Ensure Immediate Protection and Safe Shelter for Women Facing Domestic Violence

For a woman experiencing violence at home, asking for help can be one of the most difficult decisions she ever makes.

She may leave with little more than the clothes she is wearing. She may have children with her. She may have no money, no safe relative nearby and nowhere else to stay.

At that moment, help should be easy to find. But reaching a police station, helpline, hospital or government office does not always mean that a safe place will immediately be available.

A woman should never have to choose between sleeping somewhere unsafe and returning to a home where she fears further violence.

Emergency protection must work when it is needed most. We are asking the Government of Maharashtra and the concerned Women and Child Development authorities to strengthen the system of immediate assistance available to women experiencing domestic violence.

Women seeking protection should be able to quickly access information about nearby safe shelters, protection officers, counselling services, legal assistance and emergency support.

Where shelter is required, there should be a clear and practical referral process so that a woman is not sent from one office to another while already in distress.

Support should also take into account women who arrive with children, women who do not have independent income, women with disabilities and women who may not have personal documents immediately available.

Helplines and authorities should have updated information about available services so that people seeking help are not given numbers that do not work or sent to facilities that cannot assist them.

Police, hospitals, protection officers, shelters and relevant government departments should be able to coordinate with one another when urgent protection is required.

This petition is not asking authorities to interfere unnecessarily in family matters. It is asking for something much more basic:

When a woman says she is not safe at home, there should be a functioning system ready to help her reach safety. No woman should remain in a dangerous situation simply because she does not know where she can go that night.

Please sign this petition to support stronger emergency protection and safe shelter services for women facing domestic violence in Maharashtra.