Dilaasa crisis centres prove a haven for women facing domestic violence

Dilaasa centre follows the concept of feminist counselling

For years, Rima Chari’s life involved hospital trips, the consequence of eight childbirths and frequent visits to treat the injuries caused by her husband’s beatings.

The last time Chari (name changed), 35, came to Mumbai’s municipal-run K B Bhaba Hospital was because three fingers on her right hand were injured, and she could not work. “I fell,” was her default response when doctors asked her how she injured herself. But the doctors trained to see signs of domestic violence--injuries, fractures, poison consumption, multiple abortions and pregnancies etc--kept prodding gently till she revealed that her husband hit her with a