**Executive Summary**
This report details the legislative and policy interventions by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to ensure women’s safety, primarily through the "Mission Shakti" umbrella scheme. It highlights the reduction in spousal violence based on NFHS-5 data and outlines the operational status of support systems as of March 2026. Key actions include the mandatory appointment of Protection Officers by State Governments and the utilization of the newly launched Mission Shakti Portal for transparent service delivery.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Legislative Framework and Jurisdictional Responsibilities**
* **PWDVA 2005:** Enacted to provide civil remedies (protection, residence, and custody orders) to prevent domestic violence, aligned with Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Constitution.
* **Constitutional Mandate:** Under the Seventh Schedule, "Police" and "Public Order" are State subjects; therefore, State Governments and UT Administrations are responsible for the investigation and prosecution of crimes against women.
* **Protection Officers:** States/UTs are legally mandated under Section 8 of the PWDVA to appoint Protection Officers in every district to assist Magistrates and report domestic violence cases.
**Mission Shakti: Sambal Vertical (Safety and Security)**
* **One Stop Centres (OSC):** 926 centres are operational nationwide, providing integrated services including medical aid, legal counsel, temporary shelter, and psycho-social counselling. As of December 2025, OSCs have assisted over 13.37 lakh women.
* **Women Helpline (WHL-181):** A 24-hour toll-free service operational in 35 States/UTs, integrated with the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112). It has assisted over 99.09 lakh women as of February 2026.
**Mission Shakti: Samarthya Vertical (Empowerment and Rehabilitation)**
* **Shakti Sadan:** An integrated relief and rehabilitation home formed by merging the Swadhar Greh and Ujjawala schemes. There are 416 operational Sadans providing a safe environment for victims of trafficking and domestic violence.
* **Nari Adalat:** A gram panchayat-level platform for alternative grievance redressal, focusing on resolving gender-based violence through negotiation, mediation, and mutual reconciliation.
**Digital Initiatives and Transparency**
* **Mission Shakti Portal:** Launched on January 22, 2025, to improve service delivery transparency. It includes a multi-lingual mobile application.
* **Public Database:** The portal provides a publicly accessible list of Protection Officers; as of March 23, 2026, details for 2,428 officers have been updated by States and UTs.
**Impact Analysis**
**Women in Distress**
* **Impact:** They gain access to 24/7 emergency telecommunication support, integrated medical/legal services under one roof, and localized mediation services at the panchayat level.
* **Action Required:** Utilize the WHL-181 helpline, visit One Stop Centres for immediate relief, or access the Mission Shakti Portal/App to find local Protection Officers.
**State Governments and UT Administrations**
* **Impact:** They hold the primary responsibility for maintaining law and order and implementing central schemes at the district level.
* **Action Required:** Must appoint a sufficient number of Protection Officers, notify their jurisdictions, and ensure their contact details are updated and maintained on the Mission Shakti Portal.
**Protection Officers**
* **Impact:** These individuals serve as the critical link between victims and the judiciary, tasked with reporting domestic violence to Magistrates.
* **Action Required:** Exercise conferred powers to assist Magistrates in discharging functions and ensure all domestic violence complaints are documented and reported.
Key Entities Referenced
Mission Shakti: An umbrella scheme providing integrated services for the safety, protection, and empowerment of women through its two verticals, Sambal and Samarthya.
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005: A central legislation enacted to protect women from domestic violence, providing civil remedies and mandating the appointment of Protection Officers.
One Stop Centre (OSC): A component of Mission Shakti that provides integrated support including medical aid, legal assistance, and temporary shelter to women affected by violence.
Women Helpline (WHL-181): A 24-hour toll-free telecommunication service providing emergency and non-emergency support and information on government schemes to women.
Nari Adalat: A scheme providing a platform for alternative grievance redressal, negotiation, and mediation for women's issues at the gram panchayat level.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Government gives highest priority to ensuring
safety and security of women and has taken
several legislative and policy interventions
Under Mission Shakti, integrated services are provided for
safety, protection and empowerment of women
Women Helpline (WHL-181) provides 24-hour toll-free
telecommunication services to support women
Nari Adalat scheme provides platform for alternative
grievance redressal for women at gram panchayat level
Posted On: 27 MAR 2026 12:09PM by PIB Delhi
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes data on crimes, including crimes
against women, in its publication “Crime in India”, which provides detailed State-wise and category-wise
statistics is available on the NCRB’s official website (https://ncrb.gov.in).
The latest report of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), provides data for the period 2019-2021,
which reveals that the percentage of ever-married women aged 18-49 years who have ever experienced
spousal violence (physical and/ or sexual violence) has reduced to 29.3% as compared to 31.2% reported
in NFHS-4 for the period 2015-2016.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005 has been enacted keeping in view
the rights guaranteed under Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India to provide for a remedy
under the civil law which is intended to protect the women from being victims of domestic violence and to
prevent the occurrence of domestic violence in the society.
“Police” and “Public Order” are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.
The responsibility to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens including
investigation and prosecution in crimes against women and children rests with the respective State
Governments and UT Administrations; they are competent to deal with such offences under the extant
provisions of laws.
Nevertheless, the Central Government gives highest priority to ensuring safety and security of women and
has taken several legislative and policy interventions. Section 8 of the Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005 mandates the States and UTs to appoint such number of
Protection Officers in each district as it may consider necessary and also to notify the area(s) within whicha Protection Officer shall exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred. It is the duty of the
Protection Officer to report the cases of domestic violence to the Magistrate upon receipt of complaints
and to assist the Magistrate in the discharge of his functions. The PWDVA provides to women remedies
such as protection order, residence order, custody order, monetary relief and compensation order under it.
Under the umbrella scheme Mission Shakti, integrated services are provided for safety, protection and
empowerment of women through its two verticals; Sambal and Samarthya. One Stop Centre (OSC) is a
component of the Sambal vertical that provides integrated and immediate support and assistance under
one roof to women affected by violence and those in distress, both in private and public spaces all across
the country. It provides services like medical aid, legal aid and advice, temporary shelter, police assistance
and psycho-social counselling to needy women. As on date, 926 One Stop Centres have been made
operational across the country. Till 31st December 2025, OSCs have assisted over 13.37 lakh women in
the country.
Women Helpline (WHL-181) provides 24-hour toll-free telecommunication services to support women in
both emergency and non-emergency situations. It offers assistance to women affected by violence and
provides information about government schemes and services all across the country. Women Helpline is
operational in 35 States and Union Territories and also integrated with Emergency Response Support
System (ERSS-112). Till 28th February 2026, WHLs have assisted over 99.09 lakh women in the country.
Nari Adalat scheme provides a platform for alternative grievance redressal for women at the gram
panchayat level. The Adalats are mandated to help women in distress at the panchayat level in resolving
smaller issues relating to domestic violence and other gender-based violence by negotiation, mediation
and reconciliation with mutual consent for accessible justice.
Under the Samarthya vertical of Mission Shakti, Shakti Sadan has been established as an Integrated Relief
and Rehabilitation Home for women in distress, including victims of trafficking and domestic violence. It
has been formed by merging the earlier schemes of Swadhar Greh and Ujjawala. It aims at creating a safe
and enabling environment for the women in difficult situations, to enable them to overcome the adverse
circumstances. As on 23.03.2026, 416 Shakti Sadans are operational across the country.
In order to strengthen transparency and accessibility in service delivery with respect to reliefs and
rehabilitation to women in distress, the Ministry of WCD launched Mission Shakti Portal
(https://missionshakti.wcd.gov.in/) on 22.01.2025. The Mission Shakti Portal data is now accessible via
the Mission Shakti Mobile Application with multi lingual feature thereby expanding outreach and
convenience for users. The Portal provides a publicly accessible list of Protection Officers under the
PWDVA. As on 23.03.2026, details of 2,428 Protection Officers have been updated by States and UTs.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Women and Child Development Smt. Savitri
Thakur in Lok Sabha in reply to a question.
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SS
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