Thiruvananthapuram: The State’s Nirbhaya Cell will open an Integrated Care Centre for pregnant sexual abuse victims in the first week of May. The Centre will have adequate support staff, and will be regularly visited by physicians, gynaecologists and counsellors. There will be just one ICC for the state. Further, the Cell will also open its first after-care home in the middle of May for Nirbhaya victims. The after-care home will work as a buffer area when the victims will be lodged before they are mainstreamed or sent out into the world to fend for themselves.
Right now, there are 12 pregnant victims in the various Nirbhaya homes across the state, all of whom will be shifted to the ICC. The mother and child will remain in the ICC for some more time. “If the victim is so traumatised that she does not want to keep the child, the surrendered child will be immediately shifted to the Child Welfare Council for adoption. The victim will continue in the Centre till she is mentally and physically fit. Lot of changes take place in a woman, especially if she is physically and psychologically scarred. Therefore, the time required for the victim to become normal after pregnancy will depend on the individual. It might take something between a month to a year,” said R Nishanthini, the IPS official who is the state coordinator for the State Nirbhaya Cell. “If the victim decides to keep the child, the mother and child will remain in the Centre for three years after pregnancy,” Ms Nishanthini said.
What happens now is that these pregnant women are accommodated in the stifling crowded conditions of the existing homes where they cannot be
given special treatment. Ms Nishanthini said that she was also trying to
get “corporate facilities” for these pregnant women at ICC. The SAT Hospital has been providing good care to Nirbhaya home victims. However, the heavy rush at the public hospital could also pose some security problems for these women.
An after care home has become important because Nirbhaya inmates who have grown into adults have started taking up jobs. “Now that they have become independent they should ideally be mainstreamed. But there are issues like security and even the mental health of the inmates that should be addressed before sending them out. That is where an after care home comes into play,” Ms Nishanthini said.
