Jalandhar, February 1- Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori on Monday inspected the Sakhi-One Stop Centre, operational in Shaheed Babu Labh Singh Civil Hospital.
Accompanied by Civil Surgeon Dr. Balwant Singh and Medical Superintendent Dr. Parminder Kaur, Deputy Commissioner visited the shelter ward, medical aid, police assistance, legal aid/case management, psychosocial counseling, and temporary support rooms in the centre.
He said that the center has proved to be a boon for the women who were facing any sort of problem and it has already provided assistance to the 380 victims of rape, domestic violence, physical and mental harassment, dowry besides others and sorted out 360 complaints through counseling.
The Deputy Commissioner further said that the victim could reach the Centre physically or over the phone. He said that this One Stop Centre provides support and assistance to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces besides safeguarding their interests in other cases like sexual exploitation, physical or mental torture and others.
Thori that in case the victim was minor the cases were solved in coordination with authorities/institutions established under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act, 2012.
He said that the basic purpose was to ensure that the rights of the victim were protected and they were able to secure justice through proper assistance by the authorities.
He said that the new building has also been integrated with the 181- women helpline of Punjab Police and the integration of the Sakhi-one stop centre with women helpline-181 will make the services more accessible to the women in distress telephonically.
On being informed by centre’s coordinator Sandeep Kaur, he said that he would write to the police department for the deployment of women sleuths in the centre.
Prominent among present included DPO Gurminder Singh Randhawa, District Child and Protection Officer Ajay Bharti, Legal Probation Officer Sandeep Kumar, Child Protection Officers Amneet Kaur, Harneet Kaur, and others.