Minister Acharya stresses better service by women's shelters

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, June 27: Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Surendra Raj Acharya has stressed the need for improving the quality of services offered by the shelter homes to ensure justice and empowerment to the women and children seeking shelter there.

Speaking at the inaugural event of the first national conference on women’s shelters on Sunday, Minister Acharya said that women's shelters should expand their work beyond curative efforts of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and focus on adopting preventive measures. 

The three-day first national conference on women’s shelters for victims/survivors of gender-based violence in Nepal began on Sunday in Kathmandu.

Kamala Parajuli, Chairperson of the National Women Commission, said that the shelters played an instrumental role in rebuilding the lives of women and girls affected by domestic and gender-based violence. 

“Shelters are supporting survivor women and girls to raise their voices against the violence they faced. Different organisations are providing shelter services to violence-affected women and girls. 

The government should take responsibility for the shelters being run by other organisations,” Parajuli added. 

Dr Arzu Rana Deuba, a Member of the Parliament, said that the shelters should focus on encompassing the preventive measures rather than providing support to survivors of gender-based violence. 

"Cases managed by women’s shelters, data, and other evidence at the shelters should be used to inform policies in the prevention of gender-based violence. As a lawmaker and women's rights activist, I am committed to improving policies related to shelters and strengthening the monitoring and regulation of shelter services," she said. 

Bandana Rana, UN CEDAW Committee Member and the co-founder and former chair of the Global Network of Women Shelters, said that the conference would provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to celebrate achievements, reflect on challenges, and learn from each other. Won Young Hong, Country Representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Nepal, said that violence against women and children are still too high across the world.

She further said that the shelters provide the most important services to the survivors of violence. 

“Shelter serves the women who face the unbearable impact of violence and have no other safe places to go. The shelter saves the lives of women and children,” she added. 

Sajani Amatya, President of Saathi, expressed the hope that the conference would contribute to providing policy direction for making women’s shelters more inclusive and responsive to the needs of women and children seeking refuge.

As part of the event, survivors of Shakti Samuha performed a dance depicting the plight of gender-based violence. Women survivors also shared their stories and experiences, highlighting how their lives were transformed after seeking refuge in shelters.

The conference aims to foster collaboration and coordination among shelter operators, enhance the quality of services, establish uniform shelter policies, and facilitate shared learning. 

Around 150 participants, shelter operators, gender experts, GBV survivors, psychosocial counsellors, and representatives from the provincial and local government are participating in the conference.