THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the brutal Delhi rape in 2012, the UDF Government had set an example for the entire country by opening Nirbhaya Home, the first-ever government-run home for rape victims.
Now, three years later, the Oommen Chandy dispensation has demonstrated that mere lip service is not enough to sustain an exemplary project. Kerala Mahila Samkhya Society runs eight Nirbhaya homes for the government in various parts of the state, and together they lodge 250 victims.
But for the last three months, these homes have not been granted their monthly allowances. Staff salaries have not been paid and medical and transportation bills of inmates are met by the senior staff from their own pockets. As for the provision bills, the home authorities take it on credit from understanding provision stores nearby.
It is not as if the state pays a fat sum for the upkeep of these traumatised girls, mostly teenagers. The monthly allowance is '2,000 per victim. "At times, we have found that it is not enough to even meet the medical expenses of a girl," a top Social Justice Department official said.
In 2015 alone, 19 inmates had given birth. There were eight abortions, too. One of the girls is a cancer patient; one round of chemotherapy alone costs '25,000. Seven of them are mentally challenged.
Nearly 70 per cent of the inmates are said to suffer from some ophthalmological issues. And all are emotionally disturbed, needing expert psychiatric care. The homes, however, have the service of a part-time legal counsellor and clinical psychologist.
It is also important, considering their fragile health, not to be close-fisted when it comes to providing nutrient-rich food. Then there are crucial transportation bills, to take the girls to schools, colleges and courts.
The home has nine staff members including two security personnel, a cook, and a cleaning woman. The security is paid a salary of Rs 5,000 per month. “With the staff salary being too low, none of the recruits stay long causing severe adjustment problems for inmates,” the official said.
