal power relations between genders, and that provided an implicit and often explicit social sanction too to such violence. The research on GBV, both global and from , suggests that violence is not primarily the result of “single-factor causes” or solely attributable to individual-risk factors such as alcoholism. Hence a series of measures in a wide variety of policy areas and a multi-pronged approach is needed to address the issue ranging from legal reform to institutional services such as shelters, counselling services, legal assistance, along with preventive measures such as public education and addressing concerns of particularly vulnerable sections. Although sadly, the numbers of reported cases of violence do not seem to be reducing, a positive development of sorts is the number of policy actions taken in recent years to address the issue: legal reform and the passage/amendment of several laws in India for domestic violence, rape, and sexual harassment; and the institutionalization of services such as the One stop centres for immediate redressal and delivery of services ranging from legal, psychosocial, medical and shelter, to those affected. The establishment of Sakhi One Stop Centres by the government in the state of Telangana is one step in this direction. This report provides a summary of activities undertaken by the Sakhi one stop centres across 33 districts in Telangana. While an initial report was prepared in April 2018, the present report covers the activities undertaken in the year 2019-2020.

U. Vindhya Project Leader & Deputy Director Tata Institute of Social Sciences Hyderabad campus April 2020

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SAKHI ONE STOP CENTRES IN TELANGANA

Sakhi One Stop Centres in Telangana erstwhile districts of Telangana in the initial phase. 1. Background As the sanction was received for setting up The Sakhi One Stop Centres (OSC) scheme centres in more districts, the NGOs were was initiated and set up by the central recruited after an advertisement was issued government, in the wake of the horrendous for expression of interest, a face-to-face ‘Nirbhaya’ gang rape in Dec 2012. The interview conducted by TISS Hyderabad scheme was an outcome of the with external members on the panel of recommendations of the Justice Verma experts, followed by a physical verification Committee and the Usha Mehra Commission of the premises and documents to check for that inquired into the ‘Nirbhaya’ case and compliance with accounting and other came up with a set of measures in 2013 for norms of the government. women’s safety. Accordingly, the central government declared the ‘Nirbhaya Fund’ with an initial corpus of Rs. 1000 crores (in 2013-14) for setting up of services for women’s safety and protection and a 24- hour helpline. Approved for implementation from April 2015, there are presently 506 Sakhi One Stop Centres that are operational across the country (Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2018). In Telangana the Sakhi OSC Centres were established in 2017 as an initiative of the Department of Women Development and Child Welfare, in partnership with a) Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad campus as the Based on this tripartite partnership, the knowledge partner entrusted with the centres initially started functioning in the overall responsibility of training, capacity nine erstwhile districts of Telangana since building, monitoring and evaluation, and b) December 2017, and subsequently were with various non-governmental sanctioned for all 33 districts of the state. organizations (NGOs) as Currently 33 centres are operational in all implementation/support agencies for the districts across the state. recruitment of the staff and day-to-day functioning. The project is anchored in the The list below gives a chronology of the School of Gender Studies of TISS Hyderabad establishment of the centres in the districts campus. in a phase-wise manner. The memorandum of understanding with TISS was signed in February 2017, and subsequently with nine NGOs, reputed and established in their own right, in the nine

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Phase-wise setting up of OSC Sakhi Centres in districts

Date Phase Districts

Dec 2017 Phase1 & 2 Mahabubnagar , (U), (9 erstwhile Sangareddy, Ranga Reddy, Nizamabad, and districts) April Phase 3 Kamareddy, Bhadradri-Kothagudem, Jagtial, 2019 [8 districts] Jangaon, Mancherial, Siddipet, Medchal, Nagarkurnool

Aug–Oct Phase 4 Mahabubabad, Asifabad, Gadwal, Hyderabad, Nirmal, 2019 [13 districts] Pedapally, , Vikarabad, Wanaparthy Medak, Rajanna Sircilla, and Warangal Rural Nov-Dec Phase 5 Bhupalpalli, Narayanpet and 2019 [3 districts] The list of the NGOS (in alphabetical order) who are the support agencies in this project is given as Appendix.

2. Sakhi OSC Centres: Structure & Roles The Sakhi OSC has the following structure with a State Steering and Monitoring Committee at the apex, a District-level Management Committee, Project Management Unit (recruited by TISS Hyderabad) and the district-level OSC staff recruited and supervised by the NGOs in their capacity as implementation/support agencies.

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Project Management District Management Unit (PMU) Committee [MONITORING & EVALUATION] [ADVISORY]

District Collector Commissioner or Superintendent of Police Secretary District Legal Services Authority Sakhi OSC Staff Chairman District level Bar Council [IMPLEMENTATION]

District Medical and Health Officer Centre Administrator (1)

District Rural Development Officer Case Worker (2)

District Panchayat Officer Psychosocial Counsellor (2)

District Education Officer Legal Counsellor (1) Project Officer, ITDA Paramedic Staff (2) District Welfare Officer IT Assistant (1) Civil Society Representatives Accountant cum Admin (1) Multipurpose Worker (2) Security Guard (2)

7 Project Management Unit A Project Management Unit (PMU) was set up in April 2017 with its staff recruited by TISS Hyderabad and located in the Directorate of the Department of Women Development and Child Welfare. The key functions and activities of the PMU are the following: ▪ Identifying the training needs of the Sakhi OSC staff recruited for the district centres and conducting training and capacity building workshops, and periodic review meetings ▪ Monitoring of the centres ▪ Data Management and MIS development ▪ Coordinating with the implementing agencies (NGOs), the Management Committee, as well as with the relevant functionaries in GoI for smooth implementation of the scheme.

The PMU in 2019-20 consisted of the following staff: B. Girija Devi State Project Manager M. Suneetha Programme Manager V. Stefen Daniel Project Officer G. Blessie Project Officer Madhukar T. Solomon Data Analyst B. Manohar Admin cum Accountant N. Dhanalaxmi Office Assistant

District Management committee The Management Committee in each district, consisting of key stakeholders in the district administration, essentially performs an advisory role in ▪ guiding the district OSC for effective functioning ▪ coordinating with various line departments such as the Superintendent of Police to appoint police facilitation officer, and to help in rescue of survivors; with District Legal Services Authority to help set up legal clinic in the centre and ensure free legal aid to those who cannot afford; and with the District Medical Health Officer as nodal officer to deal with medico-legal cases ▪ Monitoring number of cases registered and types of violence handled and ▪ Organising quarterly Management Committee meetings and reporting on the functioning of the Sakhi OSC to the State Government on financial, administrative and operational aspects.

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District Collector on visit to Sakhi OSC, Medchal

District Sakhi OSC Staff

Each district centre is staffed with 14 personnel, recruited by the concerned NGO, and who work on rotational shifts, thereby providing round-the-clock services.

Staff at work in the Sakhi OSC

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Sakhi OSC in Medchal-Malkajgiri district

3. What do the Sakhi Centres do and for whom?

The central aim of these centres is to provide integrated services for medical, legal, psychosocial and shelter services for women and girls affected by all forms of gender- based violence. Specifically, the centres aim to ▪ provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence both in private and public spaces under one roof. ▪ facilitate immediate, emergency and non-emergency access to medical, legal, psychosocial counselling and shelter services

The target groups of these centres for whom these services are intended, are all women, and girls below 18 years of age irrespective of class, caste, religion, sexual orientation or marital status, and who are affected by all forms of gender-based violence. For cases of girls below 18 years the centres are linked to institutions and authorities established under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015; and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

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PMU staff with Sakhi OSC, Medchal

Nature of services provided by the Sakhi Centres The following graphic gives us an idea of the type of services rendered by the Sakhi OSCs and their frequency. While psychosocial counselling was the most frequent service provided, legal services come a close second. ▪ Psychosocial counselling involves active listening, creating a supportive environment in which the survivor is treated with respect, dignity, and empathy; avoiding victim-blaming; prioritizing the survivor’s rights, needs, and wishes, and reinforcing her capacity to make decisions; and enhancing safety and improving access to social and community support. ▪ The legal services include legal counselling provided to survivors; filing POCSO cases; filing of Domestic Incident Reports (DIRs); and police support and assistance taken for the survivors. ▪ In addition to medical help and shelter provided, referrals were also made to other shelter homes and Swadhar homes for long-term requirement of shelter. ▪ A significant activity conducted by the Sakhi OSCs, which goes beyond the official mandate of these centres, is the outreach programmes on spreading awareness about gender-based violence, and the important message being conveyed that such violence is unacceptable, a crime, and that those affected by any form of violence need not suffer in silence, but can take recourse to redressal through calling the helpline 181 and/or approaching the Sakhi OSC directly. As can be seen from the graph, a total number of 3049 awareness meetings were conducted

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across the districts in various sites ranging from schools and colleges to Mandal Samakhyas, and public places such as bus and railway stations.

Services Provided 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 Legal Services Psycho social Medical Temporary Referrals No. of counselling Assistance Shelter made to other Awareness Shelter/ programmes Swadhar conducted Homes

Outreach activities by Sakhi OSC staff

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Outreach activities at Rajanna Sircilla district to spread awareness about violence and Sakhi OSC services

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Those affected by gender-based violence have approached the OSCs in various ways as the adjacent graph shows. Apart from self- Pathways to approaching Sakhi referral that constituted the single largest OSCs category of survivors approaching the OSCs, a substantial number of cases were referred to 4500 4001 4000 3629 by government agencies such as the police, 3500 3000 district administration officials including the 2500 District Collector, District Welfare Officer 2000 1500 1155 (DWO), Community Development Project 657 1000 239 500 Officer (CDPO), District Legal Services 0 Authority (DLSA), and the Health Department. A significant number of cases were registered via the Women Helpline 181 too.

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Women Helpline 181

WDCW Commissioner’s visit to Women Helpline 181 Facility

181: Taking a call

15 Sites of Rescue

200 189

180

160

140

120

100 88 80 80

60

40 35 34 16 20

0 Sexual Physical House Suicidal From Others Harrasment Harrasment arrest streets

Sakhi Rescue Van in all districts

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Socio-demographic profile of women accessing services The following graphs give us a picture of the socio-demographic profile of the survivors who approach the centres for assistance and services: their age, education level, occupation, caste and marital status, and duration of marital life. As can be seen from the graphs below, the most represented categories of survivors who sought the services of the Sakhi OSCs or were referred to, were the following: ▪ The 18-30 years age group ▪ Housewives/students ▪ Those belonging to the BC groups ▪ Married and whose duration of marital life was seven years or more

Age Group Education level

60 above 180 3500 3220 3000 2703 2394 2500 30 to 60 2584 2000 1500 18 to 30 6195 1031 1000 500 Under 18 836 0 illiterate Up to 10th Up to PG and 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 graduate above

Caste group Occupation of Survivors 3327 6000 3500 4907 3000 5000 2500 2219 2000 4000 1500 1279 2887 1000 3000 500 2000 0 1153 1000

0 SC/ST BC OC

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Marital Status 8000 7616 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000

2000 1234 1000 600 228 313 107 0 Unmarried Married Live in Widowed Divorced Separated relationship

DURATION OF MARITAL LIFE

0 to 1 Year , 1275

7 Years and above, 3367 1 to 3 Years, 1906

3 to 7 Years, 2239

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4. Types of violence reported by survivors

Gender-based violence can take many forms. The UN Declaration on Elimination of Violence against Women (1993) had recognized the following forms: ▪ Physical violence such as slapping, hitting, kicking, beating, burning, [and in the Indian context, dowry-related abuse, acid attacks, honour killings] ▪ Sexual violence such as rape and other forms of sexual coercion, unwanted sexual advances of harassment, forced prostitution ▪ Psychological/emotional violence such as intimidation, belittling and humiliation, range of controlling behaviors such as isolating woman from family and friends, monitoring their movements, restricting access to information and assistance, threat of physical and/or sexual violence.

Following the passage of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA, 2005) that provided a definition of domestic violence for the first time in India, and aimed at protecting women from violence in domestic relationships, such violence can include the following: ▪ Physical abuse ▪ Sexual abuse ▪ Verbal and emotional abuse ▪ Economic abuse

Our data as shown in the graphs below point to the following: • A total of 8410 cases were registered in the Sakhi OSCs across all districts in 2019-20. • Out of these cases, it is domestic violence and dowry-related harassment (5703 and 384 cases respectively or 72% of the total number of complaints) that is the most frequently cited form of violence and that constitutes the largest category of violence. • The district-wise pattern of total number of registered cases indicates that the highest number was registered in Medchal-Malkajgiri, followed by Ranga Reddy, and Hyderabad, pointing to the largest concentration of reported cases in urban clusters.

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Dom. Violence & Dowry Hararassment 10% Rape

4% Sexual Harassment

5% 2% Acid Attack 1% 3% Trafficking of Women 0% 2% Child Sexual Abuse (POCSO) 1% Child Marriage

Missing/ Kidnapping/ Abduction

Cyber Crime/ Cheatting/ Love Cases 72% Any Other Crime

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Total No. of Cases by District [April 2019-March 2020]

Yadadri… 81 Warangal (R) 8 Warangal (U) 349 Wanaparthy 197 Vikarabad 132 Suryapet 136 Siddipet 142 Sangareddy 297 Ranga Reddy 894 Rajanna… 48 Peddapalli 87 Nizamabad 390 Narayanpet 237 Nirmal 13 Nagarkarnool 199 Nalgonda 366 Mulugu 1 Medchal… 1183 Medak 136 Mancherial 283 Mahabubabad 93 Mahabubnagar 327 K.B. Asifabad 126 Khammam 290 Kamareddy 193 Karimnagar 446 J Gadwal 142 JS Bhupalapalli 9 Jangon 136 Jagtial 298 Hyderabad 614 B Kothagudem 241 Adilabad 316 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

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District-wise cases of Domestic Violence & Dowry Harassment cases [April 2019-March 2020]

Yadadri… 52 Warangal (R) 7 Warangal (U) 276 Wanaparthy 135 Vikarabad 74 Suryapet 86 Siddipet 106 Sangareddy 245 Ranga Reddy 659 Rajanna… 26 Peddapalli 74 Nizamabad 286 Narayanpet 141 Nirmal 9 Nagarkarnool 151 Nalgonda 275 Mulugu 0 Medchal… 930 Medak 100 Mancherial 188 Mahabubabad 59 Mahabubnagar 185 K.B. Asifabad 99 Khammam 217 Kamareddy 124 Karimnagar 352 J Gadwal 79 JS Bhupalapalli 8 Jangon 95 Jagtial 153 Hyderabad 517 B Kothagudem 157 Adilabad 222 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000

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Domestic violence during COVID 19 lock down

Following the outbreak of COVID 19 and the declaration of nation-wide lock down from March 24 2020, the MWCD had issued a directive stating that the OSCs should remain open. Accordingly, the staff worked on a roster system, ensuring that the services remain available to those affected with the continuation of psychosocial counselling services, on- call support, as well as referrals made for long term shelter to Swaadhar Grehs. In addition, the PMU frequently conveyed guidelines to the district OSC staff regarding keeping themselves safe by following the health advisories of maintaining social distancing, and ensuring the availability of masks, sanitisers, disinfectants and medicines. In fact, the past one month has not seen much of a let up in domestic violence cases, as the graphs below indicate, and support the current research worldwide about the increased risk of violence within the home because of the lock down. What is significant to note is that in the month of April 2020 (the period of the ongoing lock down) 89% of the total number of cases registered were that of domestic violence.

“Services to victims of sexual and physical violence should be

ensured as per protocols. Information about support services under

social welfare department, NGOs, One stop crisis centres and

helplines should be provided to the victim”

[Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India, March 2020]

One Stop Centres and Women Help Lines to operate and help women affected by violence due to the prevailing special circumstances Lr. No.WW-22011/27/2016-WW from Ministry of Women and Child Development

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Domestic Violence Cases as a Percentage of Total Cases registered (01 Jan to 23 Apr 2020) 100% 89% 90%

80% 68% 70% 61% 60%

50% 40% 40%

30%

20%

10%

0% Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20

5. Convergence with state institutions As can be seen from the above sections, a close convergence and coordination of the centres is expected to be in place with different state institutions such as the police and courts, and different line departments of the district administration, so as to enable the survivors’ access to entitlements and services. There are a number of continuing challenges however, in achieving a satisfactory level of convergence for the prompt delivery of required services to the survivors, as can be seen from the feedback received from the mid-term external evaluation done in September 2019 (excerpts given below).

Some observations from the External mid-term evaluation of Sakhi OSC centres [September, 2019] ◼ The objective of integrated service under one roof has been achieved only partially by the provision of first aid, trauma care, counselling, legal counselling, and emergency shelter, the services from police, hospital, courts have to be sought by the victim/survivor but the victim/survivor gets ‘assisted care’ from all

other stakeholders. ◼ The other stakeholders such as Police, District Legal Services, District Medical etc have no clear perception of the ownership of the Sakhi centre

◼ Survivors are grateful and appreciate the ‘assisted care’ they have received …

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In addition, a few other observations/key learnings emerged from a consultation held with all the district Centre Administrators and the DWCD officials. Police department Police Facilitation Officer and Home Guards, as per govt guidelines are currently appointed in a few districts only, they are to be appointed in all the 33 districts District Legal Services To push for domestic violence cases in fast track Authority courts, given the long pendency.

District Medical Health Designated gynecologist and psychiatrist to be made Office available and linked to Sakhi OSCs District administration - Better coordination between District Welfare Officer, the concerned district NGO, and the Centre Administrator of the Sakhi OSC - Shelter homes for destitute mentally ill, HIV/AIDS and TB patients - Economic rehabilitation measures for destitute women

6. Analysis of Domestic Incident Reports (DIRs)

The consultation/review with the Centre Administrators and the WDCW officials prompted us to carry out an analysis of the Domestic Incident Reports (DIR) filed in the different districts, in order to understand the delays, and plug the gaps by bringing these to the notice of the courts. While the COVID-19 outbreak halted the proposed meeting with the Chief Justice, High Court of Telangana, a preliminary analysis is presented below. Some findings from our DIR analysis The graphs below indicate the number of DIRs filed by the survivors and the orders received; duration of time taken for the outcome of the DIR; categories of relief sought by the survivors, and district-wise pattern of DIRs; and type of violence mentioned in the DIR. The graphs indicate the following:

▪ The duration of time from the filing of the DIR to receipt of either an interim or final order is about one year to one and a half years in the largest number of cases (in 15 out of 49 cases of DIRs). ▪ Out of 1911 DIRs filed, orders (interim/final) have been received so far in 49 cases only that shows a poor response rate and supports our argument that they need to be fast tracked in order to provide relief and justice to the survivors. ▪ The categories of relief sought by the survivors show that except for child custody, the survivors had opted for all the other categories such as protection, residence, maintenance and compensation in more or less equal measure. ▪ ‘Dowry-related violence’ found the highest mention in the types of violence mentioned in the DIRs.

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▪ The number of DIRs registered was highest in , once again indicating the urban-concentric trend.

Duration of time from DIR filing to Final/Interim order 16 15 14 12 10 10 9 8 6 5 5 4 4 2 1 0 With 1 2 to 7 8 to 10 1 to 1/2 Year 1/2 to 2 7 Years No month Months Months Years Information available

Interim & Final Orders for Relief 2500

2000 1911

1500

1000

500

38 11 0 No of DIRs filed Relief granted in Interim Relief granted in final order order

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CATEGORIES OF RELIEF SOUGHT

Residence, 22% Protection, 24%

Child custody, 4%

Compensation, 25% Maintenance, 25%

Type of Violence registered in DIR

700 634 600

500

400

300 228 209 200 154 171 102 81 76 100 53 61 37 30 31 9 20 3 12 0

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1000 942 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 246 211 181 200 139 63 100 35 51 13 11 5 3 1 2 1 1 2 0

7. Training and capacity-building workshops

Training and capacity building • Key concepts of gender, patriarchy, workshops have been regularly and violence conducted with all the staff of the Sakhi • Forms and consequences of violence Centres. • Gender-sensitive counselling: skills, principles and values The following topics were covered in the orientation/training workshops for the • Laws related to gender-based staff of the Sakhi centres: violence • Context and evolution of Sakhi centres and the roles, responsibilities and reporting system of the staff • Women’s movement in India and gender-based violence

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The resource persons were Ms Sumitra The methodology of the workshops is (Ankuram); Dr Sunita Krishnan participatory with emphasis on case (Prajwala); Mr Shakeel Mohammed studies, role plays, group work, (Advocate); Ms Ramadevi (Advocate); energizers, apart from lectures, power Mr Bhaskar (Advocate); Ms Spandana point presentations and discussions of Kommuri (Counsellor, TISS Hyderabad); key concerns faced by the staff in the Dr Sunayana Swain (faculty, TISS course of their work. Hyderabad) besides Prof U Vindhya In addition, specific workshops were (TISS Hyderabad), Ms Girija Devi and Dr Suneetha (PMU), the organizers of the conducted for the IT and Accounts staff workshop. to familiarize themselves with the MIS documentation and accounting procedures.

Some snapshots from the workshops and conferences are given here.

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Group Activities during Training Workshops

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Release of Sakhi OSC Brochure by Hon’ble Minister for ST Welfare, Women & Child Welfare, Government of Telangana

8. Some illustrative Case Studies

1. Child sexual abuse

Case History

The survivor is 9 years old, resident of Subalid Village, Thirumalayapalem Mandal, , and living with her parents and a younger brother. On 12-04-2020, her parents had gone to their relatives’ place to attend a wedding reception and dropped her at her at her grandparents’ home. When the survivor along with her cousins was playing on the terrace of her grandparents’ home, at around 6 PM, Mr. Gunja Gopi (Accused), aged 20 years old, a relative and neighbor of her grandparents came to the terrace. Mr. Gunja Gopi sent all the children downstairs to watch TV except the survivor, and then sexually molested her and later escaped from that place. The child cried loudly and came down to her grandparents. All the neighbours and other family members gathered, as survivor was severely bleeding and crying loudly. Soon after they came to know that accused is Mr. Gunja Gopi, the neighbors went to catch him but he escaped. Later when her parents came home, and got to know of the issue, they went to Thirumalayapalem Police Station immediately to lodge a complaint and a POCSO case was registered on Mr. Gunja Gopi.

Services provided

The case was referred to Sakhi Centre Khammam by the police. Paramedical staff of Sakhi Centre went to the Hospital for medical support. The centre provided shelter and survivor kit for child and mother. Psycho Social counseling was given to the parents and the child. The Medical Examination was done at the district government hospital on the 13th of April. 161 Statement was recorded by the police at the Sakhi Centre on the 13th of April and the accused was arrested the same day and was sent to remand. The 2nd session counseling was given to the parents and child on 17-04-2020. They asked for educational support for the child as they are very poor. The case was produced before Child Welfare Committee (CWC) which assured to support survivor in her education after Lockdown. At present the child is living with her parents.

2. Dowry Harassment

Case History

The survivor is 34 years old, and was pursuing MBBS when she fell in love with Mr. Madhur Basude two years ago. On 22-6-2018 they got married with their parents’ permission according to their religious customs. After their marriage they went to Srilanka for honeymoon. She observed that her husband’s behavior was odd and

34 SAKHI ONE STOP CENTRES IN TELANGANA suspicious. Throughout the trip he used to talk with a woman on phone and chatting with her. After honeymoon they returned to her husband’s home at Aurangabad. The in-laws used to abuse her and her husband used to ignore her. She questioned her husband about the torture by her in-laws. She was verbally, physically and mentally tortured to get additional dowry and insulting her that she is not fit in their family and to their economic status. The in-laws used to warn her that if she wanted to continue her marital life, she would have to give additional dowry or otherwise there would be a threat to her life. She got scared of their behavior and approached Police Commissioner, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. They did many counseling sessions to respondents and filed FIR on them in Satara police station Cr.No: 0503/2018, u/s. 498A, 323, 504, 506, 34 IPC. After registering the FIR the respondents started threatening her and abusing her in filthy language to withdraw the case. Then she came to her parents’ house to Kukatpally, Hyderabad. During this time her in-laws were planning to get her husband married a second time. She again filed a case on them in Kukatpally PS Cr.No: 19/2019 u/s, 420, 498A, & 3,4 of DPA.

Services provided

The survivor was referred to Sakhi Centre Medchal by DWO Office and State Women Commission on 27/11/2019. The survivor was provided individual counseling and group counseling to her parents. Survivor stated that she doesn’t want to stay with her husband and she wants to file DV case on him. Sakhi provided legal counseling to survivor and explained about DV Act, and relief measures. She was assisted in filing of a domestic violence case in VIII Metropolitan Magistrate Kukatpally on her husband and in-laws.

3. Child Marriage

Case History

A girl aged 15 years, and daughter of a bullock cart driver is a resident of Daroormet, Gadwal District, and has one elder sister and two younger brothers. Her elder sister got married five years ago. Her brother in law is working at a cloth merchant’s shop. This girl was trapped by him, she neglected her studies, ran away with him and got married in a temple at Hyderabad. They spent two days in a friend’s house. Later on a complaint given by the girl’s family, the two were tracked by the police and brought to Gadwal town. The Sub Inspector referred the girl to Sakhi OSC on the mid night of 5th November 2019 and wrote to the OSC to provide shelter for the girl.

Services provided

Sakhi OSC provided shelter, and counselling to the girl. The girl was in a disturbed stage for three days and did not reveal anything. Later, the girl informed the CWC on 15th November 2019that she wanted to continue her education and wished to stay with her parents. CWC Chairperson considering the girl’s request gave the order to stay with her parents and to continue with her education. After the CWC order the girl came back with her parents to Gadwal and subsequently rejoined in Government Girls High School but due to the social stigma the girl was not allowed to continue in the school. With Sakhi OSC intervention however, the girl was allowed into the school and now she is studying 9th class and is regular to school.

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4. Rape

Case History

The survivor is 35 years old, a daily wage labourer, and resident of Narsapur village and Mandal, . There were long-standing disputes between the survivor’s family and the respondent Mr. Vanam Sailu who belongs to same community and village of survivor. One day on 13-02-2020 Mr. Sailu and his 3 accomplices came to her home when her husband went for a marriage ceremony, forcibly imprisoned her in her house at 9PM and raped her. He used filthy language and threatened her with dire consequences if she complained anywhere as he said he was politically and financially sound. He also said that he can purchase her for Rs. 10 lakhs and keep her in his home. The survivor went to the Police Station on 18-02-2020 and gave a complaint against the accused. The police filed a case. She returned home, but as per community tradition of not allowing a woman into her home if she was sexually abused, she was not allowed. She stayed near the bus stand at Narsapur for 15 days. One day someone who was passing by approached her and asked to call 181.

Services provided

Following the call received by 181 WHL, the Sakhi OSC staff rescued her and provided e- shelter and food immediately. Case details were taken after she had calmed down. She narrated her story. Psycho social counseling was given to survivor to come out of the trauma and build her self-esteem. Sakhi approached Dist. Superintendent of Police and submitted petition through the survivor regarding this issue and file relevant sections. In-charge SP told to DSP to enquire the case and add suitable sections in the case. Three Counselling sessions were held for the survivor’s husband and community elders. They were explained that it was not survivor’s fault and that the family needed to give her moral support during this hard time. They community elders agreed and after conducting a ritual of burning the tongue with gold on the couple, they were allowed to resume family life. Although the elders asked the survivor to withdraw the case in police station, the case is under process under IPC Sec.354 and 504.

5. Sexual Harassment

Case History

The survivor is 23 years old, resident of Kazipet, Warangal (Urban), working as a software engineer in Hyderabad and residing in the city since three months. She got acquainted with the accused, 30 years old working in the same office, and both had fallen in love. Three weeks after their relation, they wanted to get married. However, after proposal of the marriage, his attitude changed towards the survivor. He started ordering her not to speak with other colleagues and tortured her mentally and began to blackmail her. She gave a complaint in the office against the respondent. On the basis of the complaint he was terminated from service. Consequently, he developed a grudge on the survivor and made a call to the survivor’s mother threatening her that he will spoil her daughter’s career and life and used filthy language. Hence the survivor’s mother requested the respondent to come back to her hometown Warangal and wanted to talk to the accused who filed a complaint before the SHO Kazipet. The neighbours suggested to the survivor’s

36 SAKHI ONE STOP CENTRES IN TELANGANA mother to approach Sakhi Centre. Survivor’s mother requested for Counselling at Sakhi Centre.

Services provided

Survivor and her mother approached Sakhi Centre. Counselling was given individually to the Survivor and subsequently the accused was summoned and spoken to. The survivor stated that she is not interested to marry Mr. Gopi nor continue their friendship nor want to talk to him. Mr. Gopi was explained about the survivor’s opinion on him. He was counselled that he should value her opinion and interest. He was explained about the legal consequences if he continued harassing. He was cautioned not to talk with survivor over the phone or social media, and that if he continued to do so, there is a chance of filing legal action under cybercrime. The photos and evidence in the phone were deleted by him. The survivor also counselled to remain emotionally strong. After a few days the case was followed up wherein the survivor stated that she is happy and feels safe without any further threat from the accused.

As reported in (Hyderabad)

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6. Domestic Violence

Case History

The survivor is 39 years old, married, and the couple are residents of Adilabad town. She had got married 20 years ago, both are daily wage labourers, and have four children. Although their married life had been steady, disputes started cropping up since a year. The husband had got addicted to alcohol and used filthy language and abused her for minor issues. He also used physical violence against her, once hitting her on her head due to which she got injured and since then she gets head ache often. But even though the survivor tolerated all his torture all along, because of her sense of responsibility towards her husband and family, and love and affection for her husband, things got worse with the husband becoming suspicious when she returned home late from work, leading to frequent quarrels. Not able to tolerate the torture any longer, the survivor approached Women Police Station of Adilabad. The police gave counseling to her husband but there was no change in her husband’s behavior. On 27.02.2020 the husband threatened the survivor with a knife. Due to life threat the survivor left for her parents’ home. He came there also and had started abusing her.

Services provided

The survivor gave a call to 181 and was referred to the Sakhi OSC in Adilabad. Sakhi Staff immediately rescued her and was provided shelter for one day. She was given counseling and strengthened her morally. A fact finding was conducted with the neighbours to ascertain more about the husband’s behavior. Later he too was summoned to the centre and individual and joint counselling sessions were conducted with both survivor and respondent. In the counseling initially both of them wanted to go for divorce but after a few counseling sessions the husband realized his mistake and expressed his wish to continue their marital life. He promised not to drink and harass her. As the survivor agreed, she returned home and at present they are living together without violence.

WHL 181: Child Marriage case

Call time & date: 15 Nov’ 2019, 1:58:16pm

District/Mandal/Village: Kamareddy

Call remarks & Support: Caller informed that in her village 16 years child getting married and they need support, 181 WHL agent immediately taken complete details and forwarded the case to police also to child protection team.

Follow up: Caller informed that Child Line team who went to the scene and provided counseling for family members and stopped the marriage.

38 SAKHI ONE STOP CENTRES IN TELANGANA

7. Domestic violence

Case History

The survivor is 25 years old, resident of Keshavpatnam , Karimnagar and got married 25 years ago. They have two children. The husband was working in the revenue department, but 5 years ago, he became unemployed. He got addicted to alcohol, not willing to take responsibility for the family, and since two years, had been physically violent towards his wife and children too. Unable to bear this physical and mental harassment, the survivor called 181 Women Help Line on 3th Dec 2019 for help through neighbours. She was referred to Sakhi OSC Karimnagar.

Services provided

The survivor visited Sakhi OSC Centre on 04.01.2020 and gave a petition on her husband. The survivor narrated all the harassment faced by her and requested Sakhi to counsel her husband so that they could lead a regular marital life. She complained that her husband was drinking every day and beating her and children and damaging their furniture. The husband was summoned, and counselling was given to the husband, who admitted to mistakes and promised not to repeat such behavior. The respondent was referred to De- Addiction centre for treatment and there he stayed for two days. After few days he started taking alcohol again and harassing the family. The survivor called Sakhi Centre again and next day the couple came for counseling. After counseling the husband was taken to Govt. Hospital for treatment and was hospitalized for four days and returned to their home. As per the regular follow-up Sakhi contacted the survivor through phone call and she said “Her husband had stopped taking alcohol, supporting her in all activities and they are living happily with their children”.

8. Domestic violence

Case History

The survivor is 29 years old, studied upto class X, and is resident of Balapur, Ranga Reddy district. She is working in a private company. She got married 10 years ago, and since then was facing domestic violence and sexual violence. She narrated that her husband is a GHMC employee and is addicted to Alcohol. She reported that her husband verbally and sexually abuses her and beats her regularly, and does not provide maintenance for her and her children. She herself had to take up the sole responsibility of her family’s financial needse. She reported that it has become very difficult for her to manage financial responsibilities so she approached Sakhi OSC by calling up 181.

Services provided

The Sakhi Centre provided counseling to survivor and her husband. The husband was told that Domestic violence is a crime and that legal provisions for redress were available for women. He was counseled to take responsibility of his family and not to take alcohol and beat his wife. He was also explained not to verbally and sexually abuse his wife. He

39 SAKHI ONE STOP CENTRES IN TELANGANA gave an assurance through a written undertaking and both of them agreed to reconcile with each other. They were also advised to approach the Sakhi centre in case of any further issue in the future.

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Appendix: List of NGOs with their contact details

District OSCs Support Address Email ID Center Agency set up Name on Mitra sakhiadb.mitra@g 1-12- H.N.O 14- Adilabad Service mail.com 2017 102/1, Beside 1 Society Indoor Stadium, Kailash Nagar, Adilabad 504001 SCCl. Q No.C1, Jagruthi sakhi.bktdm@gmail 27-3- Bhadradri C2, Babu camp, .com 2019 Kothagudem opposite 2 Chuchupalli PS, Kothagudem, 507101 3 Hyderabad sakhihyderabad@d 10-7- H.No.9-1- Divya ivya disha.org 2019 Disha 127,1st & 2nd Floor, Madhava Nursing Home line, SD Road, Secunderaba d 500003 4 Jagtial sakhijgl2019@gma 1-4- Prakriti H.NO.7-1-240, il.com 2019 Environ Sriram ment Chowrsatha, Society Santhoshnagar, Jagtial 505327 5 Jangaon Bathuka MCH,2nd Floor, sakhijangaon@gmail 18-3- mma Champak Hills, .com 2019 Foundati Pasaramadla on Village, Jangaon Indira 6 Jogulamba H.No. 1-3- sakhigadwal@gmai 3-7- Priya 2019 Gadwal Darshini 75/5/6, l.com Women' Sunkaalamm s a Mettu, Welfare Jogulamba Asso. Gadwal 7 Kamareddy 1-4- H.No: 1-5- sakhikamareddy20 SIDS 19@ gmail.com 2019 442, Ramareddy Road, Opp. Vaishnavi Hospital,

A SAKHI ONE STOP CENTRES IN TELANGANA

Kamareddy 503111

8 Karimnagar sakhicentrekarim 6-12- Bhumika H.No: 2-3-189, nagar 2017 Wo Raghavendra @gmail.com me Mess n's Road, Near Old Coll PO, ecti Mukarampura, ve Karimnagar 9 Khammam SECURE Govt Main sakhikhammam@g 1-12- Hospital mail.com 2017 Premises, Khammam 507002 10 SAIDS Beside Old 11-9- KB Asifabad RTO Office, sakhiasifabad@gmai 2019 Main Road l.com KB Asifabad 504293 11 Mahabubabad SHARE 9-10- H.No.2-6- sakhioscmhbd@gm 2019 85/1, Cabin ail.com Road, Near Excellent Junior college, Mahabubaba d 12 Mahabubnagar Aman Beside Central sakhi.mbnr17@gma 1-12- Vedika Medicine il.com 2017 Stores, Govt Hospital, Mahabubagar 509001 13 Mancherial Dream sakhimncl2019@gm 1-04- 7-100, Beside Society ail.com 2019 HP Petrol Bunk, IB Road, Mancherial 504208 14 Medak Vision sakhioscmedak@g 7-10- H.No, 1-12- mail.com 2019 24/a/163 Indirapuri Colony Road no.1, Opp. MGM Park Medak 502110 15 1-04- H.No. 37- Medchal KGNMT 2019 10/9/3, Plot sakhimedchal@gmai No. 93, l.com Saketh Building,

1 SAKHI ONE STOP CENTRES IN TELANGANA

Defence Colony, Sainikpuri, Secunderaba d 500 094 16 Nagarkurnool SVK 08-03- H. No: 8-5, sakhingkl2019@gmai 2019 Beside Jam-e l.com mosque, Cheruvu road, Nagarkurnoo l 509209 17 Nalgonda Gramya 01-12- R & B [email protected] Resource 2017 Building, Centre for Prakasham Women Bazar, Old AJC Building, Nalgonda 508001 18 Nirmal SAIDS 18-05- H.No.5-13- sakhicenternirmal@g 2019 124/56, mail.com Opposite to Indian Oil Petrol Pump, Saraswathina gar, Nirmal 504 106 19 Nizamabad Sneha 01-12- Sakhi/One [email protected] Society For 2017 Stop Centre, om Rural Govt. General Reconstruc Hospital tion Premises, Nizamabad 503001 20 Peddapalli Sahaya 01-08- 1-198, SRSP sakhipeddapally@gm Welfare 2019 CAMP, Opp. ail.com Associatio New n Collectorate, Peddapalli 505172 21 Rajanna Sircilla Bhumika 01-12- H.No.6-6- [email protected] Women's 2019 125/B/4, om Collective Opp: Padmanayak a Function Hall, Vidyanagar, Rajanna Sircilla 505301

2 SAKHI ONE STOP CENTRES IN TELANGANA

22 Rangareddy Ankuram 01-12- Plot no. 177, [email protected] 2017 Rd no.6, m Vanasthali Hills, Vanasthalipu ram, Ranga Reddy Dist. 23 Sangareddy SWARD 01-12- Survey No sakhi.sangareddy@g 2017 130, Road No- mail.com 3, Vidya Nagar Colony, Pothireddypal ly, Sangareddy 502295 24 Siddipet Pragati 10-07- Old MCH sakhisiddipet181@g 2019 building 1st mail.com floor,near Buruju Siddipet 25 Suryapet Siwapriya 10-07- Community sakhisuryapet181@g Academy 2019 Hall, mail.com Jammigadda Park, Suryapet 508213 26 Vikarabad 11-07- H.No.4-1- sakhivikarabad@gma Spandana 2019 208, New il.com Society Gandhi Gunj, Bank of Baroda Lane, Vikarabad 27 Wanaparthy RDS 01-07- H.No.39-113, sakhioscwnpdist@gm 2019 Bandar ail.com Nagar Wanaparthy, 509103 28 Warangal Sarvodaya 01-12- H.No. 6-21 sakhiwarangalrural@ (Rural) Youth 2019 Sainagar gmail.com Organizati Pakal Road, on Narasmpet Warangal Rural Warangal Sarvodaya 01-12- H.No. 2-7-66, [email protected] 29 (Urban) Youth Org. 2017 Excise Colony, Beside Andhra Bank, Hanamkonda Yadadri SARP 31-1- LIG-1-208, 5- 30 Bhuvanagiri [email protected] 2020

3 SAKHI ONE STOP CENTRES IN TELANGANA

2-79 APHB om Colony, Bhongir 31 Jayashankar Kantangoo H.No.8-143/3,LB sakhicentrebhpl@gm 20-12- Bhupalpally ri Suresh Nagar,Rtc ail.com 2019 Reddy bustand Trust (KSR opposite,Bhupal Trust) pally, Jayashankar Bhupalpally District-506169 32 Narayanpet Rahul Near Amrutha sakhi181narayanpet 8- 3- Medical & sai temple, BC @gmail.com 2020 Health colony, Services Narayanpet- 509210 33 Mulugu Peace for HNO.6-68/1, KK [email protected] 31-1- All Nations Nagar, Near om 2020 Main Road, Mulugu Post, Mulugu District, Pin: 506343

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