The psychological trauma of a battered woman is greater than the physical pain she undergoes in the aftermath of her being subjected to atrocities. So, it is absolutely unconditional that all those involved in advancing her medico-legal support are sensitised, the Health Minister stated. (Read In Hindi: 'बलात्कार पीड़ित महिलाओं के साथ संवेदनशील हों अस्पताल')

Dr. Harsh Vardhan stressed this at a function of NGO representatives, health workers, officials and other professionals organized at a city hotel to mark the launch of a 'One Stop Crisis Centre' (OSCC) under the aegis of the Jai Prakash Hospital, Bhopal to provide support, care, treatment, security and legal advice to women who have been subjected to atrocities. It is the country’s first single window service set up as part of the Madhya Pradesh government’s 'Gauravi' Mahila Samman Evang Sangrakshan Abhiyaan.

The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Hindi film industry star Aamir Khan were present on the occasion, along with the Minister for Health, MP, Dr. Narottam Mishra, Minister for Women and Child Development Maya Singh, and the Minister of State, Health Sharad Jain. All those present agreed that the setting up of the OSCC would bring about a cultural shift to engender a culture of action replacing the culture of silence and apathy which prevails today.

The Health Minister said, 'Under the Indian system a battered woman’s greatest agony often begins in the police station or in the hospital because of callousness and insensitivity on the part of those responsible for her quest for justice and rehabilitation. I am sure that establishing more OSCC facilities will go a long way to ending this system.'

The Madhya Pradesh government has been partnered in this endeavour by two reputed non-government organisations in the area of training doctors, counsellors and other personnel at the OSCC. More such centres are being planned across the state in the near future.

'I have personally interacted with the families of rape victims and seen their suffering at the hands of an insensitive system. During the first few hours following a rape, the protocol for giving medico legal assistance is callously broken. As most of the victims are from poor backgrounds, they and their families are often not in a position to demand that the rules are adhered to. Most often they are not even aware of the protocol established under the law,' the Minister said.