One Stop Centre vs Shakti Sadan vs 181 Helpline: Which Should You Use?

Use the 181 Women Helpline to make first contact from any phone, walk into or get referred to a One Stop Centre (Sakhi) for on-the-spot medical, police, legal and counselling help plus up to five days' shelter, and go to a Shakti Sadan when you need weeks or months of residential rehabilitation. All three sit under the Ministry of Women and Child Development's Mission Shakti umbrella, which is why they blur together, but they do different jobs. This article separates them; the One Stop Centre (Sakhi) guide covers that service in full.

The core distinction

Service	What it is	Best for
181 Women Helpline	24x7 phone short-code (Sambal vertical)	First contact, information, connecting to police/OSC/hospital
One Stop Centre (Sakhi)	Physical centre, integrated services under one roof	Medical, police, legal aid, counselling, short-stay shelter (up to 5 days)
Shakti Sadan	Residential relief-and-rehabilitation home	Long-term shelter, destitute and trafficked women

The 181 helpline is a component of the Sambal sub-scheme, as is the One Stop Centre; Shakti Sadan sits under the Samarthya sub-scheme. According to the Ministry, Shakti Sadan merged the erstwhile Swadhar Greh and Ujjawala schemes into a single integrated relief and rehabilitation home.

One Stop Centre vs 181 Women Helpline

These two are partners, not rivals. 181 is the door: a free, 24-hour phone line that a woman dials to report distress, ask about her options, or be connected to the police, a hospital or the nearest One Stop Centre. The One Stop Centre is where the actual services happen in person, the medical referral, the FIR help, the legal counsellor, the counselling session, the safe bed for a few nights. In practice you often use both: call 181 first, and it routes you to a Sakhi centre. In an immediate life-threatening emergency, dial 112 rather than 181.

One Stop Centre vs Shakti Sadan

The dividing line is how long you need to stay. A One Stop Centre offers short-stay shelter, generally up to five days, alongside its medical, police and legal services. When a woman needs longer, because home is not safe, or she has been trafficked and needs rehabilitation — the centre refers her onward to a Shakti Sadan, which provides longer residential care, recovery and reintegration support. Shakti Sadan is not a walk-in emergency service; it is reached through the district administration or a referral, often from a One Stop Centre itself.

Can you use more than one?

Yes, and the system is built for exactly that hand-off. A single woman can, in one crisis: dial 181, be taken to a One Stop Centre for medical aid, an FIR and counselling, stay there for a few nights, and then be referred to a Shakti Sadan for longer rehabilitation. These are sequential stages of one continuum, not competing schemes you must choose between. Using one does not disqualify you from another.

Which should you use first?

Start from your situation:

1. Need help right now, from a phone? Dial 181 (or 112 for an immediate emergency). It connects you onward.
2. Need medical, police, legal or counselling help and maybe a few nights' shelter? Go to or get referred to a One Stop Centre.
3. Need weeks or months of a safe place to live and rebuild? A Shakti Sadan, usually via a One Stop Centre or district referral.

Related numbers

Situation	Dial
Woman in distress or facing violence	181
Immediate emergency	112
Child in need of care and protection	1098

Workplace sexual harassment has a separate route: file online through SHe-Box (shebox.wcd.gov.in).

Every one of these services is free. No One Stop Centre, Shakti Sadan or 181 operator may charge a woman a fee; if anyone asks for money or bank details, report it to the District Programme Officer. For the full list of One Stop Centre services and how to reach one, see the parent guide.