MSF and partners organize medical symposium to lay out action plan for comprehensive medical care in cases of sexual and gender-based violence

New Delhi, India – Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), in collaboration with Kasturba Medical College and Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, is organising a two-day national level medical symposium on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) on December 10-11, 2022 at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal.

The expected outcome of this event is to take a closer look at the evidence gap regarding medical repercussions and to work towards establishing a survivor centric model of care across India.

This symposium is a part of ongoing efforts by the host organisations to support research, clinical care, and policy advocacy in advancing better medical care for SGBV survivors. It brings together senior medical faculty (forensic medicine, gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and public health), researchers, legal advocates, and women’s rights activists involved in care for survivors of SGBV from across India. Noting that only about 2 percent of women survivors of SGBV seek medical help (NFHS V) , MSF aims to discuss healthcare access barriers and lay out an action plan to influence policy change in the practice of organizing and providing comprehensive care to survivors.

MSF and partners also emphasise the need for medical professionals and legal advocates to delve into issues around access barriers to comprehensive care (health, legal and social) and work with a common frame towards survivor welfare, as medical care for SGBV survivors is intertwined with legal processes.

“In India, the provision of medical care, processes of legal recourse, and rehabilitation has considerably evolved in the direction of better welfare of survivors/victims. The present times provide us with significant evidence and experience to act upon and cover enormous systemic gaps in providing person-centered care (medical, legal and social) to SGBV survivors,” says Dr Himanshu M., Medical Coordinator, Doctors Without Borders, India.

Reducing SGBV is a driver for progress and aims towards fulfilling the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Participating Organisations:

  1. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and Bhopal
  2. Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh
  3. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Medical College, Delhi
  4. Christian Medical College, Vellore
  5. St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore
  6. Guwahati Medical College, Guwahati
  7. Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack
  8. Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar
  9. Madras Medical College, Chennai
  10. Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and research, Bangalore
  11. Kasturba Medical College, Manipal
  12. Doctors Without Borders, India (Medecins Sans Frontieres)
  13. Centre for prevention and health of child sexual abuse, Chennai
  14. Enfold Proactive Health Trust, Shillong and Bangalore
  15. Crea, New Delhi
  16. Aweksha Trust, Bangalore
  17. Centre for Inquiry and Allied Health Themes, Mumbai

Doctors Without Borders, is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflicts, epidemics, natural disasters, and exclusion from healthcare. We run five projects in India, namely, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Delhi; Mental Health in Kashmir; Basic Healthcare through mobile clinics in Chhattisgarh; Advanced HIV, TB, and Hepatitis in Bihar and Manipur.

MSF operates the Umeed Ki Kiran (UKK) clinic in the urban slum of Jahangirpuri since 2015. UKK is a community-based, OPD clinic providing accessible, free, confidential, and comprehensive medical and psychosocial care to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) (sexual abuse, rape, and domestic violence) that adhere to international medical standards. UKK aims at alleviating the suffering of survivors of SGBV by responding to their medical needs and respecting their dignity by ensuring informed consent, privacy and confidentiality. The clinic has three key components, namely, medical care, psychological care and safely planning, and community engagement.

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