Exploring the role of the One Stop Crisis Centre for supporting rape victims: A study in Dhaka Medical College Hospital

Abstract

Rape is widespread in Bangladesh, and survivors often experience long-term physical, psychological, and social repercussions that are made worse by stigma and limited access to justice. The One Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) is the only government-created initiative in Bangladesh that offers rape victims one-stop assistance in different service categories, including health services, psychological counselling, legal advice, safe homes, and rehabilitation. Finding any gaps in the One Stop Crisis Centre's (OCC) service delivery is essential to effectively addressing the trauma experienced by rape victims and ensuring effective supports. Therefore, this paper investigates the role of the OCC of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) as a support centre for the rape victims in Bangladesh. Because of the sensitivity of this topic convenient sampling, purposive sampling and snowball sampling techniques were used. The study made use of qualitative techniques. To find out detailed information regarding the service delivery of the OCC, in-depth interviews (IDIs) and key-informant interviews (KIIs) were engaged as necessary research instruments In-depth Interviews were conducted on rape victims who had previously benefited from this OCC. The in-depth interviewees were questioned regarding the OCC’s service delivery, the attitude of the OCC personnel and the challenges the victims encountered.  Caregivers who worked at the OCC for more than two years were regarded as key informants in assessing the program’s implementation status. The key-informant interviewees shared their work experiences, challenges they faced during service delivery and some recommendations for the betterment of this program. The study found that this OCC was capable of providing necessary medical services, counselling, and legal assistance. However, absence of 24/7 service, equipped lab, separate counselling room were the key impediments for rape survivors. Additionally, absence of trained female counsellors, female forensic examiners, and curtains during medical examination made their privacy in question. In the area of policy implications, this study suggested that providing one Stop service would be dynamic if the authority resolved issues such as insufficient staffing, poor staff capacity building, lack of trained professionals, inadequate awareness-raising programs and so on. Despite differences of opinion of the rape victims and their caregivers at the OCC of DMCH, this research concluded that OCC’s influence in supporting rape victims is commendable.