Dhwani Crisis Hotline
The hotline has a 24-hour, toll-free number (044-43111143/1800 102 7282) that survivors of intimate partner violence, family violence, burn violence, their families and caregivers can dial into during an emergency to access immediate and timely help as well as follow-up and referrals services that provide information to meet the needs of survivors at various stages of the recovery and rehabilitative process. The hotline serves as a critical resource for women and queer individuals affected by violence to safely access information, discuss their situations, recognize patterns of abuse and seek emotional and physical support especially given the conspiracy of silence and shame that surrounds violence within the home.
The platform enables the creation of a database of relevant stakeholders who have a role to play in providing support for domestic violence and burn survivors. Starting with Tamil Nadu, the network will be expanded to other states in subsequent phases. This will allow the survivors and their families to connect and interact with various stakeholders in the domestic violence and burn support infrastructure such as medical service providers, civil society organizations, legal representatives etc. It will provide information on rehabilitation, available government schemes, legal know-how, training and job opportunities amongst other things.
UN Women (UNW) has partnered with International Foundation of Crime Prevention and Victim care (PCVC) to strengthen the continuation of service provision and operations to gender based violence survivors and vulnerable women, including shelters, psycho-social counselling, and legal support in the State of Tamil Nadu. A Directory on Government and Non-Government organizations that provide support to the domestic violence survivors in Tamil Nadu is publsihed.
The purpose for this directory will be to ensure effective co-ordination among various stakeholders who have set of services for domestic violence survivors. The directory includes support services provided by Government institutions and civil society organizations. The Government institutions include District social welfare office, Protection officer, One stop centres, District mental health program, and All women police stations. These organizations are arranged district-wise so that a person interested in availing information about a particular district can get the same at one place.
Trained and experienced counsellors will provide empathetic, non-judgmental and solution-focused support that will help explore the options available to women. These include:
Telephone crisis counselling & support
Risk assessment & safety planning
Rescue services
Emergency transport and accommodation referrals
Referrals to emergency shelters
Legal and medical referrals
Options for in-person counselling
Support for filing police cases
Interfacing with law enforcement
Interfacing with protection officers under the Domestic Violence Act
Specialized services for children
