Courtesy: Central Bureau of Communication X account. One Stop Centres (OSC), also known as Sakhi Centres, are district‑level hubs that give women facing violence or distress a single, safe doorway to multiple essential services—medical care, police assistance, legal aid, temporary shelter, and psycho‑social counselling—under one roof. Launched in 2015 under the Ministry of Women and Child Development and now a core component of the Sambal vertical of Mission Shakti, OSCs aim to ensure that no survivor has to run from office to office to seek help.
What Are One Stop Centres?
One Stop Centres are government‑supported facilities meant to assist women affected by any form of violence—physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, or economic—in both private and public spaces, including the family, workplace, and community. Women facing domestic violence, sexual assault, attempted rape, trafficking, honour‑related crimes, acid attacks, or similar offences can approach these centres directly or be referred by police, hospitals, helplines, or community workers.
The scheme was launched in 2015 under the Nirbhaya Fund to create a dedicated institutional response to gender‑based violence, and has since been integrated into Mission Shakti as the “mainstay” of its Sambal (safety and security) sub‑scheme. Services are generally provided free of cost, and many centres are co‑located with or linked to hospitals and district administration complexes for quick coordination.
Integrated Services Under One Roof
The central idea of OSCs is integration: survivors can access emergency and non‑emergency services in one place instead of navigating multiple departments. Key support elements typically include:
- Medical aid: Immediate first aid, assistance in getting medico‑legal examinations, and referral to hospitals for further treatment.
- Police assistance: A police desk or close coordination with local police to help survivors file FIRs, record statements, and trigger protection mechanisms.
- Legal aid: Access to legal counsellors or linkage with Legal Services Authorities for advice, documentation, and representation in court proceedings.
- Temporary shelter: Short‑term safe accommodation for women (and often their children) when it is unsafe to return home.
- Psycho‑social counselling: Professional counselling to address trauma, anxiety, and depression, and to help survivors make informed decisions about their future.
By bringing these services together, OSCs reduce delays, duplication, and the emotional burden of repeatedly narrating traumatic experiences to different agencies.
Who Can Access OSC Support?
OSCs are intended for all women and girls affected by violence, regardless of age, caste, class, religion, marital status, education level, or location. Many state guidelines explicitly mention that even girls below 18 years can be supported, often in coordination with Child Welfare Committees and child protection systems.
Women can approach an OSC in person, through a women’s helpline, via police or hospital referrals, or through community‑based workers such as ASHAs and Anganwadi workers. Migrant women, women with disabilities, and those facing workplace harassment or cyber‑violence are also within the ambit of services, making OSCs a broad safety net for diverse forms of abuse.
Institutional Framework And Mission Shakti
Under Mission Shakti, OSCs sit at the core of the Sambal sub‑scheme, which focuses on women’s safety and security across India. They are meant to function as convergence points linking police, health, legal services, social welfare, and women’s departments so that responses to violence are coordinated instead of fragmented.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development provides overall guidelines and funding, while states and districts handle implementation, staffing, and local partnerships. Recent government data indicates that hundreds of OSCs—over 800 centres—are now operational across the country, covering nearly all districts and some additional locations with high case loads.
Impact On Survivors And Communities
For individual survivors, OSCs can be the difference between silent suffering and structured support, as they offer confidential, survivor‑centric care that addresses immediate safety, legal rights, and emotional recovery. The presence of a single, known centre in each district simplifies help‑seeking and can encourage more women to come forward, especially when linked with awareness campaigns and helplines.
At the community and institutional level, OSCs help standardise responses to gender‑based violence by training staff, creating protocols, and building inter‑departmental coordination. Over time, this can strengthen trust in formal systems, reduce impunity for offenders, and reinforce the message that violence against women is a public concern with clear, accessible pathways to justice and support.
