Swadhar Scheme

Recognizing the need to prevent women from exploitation and to support their survival and rehabilitation, the scheme of Short Stay Home (SSH) for women and girls was introduced as a social defence mechanism, by the Department of Women and Child Development in 1969.

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 being forced into prostitution and in moral danger.

There are 337 SHHs functioning in the country. Another scheme with the similar objectives namely Swadhar – A Scheme for Women in Difficult Circumstances was launched by the Department of Women and Child Development in 2001-02. The scheme through the provisions of shelter, food, clothing, counseling, trainings, clinical and legal aid aims to rehabilitate such women in difficult circumstance. As on 20.01.2012, there are 322 swadhar homes across the country.

Swadhar Greh: As the target group and the objectives of both the short stay homes and swadhar schemes were similar, these have been merged to a new scheme ‘Swadhar Greh’, with revised financial norms, in order to reach out to those women who are victims of difficult circumstances and are in need of institutional support for rehabilitation, so that they could lead their life with dignity. Financial assistance under each component of the scheme will be provided to the implementing agencies so that the day to day requirement of the inmates of the home could be fulfilled.

The scheme aims to set up a Swadhar Greh in every district.

Objectives

• To cater to the primary need of shelter, food,clothing, medical treatment and care of the women in distress 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

Target Group

• Women who are deserted and are without any family support
• Widow survivors of natural disaster who have been rendered homeless and are without any social and economic support
• Women affected by HIV/AIDS
• 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
• Trafficked women/girls rescued or runaway from brothels or other places where they face exploitation. However, such women/girls should first seek assistance under Ujjawala Scheme in areas where it is in operation