NEW DELHI: With a sharp rise in crimes against women, the Saket court has started its first one-stop centre for victims of sexual offences in which they can come for appropriate legal help and advice. This centre will save the victim from the humiliation she has to go through in courts.
At the centre, women who have been sexually assaulted can not only walk in and get medical examination and counseling, but also register police cases and seek necessary legal help. The idea is to provide all facilities under one roof to encourage more women to report crimes of sexual violence.
The one-stop centre will be a dedicated comfortable area located within the court premises, in order to facilitate the best humane, psychological and medical treatment to the victims of crime both during investigation, trial and even thereafter.
There shall be a dedicated room for the purposes of counselling, recording of statement under Section 164 of CrPC along with waiting area for the victims. “A police station environment can be disconcerting. A centre at the court will be an appropriate location where women can feel comfortable, and can perhaps be better assisted,” said an official associated with the centre.
There are scenarios when women, who are stalked, molested or raped, are not willing to go to the police station. The centre will be manned by the trained counsellors from the state legal services authority and NGOs, and will also have a list of lawyers who can be contacted for help.
Such centres were recommended by the Usha Mehra commission report. The panel was constituted after the December 16 gang rape in 2012.
And 150 centres were later approved under the Nirbhaya fund. The first tier of these centres is based in the hospitals and second tier operates from the court complexes.