Violence against women: Policy perspectives on domestic violence in India
Unite to end violence against women and girls
A National Workshop – 5 April 2012 from 9am -5pm
India International Center, New Delhi, India
MAITRI is a humanitarian and developmental NGO established in 2005. Its mission is to
establish basic health, promote education and restore human rights to empower I ndia’s
vulnerable populations. Maitri defends human rights and strengthens communities through
individual and community empowerment with advocacy, education, community-based program
development, and networking. Maitri is committed to improving the quality of life and dignity
of the vulnerable populations it works with, which include:
● Destitute and marginalised widows
● Migrant workers and their families
● Underprivileged children
● Members of uniformed services and their families
● Survivors of domestic violence
● Individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS
Maitri is holding a one day workshop to understand and explore certain significant social determinants of domestic violence that impact on woman’s health so that we can accordingly provide appropriate information, assistance and support services to ‘women’ from different backgrounds who have crossed different trajectories.
the current workshop will look at the larger policy issues involved in domestic violence. The workshop will broadly, discuss the main manifestations, causes and consequences of violence against women in the family, in the community, violence that is perpetrated or condoned by the State, and violence against women in the private and public spheres. The recent sexual harassments and attack on women in Delhi are one of the key examples that violate women’s rights in public spaces.
Violence against women: Policy perspectives on domestic violence in India Unite to end violence against women and girls
Violence against women: Policy perspectives on domestic violence in India
Unite to end violence against women and girls
A National Workshop – 5 April 2012 from 9am -5pm
India International Center, New Delhi, India
Background
In our experiences of working with women from diverse backgrounds we are struck by the fact that women are vulnerable to domestic violence regardless of their class, caste, ethnic background etc. While domestic violence is a disempowering experience for all women, women cannot be treated in homogeneity rather we need diversity to influence policy and programme outcomes at states level. Maitri held an International Women’s Day 2012 conference on 7 March 2012 - “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures.” The conference was attended by over 150 individuals that included policy makers, national and international NGOs, researchers, academicians, UN agencies and donors.
The conference highlighted the need for further dialogue on issues that emerged as part of the presentations and discussions. There was a strong need to address the social experiences that position women in disempowerment situations. What is known in Indian context is that despite the fact that India is seen as a strong knit community, support for a woman surviving is still very low within the cultural and social spheres. We feel it is vital to learn and/or adapt national and international models through coordinated response to end violence against women and girls.
For this purpose, Maitri is holding a one day workshop to understand and explore certain significant social determinants of domestic violence that impact on woman’s health so that we can accordingly provide appropriate information, assistance and support services to ‘women’ from different backgrounds who have crossed different trajectories.
Building on the conference, the current workshop will look at the larger policy issues involved in domestic violence. The workshop will broadly, discuss the main manifestations, causes and consequences of violence against women in the family, in the community, violence that is perpetrated or condoned by the State, and violence against women in the private and public spheres. The recent sexual harassments and attack on women in Delhi are one of the key examples that violate women’s rights in public spaces.
The conference informed us that policy level dialogue on various aspects of domestic violence such as needs, support, resource allocation and research are either very limited or non-existence. The workshop will contribute towards that vacuum. Based on Maitri’s continuous support to Women equity and empowerment, we are providing a space for dialogue.
The aims and objectives of the workshop are:
- To discuss policy implications and gaps in the knowledge of domestic violence in an Indian context beyond rural-urban understandings
- To explore policy and programmes implications of support services and needs for survivors and women suffering from domestic violence
- To explore migration trends and its impact on violence against women
- To develop a work plan for the Violence against Women conference to be held on March 7, 2013.
Expected Outcome
- Edited volume on domestic violence in India
Key themes of interest to the conference include, but are in no way limited to:
- Citizenship, cultural and state membership
- Nation, race, ethnicity, nationality
- Social determinants of health
- Gender Equity
- Geographical location and migration
- Relocation, cultures and belonging
- Military Uniform Services personnel
- Law, Bill and Order
Information for participants
Expression of interest, academic and non-academic papers are invited from individuals, practitioners, researchers, service providers and policy makers. Participants are requested to submit abstract/ papers based on empirical evidence, biographical/autobiographical approaches or reviews on one or more aspects of issues associated to Domestic Violence mentioned in the themes above.
Contacts: For any further queries and submission of abstracts, please email Ms. Winnie Singh at winnie.singh@gmail.com and Ms. Sonal Singh Wadhwa at sonal.singh.wadhwa@maitri.org.in
You are requested to send your abstract early to be considered for this workshop.
Invited Key Note Speaker
Pragna Patel is a founding member of the Southall Black Sisters (SBS), London, United Kingdom. SBS, founded in 1979, in the aftermath of the race riots in this area of west London, has since become a landmark in the history of black and Asian feminism. The charity campaigns for and offers practical support to women escaping domestic violence and forced marriages. Chaired by Patel, the small group has long punched above its weight. In supporting Kiranjit Ahluwalia, imprisoned for murdering her violent husband, SBS successfully challenged the legal definition of provocation, and changed immigration rules, which trapped trapping non-British women in abusive marriages.
Pragna Patel is currently the chair of SBS. She has been listed in The Guardian's Top 100 women: activists and campaigners. She has written extensively on race, gender and religion. As part of the SBS, she has often spoken out about government's community cohesion programmes, which maintains the power of male religious leaders. A secularist campaigner, Patel also co-founded Women Against Fundamentalism.