NCW orders inspection of govt-run Swadhar Grehs amid reports of sexual exploitation

The National Commission for Women today said it has ordered inspection of all 559 government-run Swadhar Grehs following reports of sexual abuse of inmates at some of these shelter homes.

"The NCW is going to inspect all 559 Swadhar homes. To start with we will go to six states. It is not just to see the condition of women living in these homes but also to work for their rehabilitation and how we can make them self reliant," NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma said.

An NCW official said the six states are Bihar, Karnataka, Mizoram, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The development comes after 11 girls last month went missing from 'Swadhar Greh', the shelter home run by the NGO of prime accused Brajesh Thakur in the infamous Muzaffarpur girls' shelter home rape case, she said.

Another case was the recent deaths of two women under mysterious circumstances at a shelter home in Patna in Bihar that prompted the NCW to order inspection of all Swadhar Grehs (shelter homes), the official said.

In Deoria in Uttar Pradesh, 24 girls were rescued allegedly from sexual abuse and 18 are still missing, while in Pratapgarh, 26 girls were reported missing.

Following these reports, the NCW constituted a three-member committee today to inquire into the working of all shelter homes run under the Swadhar Greh Scheme of the Women and Child Development Ministry and action taken by authorities, the official said.

The Swadhar Greh Scheme was launched by the government for women victims of difficult circumstances who are in need of institutional support for rehabilitation.

The inspection would include interacting with inmates of Swadhar Grehs, authorities concerned, officials and non-officials, and other such persons as considered necessary to ascertain facts and to finalise its findings and make recommendations, the official said.

The inspection of the shelter homes, in the six states, will be completed within 45 days, she said.