Swadhar Greh

In 1969, by the then Department of Social Welfare introduced a social defence mechanism for recognizing the need to prevent women from exploitation and to support their survival and rehabilitation, the scheme of Short Stay Home for women and girls.

The scheme is meant to provide temporary accommodation, maintenance and rehabilitative services to women and girls rendered homeless due to family discord, crime, violence, mental stress, social ostracism or are being forced into prostitution and are in moral danger.

Another scheme with the similar objectives was launched by the Department of Women and Child Development in 2001- 02 namely Swadhar –A Scheme for Women in Difficult Circumstances. The scheme through the provisions of shelter, food, clothing, counselling, training, clinical and legal aid aims to rehabilitate such women in difficult circumstance.

Objectives:

Swadhar Greh will be set up in every district with capacity of 30 women with the following objectives under the Scheme:

• 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.
• To enable them to regain their emotional strength that gets hampered due to their encounter with unfortunate circumstances.
• To provide them with legal aid and guidance to enable them to take steps for their readjustment in family/society.
• To rehabilitate them economically and emotionally.
• To act as a support system that understands and meets various requirements of women in distress.
• To enable them to start their life afresh with dignity and conviction.

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.

Beneficiaries

The benefit of the component could be availed by women above 18 years of age of the following categories:

• 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/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. However such women/ girls should first seek assistance under UJJAWALA Scheme in areas where it is in operation.

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 3 years. The older women above the 55 years of age may be accommodated for maximum period of 5 years after which they will have to shift to old age homes or similar institutions.

Swadhar Greh facilities could also be availed by the children accompanying women in the above categories. Girls up to the age of 18 years and boys up to the age of 8 years would be allowed to stay in the Swadhar Greh with their mothers. (Boys of more than 8 years of age need to be shifted to the Children Homes run under JJ Act/ICPS.)

Implementing Agencies and Eligibility criteria 

Any of the following agencies/organizations can seek assistance under the Scheme:

• State Government agencies including Women Development Corporations established by the State Governments
• Central or State autonomous bodies.
• Municipal Bodies
• Cantonment Boards
• Panchayati Raj Institutions and Co-operative institutions
• Departments of Women and Child Development/Social Welfare of the State Governments which may construct SwadharGreh and run them on their own or lease them to organization(s) having requisite experience for such period as deemed fit, for managing the operations under this scheme
• Public Trusts registered under any law for the time being in force
• Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) such as NGOs etc. having proven track record of working in the fields of women’s welfare/social welfare/ women’s education subject to the condition that such organization is registered under the Indian Societies Registration Act, 1860 or any relevant State Act;

The organization – Public Trusts and CSOs should meet the following criteria:

It should be either recognized by the State/ UT Administration under existing Scheme/law or should be well known with the experience of working in the field for at least 3 years and its work should be reported to be satisfactory by the State Government/Union Territory Administration concerned,

It should ordinarily have been engaged in the field of women’s welfare/social welfare/women’s education for a minimum period of two years prior to the request for grant-in-aid under the scheme,

It should have facilities, resources, personnel and experience to undertake the management of such a project,

Its financial position should be sound to take care of expenditure for a few months in case the grant is delayed.

It should run the SwadharGreh on a no – profit basis.

The organization should have facilities like computers, internet connection etc. at Swadhar Greh.