“Sanrakshan Kendra”: An Innovative Solution to Provide Comprehensive Survivor Care

To set a precedent for how quality aftercare can be delivered in this country and to improve the standard of care that survivors of sex trafficking receive, IJM provided subject matter expertise to create a Survivor Care Centre for Trafficking Victims where young girls could receive a range of rehabilitative services in one place.

When girls are consistently supported and given access to services such as counselling, medical care and legal advice in restorative environments, they are often more stable and able to begin the process to effectively rehabilitate. However, for many girls, consistent support and access to such services is not available and this detrimental to their rehabilitation.

On 13 April 2018, the Shelter Home staff, the Woman and Child Development Office and other stakeholders joined Mr. Pravin Ghuge, Chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, as he inaugurated the newly refurbished “Sanrakshan Kendra”- the Survivor Care Centre.

The Superintendent of the Shelter Home, spoke of her delight in the transformation of the rooms, and shared her hopes for further improvements, asking those present to support her in this endeavour. Mr. Prasad Mirkale, District Officer of Mumbai Suburban, congratulated the innovative solutions of the IJM team in bridging a critical gap in the aftercare process.

The inauguration of the Sanrakshan Kendra- Survivor Care Centre is timely, just ten days after the Supreme Court issued significant directives to enforce minimum standards of care for child victims of exploitation, specifically in child care institutions and to implement individual child care plans in “letter and spirit”.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s orders, survivor aftercare is a priority and the Sanrakshan Kendra provides a quality model to act as a flagship for the social welfare system.