One Stop Centre (Haryana)

What is a One Stop Centre in Haryana?

One Stop Centre is a scheme of the Department of Women and Child Development that, in the department's words, is "intended to support women affected by violence, in private and public spaces, within the family, community and at the workplace". A One Stop Centre puts medical care, police assistance, legal aid, counselling and short-term shelter under one roof so that a woman does not have to travel between five offices while in crisis.

Haryana operates 22 One Stop Centres, covering all 22 districts of the state. The first was established in District Karnal on 31 August 2015, in the first national round of the scheme, which was launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in April 2015.

One Stop Centre is a 100 per cent centrally sponsored scheme funded under the Nirbhaya Fund. Nationally the scheme is now a component of the Sambal sub-scheme of Mission Shakti, sitting alongside Women Helpline 181, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Nari Adalat. Because the funding is fully central, no Haryana district centre is permitted to charge a woman for any service.

Who is eligible to use a One Stop Centre?

You can approach a One Stop Centre if:

• You are a woman or girl affected by violence of any form, physical, sexual, emotional, psychological or economic.
• The violence occurred at home, in public, in the community or at your workplace. The scheme covers private and public spaces alike.
• You are a girl below 18 years. The scheme explicitly covers minors, with the Child Welfare Committee involved as the law requires.
• You need help regardless of caste, class, religion, region, sexual orientation or marital status, the department states the centres serve all women without these distinctions.
• Someone else is bringing your case forward: a relative, neighbour, police officer or health worker.

Limits and who cannot be served here:

• A man cannot apply for support at a One Stop Centre. The scheme is defined for women and girls affected by violence.
• A woman seeking a cash grant or a scheme payment cannot apply at a One Stop Centre for that purpose. Centres provide services and referrals; separate Haryana schemes handle compensation for victims of sexual assault and acid attack, and the centre can point you to them.
• A woman needing shelter for more than 5 days cannot stay at the centre itself. The centre arranges a transfer to an affiliated shelter home.
• A dispute with no element of violence or threat, a purely property or service matter; is outside the centre's mandate, and staff will refer you elsewhere.

No woman may be refused for lack of documents. Support starts on arrival.

What services does a One Stop Centre provide?

According to the Haryana Women and Child Development Department, each centre provides six services, all free:

1. Emergency response and rescue: rescue from the site and referral to a medical facility, coordinated with police and the ambulance service.
2. Medical assistance; referral to a hospital for medical examination and treatment, including the medico-legal examination where a case is registered.
3. Assistance in lodging an FIR — help in getting a First Information Report registered with the police, which is where many women get stuck alone.
4. Psycho-social counselling, support by trained counsellors, for the woman and where useful for her children.
5. Legal aid and counselling; through lawyers empanelled with the centre and through the District Legal Services Authority.
6. Temporary shelter: safe accommodation for a maximum of 5 days, with arrangements made for a longer stay at an affiliated home if needed.

How to reach a One Stop Centre in Haryana

1. Dial 181, the Haryana women helpline, which runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and ask to be connected to the One Stop Centre in your district.
2. Alternatively, walk in directly to the district One Stop Centre. Centres are usually located in or near the district civil hospital or the district headquarters complex.
3. State your district and what has happened. No form, fee or identity proof is required to be admitted or heard.
4. Choose the services you want. You may take counselling and medical help without filing a police complaint; filing an FIR is an option, not a condition.
5. Ask for the case reference number the centre records for you, and the name of the case worker handling your file.
6. Keep in touch with the case worker for follow-up on the FIR, medical report or court date. The centre and helpline 181 both follow cases through to a conclusion.

A woman can also be referred to a centre by the police, a hospital, a protection officer under the domestic violence law, or a Child Welfare Committee.

What documents help, even though none are required

Common problems and how to fix them

• The centre asks for documents before admitting you. Point out that the One Stop Centre scheme requires support first, and escalate to 181 or the District Programme Officer if the refusal continues.
• The police station refuses to register the FIR. Ask the centre to assist formally; FIR assistance is one of its six mandated services, and record the refusal in writing.
• Shelter needed beyond 5 days. Ask the centre to initiate transfer to an affiliated shelter home before day 5, not on the last day.
• A fee or "expense" is demanded. Nothing is payable. The scheme is 100 per cent centrally funded under the Nirbhaya Fund. Report any demand to the District Programme Officer and to 181.
• The centre is far from your village. Call 181 first; the helpline can arrange rescue and transport rather than expecting you to travel alone.

Where to complain

• Women Helpline 181 to 24x7, free, and the fastest escalation route.
• District Programme Officer, Women and Child Development, at the district headquarters, who supervises the district One Stop Centre.
• Department of Women and Child Development, Haryana at wcdhry.gov.in, where contact details for all 22 district centres are published.
• State Resource Centre for Women, Haryana, which provides technical support to the department's women-related schemes.

One Stop Centre services are free, available to every woman and girl affected by violence in Haryana, and cannot be denied for want of a document.

How to check your case status after you have been to a One Stop Centre

A One Stop Centre does not run an "application" in the usual sense, so there is no portal login or acknowledgement number to track online. What you do have is a case reference number and a case worker's name from your visit, and these are what you use to follow up.

1. Call 181 with your case reference number ready. The Haryana women helpline is linked to the district One Stop Centre records, so the operator can pull up your case and tell you what has been done since your last contact, or connect you directly to your case worker.
2. Call or visit the centre and ask for your case worker by name. Centres keep case files for every woman they assist; the case worker is the person who knows whether the FIR has moved, whether the medical report has come back, or whether a court date has been fixed.
3. Check FIR progress at the police station where it was lodged, not at the One Stop Centre. The centre can assist and follow up on your behalf, but the FIR itself is a police record, so the investigating officer or the station's help desk is the direct source for its status.
4. Check legal aid progress through the empanelled lawyer or the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) if your case has gone that route; the centre's legal aid counsellor can also relay updates from the DLSA on your behalf if travelling there is difficult.
5. Ask specifically about your shelter transfer if you were moved from the centre's 5-day temporary stay to an affiliated shelter home; the case worker who arranged the transfer can confirm which shelter you are registered at and for how long.
6. If a case worker is unreachable or your case seems stalled, escalate to the District Programme Officer, Women and Child Development, who supervises the district centre, or raise it again through 181 for a fresh follow-up call to be logged.

There is no separate written status letter or SMS update system for One Stop Centre cases; follow-up happens through 181 and direct contact with the centre, which is why keeping your case reference number and case worker's name from your first visit matters for every later call.