'One Stop Centres' for women facing physical violence

The government will establish 'One Stop Centres' (OSC) aimed at providing legal, medical and psychological support to women facing physical violence.

The money for the centrally-sponsored scheme would come from the 'Nirbhaya Fund', a statement said here on Wednesday.

These centres will be established across the country to provide integrated support and assistance under one roof to women facing physical violence, both in private and public areas in a phased manner.

In the first phase, one OSC will initially be established in each state and Union Territory to facilitate access to an integrated range of services, including medical, legal and psychological support.

The OSC will be integrated with 181 and other existing helplines. The process for setting up these centres began on April 1, 2015.

For the implementation of the scheme, guidelines have been formulated to support the stakeholders or agencies who would be involved in the implementation process. Besides guidelines for state, district and grassroot level functionaries have also been issued, the release said.