This report is based on the experience of establishing a comprehensive health care response to sexual assault at three public hospitals in Mumbai, in collaboration with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. CEHAT is the first institution in India to have directly engaged with the public health sector to develop a model to respond to sexual assault. The model includes development and implementation of a gender sensitive examination proforma, operationalization of informed consent and provision of medical care along with crisis intervention services. The report presents ways in which such a model can be run within the existing resources of the hospital.

The report presents ways in which health professionals were equipped to provide emergency health care, recognize voluntary reporting by survivors to hospitals and document sexual assault related findings sensitively. The model also empowered health providers to formulate medical opinion and interpret negative medical findings. The report also presents profile of survivors and challenges faced by them in reporting sexual assault. Analysis of case records and medical records of survivors throws light on the dynamics of sexual violence, nature of health consequences and limitations of medical evidence - which have not been studied to a great extent in the Indian context. Specific recommendations for different agencies such as child welfare institutions , police machinery , community based organisations and so on are discussed in order to create a multipronged approach to respond to sexual assault. Download full report