In each region that we’ve traveled to (10 so far across different states), there are individual nuances influenced by the uniqueness of culture, tradition, or geography of the place. However, there seems to be an underlying factor that cuts through all. Gender-based discrimination. This is expressed through biases, physical/verbal abuse, and in extreme cases sexual violence. While the sessions aim to create awareness on standing up for what’s right, it has become increasingly evident that those who may want to ‘stand up’ seem to feel helpless/clueless in knowing how and what to do. This is an essential aspect of the sessions we are conducting to combat violence against women. The session offers to guide holistically in what should be the redressal beyond being aware of gender-based violence. The first step of which is to report the crime to the relevant authorities. But there seems to be a lack of trust in doing so. This is compounded by the complex web of perceptions and displaced shame or honor on part of the family or the survivors themselves. As was also evident with the incidents narrated by the students of Shree Budha college, Puthoor Kerala.
One would imagine regions predominantly matrilineal in social construct to be safer for women. This myth was broken. Both in Assam and now here in Kerala. We were apprised of an incident in the neighboring school where young girls on a school picnic, complained to the school authorities of being molested by the bus driver/helpers who were inebriated. The school authorities in turn accused the girls of blowing things out of proportion and threatened to spoil their future course as they were ready to sit for the final exams. The parents too backed off scared of the consequences including shame that may be brought upon the girls. This made me understand the root of the lack of trust which essentially starts from our first point of contact which may be the family, school, society or institution. The further the point of contact with authority is perceived, the added increased in lack of trust it generates. Delayed redressal and justice (if at all) further compound the hesitation in reporting a crime let alone seeking justice through authorities. No wonder the percentage of reported crime is abysmally low (Only 86% through an estimate of crimes seem to get reported). In this case, the first point of contact was represented by the family and then the school. And with the complete apathy of the school for even acknowledging the crime let alone the redressal had left the students clueless about the further course of action.
Organisations working with abuse survivors or NGOs offering families support have an important role to play in bridging this gap. While there are some national-level support groups (Sheroes offers online counselling through their app) and government-aided helplines, identifying NGOs at the regional level can be a huge support. Unless the survivors and their families find the courage and trust to report such crimes, the perpetrators will get emboldened and continue to commit these in future.
Justice can only be delivered if the crime is reported first, I can’t lay enough stress on this. My conversation with IPS Chhaya Sharma earlier documents the step-by-step course of action in case of a heinous crime (or any crime for that matter) and the first step is to report it. We as a society will need to overcome this trust deficit which starts at the level of the family, school, institution and so on. I believe in the law of the land and in officers like Chhaya Sharma. Despite a very public media trial she caught Nirbhayas perpetrators and helped deliver justice through an episode that shook not just the city but the whole country. It also triggered the much-needed change in laws with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 .
The sessions to motivate standing up for what’s right have been fulfilling at many levels for me personally. We have travelled extensively across different state universities in India. We’ve conducted sessions with the youth from Maharashtra (Pune), Uttar Pradesh (Kanpur & Prayagraj), Bihar (Purnea), West Bengal (Kolkatta), Boko (Assam), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and now Puthoor in Kerala.
We reached Trivandrum on 16th October and made most of the day exploring the sites and sounds of the city including the beautiful backwaters of Pavoor.
Vanshika (Josh Talks intern who flawlessly organises these sessions and coordinates with colleges) and I reached Sree Budha college the next day after a 3-hour road trip. The idea is to be able to reach the remotest corners of the country, addressing the youth that is left bereft of important sessions like these. We were given a tour of the Sree Budha College of Engineering campus which sits in a beautiful locale next to the Karingalichal Lake. The college itself was established in 2002 and was initially known to be the Abdul Kalam Technological University. Besides others, it also offers Artificial Intelligence as an engineering degree.
The principal Dr. Krishna Kumar had, quite literally, a birdseye view of the campus with multiple CCTV screens in his office. Its the first thing I noticed as we were ushered in before the session by the department head of civil engineering, Dr Gauri Antharajanam. Sree Budha College has about 1000 students, most of whom are day scholars coming from neighbouring places. After the initial formalities with the faculty we approached to address around 400 of them in a semi-open auditorium.
The session was well received (even though the boys and girls sat segregated in the auditorium- my remark questioning why drew an energetic applause evidently resonating the students mindsets as well). And so we started the hourlong session on awareness, prevention & eradication of violence agaist women. Post which the incident at the neighbouring school was discussed including details on the plausible course of action.
Combating violence against women is a subject very close to my heart and to get such an opportunity to be able to conduct these sessions, I remain grateful to JOSH TALKS and TVS Radar. We have been traveling extensively to conduct sessions to combat violence against women. These interactions aim to proactively affect real change by targeting the youth of the country, equipping them with the necessary information & tools, and most importantly motivating them to stand for what’s right.
If you would like to have us conduct this 90-minute session in your college or company just drop us a mail with the details of the institution and the prefered dates at suparnaa@simplysuparnaa.com.
Links for further study
To read about the Vizag Chapter click here>>
To read about the Chennai, Chapter click here>>
To read about the Prayagraj Chapter click here>>
To read about Assam Chapter click here>>
To read about Kolkatta Chapter click here>>
To read about the Kanpur Chapter click here>>
To read about the Purnea Bihar Chapter click here>>
To read about the Pune experience click here>>
To know more about the online session experience read here >>
PS: if you stand for what is right – team SABERA (Annual Awards and Summit by the Simply Suparnaa © Media Network) jury is looking for you Register here>>
