Comprehensive grievance redressal system must be established in each state: Oxfam

A UK-based confederation of 20 independent charitable organisations has called on Indian authorities to set up of a comprehensive grievance redressal system in each state to respond to women and child protection issues.

The call by Oxfam, which focusses on alleviation of global poverty, came after cases of sexual abuse of minor girls at shelter homes were uncovered in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Oxfam said it was evident that there was absence of a coordination and accountability mechanism between different departments in the two states.

It said survivors should receive psychological counseling and medical support. The government must ensure safety and provide protection to minor survivors and witnesses.

"Regular social audits of the shelter homes and the schemes under which it functions must be conducted by an independent body," it said in a statement.

The issue of sexual abuse of minor girls first made headlines in April after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences submitted its audit report of shelter homes in Bihar to the state social welfare department. It raised the possibility of sexual abuse of girls at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur in Bihar, which was later confirmed by their medical examination.

The second case came to light this week, when 24 girls were rescued from one of these homes in Deoria in Uttar Pradesh amid allegations of their sexual exploitation.