Support someone

Believe her, ask what she wants, protect her information and offer concrete help without taking over.

Explore this section

The first conversation

A calm, non-judgmental response can reduce isolation.

Words you can use

I believe you. This is not your fault. What would feel useful now?

What to avoid

No interrogation, forced report, confrontation or public posting.

Offer practical help

Small, reliable support often matters more than dramatic advice.

Continue after the crisis

Housing, money, childcare, health, rest and company shape long-term safety.

If she returns or changes her mind

Keep the route back open; changing course is not permission for abuse.

If a service fails

Try an alternative when safe and record a reference only if it will not expose her.

Detailed support and situation guides

Use a complete guide when you need more than an overview.

Women Helpline 181 in India: When to Call and What Support to Expect

Know when women and supporters can call 181, how it connects with emergency response and One Stop Centres, what to say, and how to plan around privacy and the helpline’s published State and Union Territory availability.

One Stop Centre (Sakhi Centre) in India: Services, Access and Safety

A clear guide to One Stop Centres for women affected by violence or distress: available support, ways to find a current local centre, temporary shelter limits, referrals and questions to ask before sharing information.

Shakti Sadan in India: Women’s Shelter and Support Guide

Learn what Shakti Sadan may provide, who can ask for a referral, how to check a current women’s shelter in your State or Union Territory, and what to ask before travelling.

SANKALP Hub for Women in India: Find Schemes and Support

Find out how SANKALP Hubs for Empowerment of Women provide scheme information and referrals, how to prepare for a visit, and who decides eligibility and benefits.

HPV Vaccine for 14-Year-Old Girls in India: 2026 Guide

Who the 2026 free HPV vaccination programme is for, where families can ask about a dose, how consent and records work, and why vaccination does not replace later screening.

PMSMA in India: How to Get a Pregnancy Check-Up

A practical guide to the PMSMA antenatal clinic on the 9th of the month, the second- and third-trimester service, high-risk follow-up and how to find a participating facility.

Janani Suraksha Yojana: Eligibility and Benefits in India

Check JSY eligibility for institutional delivery, understand the mother’s listed cash-assistance amount by State category and rural or urban area, and prepare to follow up on payment.

JSSK in India: Free Delivery and Newborn Care

Understand JSSK’s free public-facility delivery and infant-care entitlements, including tests, medicines, blood and transport, and what to do if a charge or referral is unclear.

SUMAN in India: Respectful Maternity Care and Your Options

Learn what SUMAN promises at public health facilities, who it covers, how it relates to JSSK and how to ask for respectful care or use a local grievance route.

Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY for Women: Eligibility, Card and Hospital Care

How women can check Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY eligibility, get or use an Ayushman card, understand hospital coverage, and find the separate 70-plus senior-citizen route in India.

Uterine Fibroids: Symptoms, Tests and Treatment Choices in India

Learn what uterine fibroids are, which symptoms need assessment, how clinicians diagnose them, and how to discuss treatment and future pregnancy goals.

Ovarian Cancer Symptoms and Screening: A Woman’s Guide in India

Understand symptoms that deserve assessment, family-history risk, what diagnostic tests do, and why routine ovarian-cancer screening is not recommended for average-risk people without symptoms.

Osteoporosis After Menopause: Bone Health, Testing and Care for Women

Why bone loss can accelerate around menopause, which fracture risks to discuss, what a bone-density test measures, and how women can plan prevention and treatment with a clinician in India.

Returning to Work After a Career Break: A Practical India Guide

A practical plan for women returning to work after caregiving, health, study or another career break: choose a route, refresh skills, explain the gap and compare offers.

Salary Negotiation for Women in India: Scripts and Checklist

Prepare a salary range, compare total compensation and use clear negotiation scripts for a new offer or pay review, with India-specific equal-pay context.

How to Ask for Flexible Work in India: A Practical Guide

Plan a clear request for flexible hours, remote days or a phased return, with a sample email, trial plan and questions about workload, pay and review.

Office Housework: Making Women’s Invisible Work Count

Identify office housework such as note-taking and event planning, document its impact, share it fairly and ask managers to recognise it in workload and promotion decisions.

Asked About Marriage or Pregnancy in an Interview? India Guide

Practical, low-pressure responses to interview questions about marriage, children or pregnancy in India, with careful legal context and a record-keeping checklist.

Urinary Incontinence in Women: Causes, Tests and Treatment

Understand urine leakage in women, when to seek care, what an assessment may involve and how to compare treatment options without shame or unsafe self-treatment.

Pelvic Organ Prolapse in Women: Symptoms and Treatment Options

Learn what a vaginal or pelvic bulge may mean, how pelvic organ prolapse is assessed and how to discuss observation, physiotherapy, pessaries and surgery with a clinician.

PMDD in Women: Severe PMS Symptoms, Diagnosis and Care

Learn how PMDD differs from PMS, track symptoms across cycles, prepare for a clinical assessment and find evidence-based care and urgent mental-health support in India.

Menstrual Migraine: Period-Linked Headaches, Tracking and Care

Learn how migraine can relate to periods, what to record, when a headache needs urgent assessment and how to discuss treatment safely during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Postpartum Thyroiditis: Symptoms, Tests and Care After Pregnancy

Understand postpartum thyroiditis in the first year after birth, how symptoms can resemble exhaustion or depression, what blood tests may check and how to plan follow-up.

Health Insurance Claim Denied? A Women's Grievance Guide for India

Understand a health-insurance denial, request the exact policy clause and medical-record basis, complain to the insurer and escalate through IRDAI's current routes.

Ectopic Pregnancy Symptoms: Warning Signs and Emergency Care in India

One-sided pelvic pain or bleeding in early pregnancy needs medical assessment. Learn the emergency signs of ectopic pregnancy, what tests a clinician may use and how to get urgent care.

Preeclampsia Warning Signs During Pregnancy and After Birth

Preeclampsia can develop after 20 weeks of pregnancy and may continue or appear after birth. Learn which symptoms need urgent care, how clinicians assess it and what to ask at follow-up.

Gestational Diabetes in India: Testing, Care and Follow-up After Birth

Gestational diabetes may have no symptoms. Learn what to ask about screening, food and activity support, medicines, birth planning and blood-sugar follow-up after pregnancy.

Miscarriage Symptoms and Care in India: Tests, Options and Support

Bleeding or cramps in pregnancy do not by themselves confirm a miscarriage. Learn when to seek emergency care, how clinicians assess early pregnancy symptoms and what support to ask for.

Postpartum Psychosis: Warning Signs and Urgent Help in India

Sudden confusion, hallucinations, unusual beliefs or extreme mood changes after childbirth need urgent medical assessment. Learn how to respond safely, what treatment may involve and where to seek help.

Heavy Bleeding After Birth: Postpartum Haemorrhage Warning Signs

Sudden or heavy bleeding after childbirth can be postpartum haemorrhage and needs immediate medical care. Learn the warning signs, what to do, and what treatment and follow-up may involve in India.

Maternal Sepsis: Infection Warning Signs During Pregnancy and After Birth

Maternal sepsis is a life-threatening response to infection during pregnancy, childbirth or after birth. Learn warning signs that need urgent assessment, how to seek help in India and what care may involve.

Blood Clot Symptoms During Pregnancy and After Birth: DVT and PE

Pregnancy and the months after birth increase the risk of venous blood clots. Learn the signs of DVT and pulmonary embolism, when to call 112 in India and how clinicians assess and treat clots.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum: Severe Vomiting in Pregnancy and When to Get Help

Severe pregnancy sickness that prevents eating, drinking or daily activity may be hyperemesis gravidarum. Learn dehydration warning signs, how to seek care in India and what assessment and treatment may involve.

Placenta Previa and Placental Abruption: Bleeding Warning Signs

Placenta previa and placental abruption can cause bleeding or pain during pregnancy. Learn why any bleeding needs prompt assessment, which symptoms are emergencies and what scans and birth planning may involve.

Emergency Contraception in India: What to Do After Unprotected Sex

Emergency contraception can reduce the chance of pregnancy after unprotected sex or a contraceptive failure. Learn the time-sensitive options, what they can and cannot do, and how to get confidential care in India.

UTI Symptoms in Women: When to Seek Care and What Helps

Burning when you urinate, needing to go often and lower-abdominal discomfort can be signs of a bladder infection. Learn kidney-infection warning signs, how clinicians test for a UTI and why antibiotics should be chosen by a clinician.

Painful Periods: Causes, Relief and When to See a Doctor

Period cramps are common, but pain that disrupts work, study or daily life deserves care. Learn safe comfort steps, signs of a possible underlying condition and what to track before an appointment.

Vaginal Discharge, Itching or Odour: What Is Normal and When to Get Care

Clear or white discharge without a strong smell is often normal, but a change in discharge, itching or soreness can have several causes. Learn when to seek care and why symptoms alone cannot identify an infection.

Bleeding After Menopause: Why Any Spotting Needs a Check

Any vaginal bleeding or spotting after 12 months without a period should be assessed, even once or in a small amount. Many causes are treatable and not cancer, but prompt evaluation matters; learn what to do and what tests may be discussed.

High Blood Pressure in Women: Screening, Signs and Care in India

High blood pressure often has no symptoms, so a reading is the way to find it. Learn about India’s public screening offer for adults 30 and older, how diagnosis is confirmed, and when pregnancy or postpartum symptoms need urgent care.

Type 2 Diabetes in Women: Symptoms, Blood Tests and Next Steps

Type 2 diabetes can develop gradually or cause no obvious symptoms. Learn which changes to mention, how blood tests help confirm a diagnosis, and why a history of gestational diabetes deserves follow-up.

Thyroid Problems in Women: Symptoms, Blood Tests and Care

An underactive or overactive thyroid can affect energy, temperature tolerance, periods and heart rate. Learn which symptoms to mention, how thyroid blood tests work and why pregnancy or recent birth changes the care conversation.

Stroke Warning Signs in Women: Know B.E. F.A.S.T. and Call 112

Stroke signs are urgent in women and men: sudden balance or vision trouble, face drooping, arm weakness or speech changes. Learn the B.E. F.A.S.T. check, what to tell responders and how to get emergency help in India.

Chronic Kidney Disease in Women: Risk Factors, Tests and Care

Early chronic kidney disease often has no symptoms. Learn who should ask about kidney testing, what eGFR and urine albumin tests show, and how to discuss kidney health alongside diabetes, blood pressure and pregnancy care.

Tuberculosis in Women in India: Symptoms, Testing and Support

TB can affect the lungs and other parts of the body, and symptoms depend on the site. Learn when to seek testing, how India’s National TB Elimination Programme can help, and how to ask for care that fits your privacy, work and family needs.

Asthma in Women: Symptoms, Triggers and Pregnancy Care

Wheezing, cough, chest tightness and breathlessness can be asthma, but other conditions can feel similar. Learn how asthma is assessed, how to track symptoms and cycle-related patterns, and what to discuss about inhalers, pregnancy and emergency care in India.

Rheumatoid Arthritis in Women: Early Signs and Diagnosis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can cause swollen, tender joints, morning stiffness and fatigue; it is more common in women than men. Learn what to record, how clinicians assess RA and what to discuss about work, daily tasks and pregnancy planning.

Lupus in Women: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Pregnancy Planning

Lupus can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, blood, heart, lungs or brain, and symptoms may come and go. Learn why one positive blood test does not diagnose lupus, what to track and how to plan pregnancy care with a specialist.

Sleep Apnea in Women: Symptoms, Testing and Care

Sleep apnea can cause tiredness, daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, insomnia or frequent waking; women may not notice loud snoring. Learn how pregnancy, menopause and PCOS relate to risk and what to ask about a sleep study.

Epilepsy in Women in India: First Aid & Pregnancy Care

Learn seizure signs and first aid, when to call India’s 112, and what to discuss about periods, contraception and pregnancy with a specialist.

Migraine in Women: Symptoms, Care and Red Flags

Migraine may cause nausea, light sensitivity and aura. Track attacks, prepare for diagnosis and learn emergency signs, including in pregnancy.

Fibromyalgia in Women: Widespread Pain, Diagnosis and Support

Fibromyalgia can cause widespread pain, fatigue and sleep problems. Learn how it is assessed, what tests can show and how to plan respectful care in India.

Osteoarthritis in Women: Joint Pain, Diagnosis and Care Options

Learn common osteoarthritis symptoms in women, how clinicians assess joint pain, care options to discuss and which sudden changes need prompt review.

Premature Ovarian Insufficiency: Signs Under 40

Irregular periods before 40 can have several causes. Learn POI symptoms, diagnosis and what to ask about fertility and long-term health.

Ovarian Cysts: Symptoms, Ultrasound and Care in India

Ovarian cyst symptoms are often absent and many resolve without surgery. Learn urgent warning signs, ultrasound follow-up and fertility questions.

Adenomyosis: Heavy, Painful Periods and Care in India

Adenomyosis can cause heavy bleeding and severe period pain. Learn about assessment, treatment options and pregnancy-goal questions to ask.

Infertility Tests for Women in India: A Fair Evaluation

Fertility difficulties are not automatically a woman’s fault. Learn when to seek testing and why relevant partners should be assessed together.

STI Testing for Women in India: Tests, Symptoms and Care

Many STIs have no symptoms. Learn which tests women in India can ask about, why timing matters and what to know about treatment and privacy.

Hepatitis B in Pregnancy in India: Testing and Newborn Care

Learn when hepatitis B testing is recommended in pregnancy, what a positive result can mean and how newborn vaccination helps prevent infection.

Endometrial Cancer in Women: Bleeding, Tests and Care in India

Bleeding after menopause needs prompt assessment but does not by itself mean cancer. Learn about endometrial tests, screening limits and care choices.

Vulvodynia: Persistent Vulvar Pain, Causes and Care

Vulvodynia is vulvar pain lasting at least three months without a clear cause. Learn what assessment can involve and how to seek respectful, individualized care.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID): Symptoms and Care in India

PID can cause pelvic pain, unusual discharge or bleeding, and sometimes no symptoms. Learn when to seek urgent care, what tests may help and why prompt treatment matters.

Mastitis While Breastfeeding: Symptoms and Safe Care

Mastitis can cause a hot, painful breast and flu-like symptoms. Learn gentle self-care, when to contact a clinician and how a breast abscess is assessed.

Gallstones in Women: Symptoms, Pregnancy Risk and Care

Gallstones may cause severe pain in the upper abdomen but often cause no symptoms. Learn warning signs, ultrasound diagnosis and questions to ask about treatment and pregnancy.

Vaginismus: Painful Penetration, Causes and Care in India

Vaginismus involves involuntary tightening around the vaginal opening that can make penetration painful or difficult. Learn about respectful assessment and care.

Vaginal Dryness After Menopause: GSM Symptoms and Care

Ovarian Torsion: Sudden Pelvic Pain and Emergency Care

Sudden severe one-sided pelvic pain with nausea or vomiting can be ovarian torsion, a time-sensitive emergency. Get urgent hospital assessment now.

Missed Periods (Amenorrhea): Causes and Tests in India

A missed period can have many causes, including pregnancy, medicines, thyroid changes or PCOS. Learn when to test, seek care and ask for an evaluation.

Recurrent UTIs in Women: Tests, Prevention and Care

Two UTIs in six months or three in a year merit a care review. Learn about cultures, prevention choices, antibiotic stewardship and kidney-infection signs.

Recurrent Yeast Infections: Symptoms, Testing and Care

Repeated itching or discharge is not always a yeast infection. Learn what recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis means, when testing helps, pregnancy precautions and how to seek respectful care.

Bartholin’s Cyst or Abscess: Lump, Symptoms and Care

A new lump beside the vaginal opening should be checked. Learn what a Bartholin’s cyst or abscess can feel like, which symptoms need urgent care and what treatment may involve.

Vulvar Lichen Sclerosus: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Persistent vulvar itching, pale patches, soreness or skin changes deserve assessment. Learn what lichen sclerosus is, how prescription treatment and follow-up help, and which changes to report.

Breast Pain: Common Causes and When to Seek Care

Breast pain is common and often linked to periods, but a new lump, skin or nipple change, fever, or persistent pain needs assessment. Learn what to track and when to seek care.

Hysterectomy: Questions, Alternatives and Recovery

A hysterectomy removes the uterus and ends the ability to carry a pregnancy. Understand what may be removed, alternatives, menopause effects, surgical risks and recovery questions before making a decision.

Bacterial Vaginosis (BV): Symptoms, Testing and Treatment

Bacterial vaginosis is a common vaginal microbiome imbalance that can cause odor or discharge, but symptoms alone cannot confirm it. Learn about testing, pregnancy, recurrence and respectful care.

Heavy Periods: Causes, Tests and Treatment Options

Heavy menstrual bleeding is bleeding that disrupts daily life or affects wellbeing. Learn when to seek urgent care, what tests may help and how to compare treatment options while protecting your priorities.

Abnormal Pap or HPV Result: What Happens Next?

An abnormal cervical screening result does not automatically mean cancer. Learn what HPV-positive or Pap results can mean, why follow-up matters and what to ask about repeat testing or colposcopy.

Uterine Polyps: Bleeding, Diagnosis and Hysteroscopy

Endometrial polyps are growths in the lining of the uterus and often cause no symptoms. Learn when irregular or heavy bleeding needs assessment, how ultrasound or hysteroscopy may help and what removal involves.

Reduced Fetal Movement: When to Call Maternity Care

If your baby is moving less than usual, movements stop or the usual pattern changes, call your maternity team immediately. Do not wait until tomorrow or rely on a home Doppler.

Preterm Labour: Signs Before 37 Weeks and When to Call

Labour before 37 completed weeks is preterm. Learn which contractions, fluid leaks, bleeding or pressure need an immediate call to maternity care, what assessment may involve and how to prepare without delaying help.

Induction of Labour: Reasons, Methods and Questions to Ask

Induction uses medical or mechanical methods to start labour when continuing pregnancy may carry risk or birth is planned. Compare the reason, method, monitoring, pain relief and alternatives with your maternity team before deciding.

VBAC After a Caesarean: Birth Options and Safety Planning

After a caesarean, you may be able to plan a vaginal birth (VBAC) or a repeat caesarean. The choice depends on your uterine scar, pregnancy, preferences and the hospital's ability to respond quickly if complications occur.

Caesarean Recovery: Wound Care, Movement and Warning Signs

Recovery after a caesarean takes time and varies by person. Learn about gentle movement, incision care, pain support, feeding positions and symptoms that need urgent medical attention after returning home.

Breastfeeding Latch and Milk Transfer: Signs, Help and Next Steps

A comfortable latch and effective milk transfer can support breastfeeding, but persistent pain or a baby who is not feeding well needs skilled assessment. Learn what to observe, when to seek help and how to make a safe feeding plan without blame.

Perineal Tear or Episiotomy After Birth: Healing and Warning Signs

A tear or episiotomy can cause soreness while the perineum heals. Learn how to care for stitches, what different tear degrees mean, when bowel or bladder symptoms need review, and which wound changes deserve prompt medical advice.

Diastasis Recti After Pregnancy: Abdominal Separation and Recovery

A gap between abdominal muscles is common during and after pregnancy and often improves with time. Learn what diastasis recti is, when persistent bulging or pain merits an assessment, and how to return to movement without shame or unsafe quick fixes.

Constipation and Piles After Childbirth: Relief and When to Get Help

Constipation and haemorrhoids are common after birth, but ongoing pain, straining or bowel leakage deserves care. Learn gentle ways to support bowel movements, protect stitches and ask a clinician or pharmacist about treatment that fits breastfeeding and your recovery.

Sex After Childbirth: When You Feel Ready and What to Do About Pain

There is no single deadline for sex after birth. Healing, bleeding, pain, desire and consent matter; learn how to restart only if you want to, what may ease dryness, when pain merits a clinical review and why pregnancy prevention can matter before periods return.

Postpartum Contraception in India: Options While Breastfeeding

Pregnancy can happen before your first period after birth. Compare postpartum contraceptive options, learn the strict conditions for relying on breastfeeding temporarily, and ask a clinician about timing, breastfeeding, health history, availability and your right to choose.

Pregnancy Itching: Cholestasis, Bile-Acid Tests and When to Call

Persistent itching without a rash in pregnancy can need bile-acid and liver tests. Learn when to repeat tests, monitor movement and contact maternity care in India.

Rh-Negative Pregnancy in India: Antibody Tests and Anti-D

Rh-negative blood is not an illness. Learn about antibody screening, anti-D timing, bleeding or injury in pregnancy, and what to ask your Indian maternity team.

Short Cervix in Pregnancy: Cerclage and Your Options

A short cervix can increase early-birth risk, but one scan does not decide care. Understand cervical-length checks, cerclage, progesterone and urgent symptoms.

Breech Baby at 36 Weeks: ECV and Birth Options in India

If your baby is still breech around 36 weeks, ask about ECV, caesarean and birth choices. Learn what to confirm and what support an Indian hospital needs.

Small Baby or Growth Restriction in Pregnancy: Scans and Care

A small ultrasound estimate is not always growth restriction. Learn about growth trends, Doppler checks, monitoring, birth timing and reduced movement in India.

Responding when a child discloses harm

What to say, what not to ask and how to move from a child’s first words to immediate protection and qualified child-protection support.

Support an adult experiencing abuse

How to listen, offer practical help and stay connected without taking over decisions or increasing danger.

Support someone facing online abuse

Practical help for harassment, impersonation, doxxing, intimate-image abuse, sexual threats or coordinated attacks—without blaming the person or taking over their accounts.

Support an older woman experiencing abuse or neglect

A dignity-led approach to physical, emotional, financial and care-related harm that preserves the older woman’s voice and does not treat age as incapacity.

Someone touched me without my consent

Unwanted sexual touching is not your fault. Your safest next step may be distance, medical care, trusted support, documentation, a workplace or campus complaint, or a police report—you do not have to do everything at once.

My partner controls my money or phone

Taking wages, withholding essentials, creating debt, monitoring a phone or cutting off support can be economic or emotional abuse. A safety plan can protect access to money, documents, communication and housing.

Someone keeps following or messaging me

Repeated following, watching or unwanted contact can be stalking and can become dangerous. Record the pattern, reduce predictable access and seek help without having to warn or confront the person first.

Someone is threatening to share intimate images

A threat to publish intimate images, demand money, demand more images or force contact is abuse. Preserve the threat without forwarding the image, secure accounts, and use cybercrime, police and support routes.

My family or in-laws are demanding dowry

A demand for money, property or valuable security connected with marriage is not made acceptable by calling it a gift. Plan for safety, preserve the demand and seek legal or practical help before pressure escalates.

I am being sexually harassed at work or college

Sexual comments, demands, touching, messages, image-sharing or punishment after rejection can require workplace or institutional action and may also involve criminal law. You can ask for safety measures without accepting forced mediation.

A child told me about sexual touching

Believe the child, secure immediate safety, record only their spontaneous words and seek child-protection help. Do not interrogate, blame, confront the suspected person or promise secrecy you cannot keep.

My family is forcing me to marry

A marriage decision requires free choice. Child marriage is prohibited; an adult facing threats, confinement, document seizure or violence can seek protection even though ‘forced marriage’ is not one single offence in every case.

How this content is governed

Reviewed and approved by the project team. Official legal and service sources are listed with the relevant content.

Publication review: Reviewed and approved by the project team
Sources checked: 2026-08-30