Haryana Government has approved a scheme namely ‘Swadhar Greh’ with an aim to create supportive institutional framework for women victims of difficult circumstances so that they could lead their life with dignity and conviction.
Haryana Women and Child Development Minister Kavita Jain on Sunday said that the scheme envisages that shelter, food, clothing and health as well as economic and social security are assured for such women. It also aims that the special needs of these women are properly taken care of and under no circumstances, they should be left unattended or abandoned which could lead to their exploitation and desolation. Under the scheme, Swadhar Greh would be set up in every district with capacity of 30 women to cater to the primary need of shelter, food, clothing, medical treatment and care of the women in distress and who are without any social and economic support.
These Swadhar Grehs would enable them to regain their emotional strength that gets hampered due to their encounter with unfortunate circumstances and provide them with legal aid and guidance to enable them to take steps for their readjustment in family or society. These would rehabilitate them economically and emotionally and act as a support system that understands and meets various requirements of women in distress, said Jain.
The Minister said that for big cities and other districts having more than 40 lakh population or those districts where there is a need for additional support to the women, more than one Swadhar Greh could be established. The capacity of Swadhar Greh could be expanded up to 50 or 100 on the basis of need assessment and other important parameters, she added.
Jain said that the benefit of the component could be availed by women above 18 years of age. The scheme envisages to cover those women who are deserted and are without any social and economic support, women survivors of natural disasters who have been rendered homeless and are without any social and economic support, women prisoners released from jail and are without family, social and economic support, women victims of domestic violence, family tension or discord, who are made to leave their homes without any means of subsistence and have no special protection from exploitation and/ or facing litigation on account of marital disputes and trafficked women or girls rescued or runaway from brothels or other places where they face exploitation and women affected by HIV/AIDS who do not have any social or economic support.
Jain added that while women affected by domestic violence could stay up to one year, for other categories of women, the maximum period of stay could be up to three years. Similarly, the older women above the 55 years of age may be accommodated for maximum period of five years after which they will have to shift to old age homes or similar institutions.
The Minister added that various agencies or organizations could seek assistance under the Scheme to run these Swadhar Grehs.