The Indian government has decided to set up one-stop centres (OSC) across 10 missions in nine countries in order to assist Indian women facing violence, distress or any kind of issues while travelling abroad or living in a foreign nation. The OSCs will be set up by the Ministry of External Affairs, and will be operated with the support of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Through these OSCs, Indian women can reach out for legal, medical and emotional support when faced with any kind of violence or assault.
“One OSC each will be established in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, in the UAE, Australia, Canada and Singapore, while two will be established in Saudi Arabia,” a senior official with the Ministry of Women and Child Development revealed.
The official also stated that 300 OSCs will also be opened across the length and breadth of India. While there are OSCs across the various states of India, which work to provide support to survivors of rape and assault, the Ministry of Women and Child Development is looking to increase their numbers and provide additional support to minor survivors of rape through the Nirbhaya Fund. These OSCs will focus on minor survivors who have been abandoned by their families, or are pregnant. A corpus of ₹74 crore will be set aside to provide need-based assistance in such cases, a senior official with the ministry revealed.