Community Symposium Understanding CommunityBased Interventions on Prevention of Violence against Women and Children: A Reflection on Innovations, Successes and

Challenges
There is no region of the world, no country and no culture in which women and children live free from violence. While both women and men can be perpetrators or victims of violence and sexual assault, research consistently shows that the overwhelming share of violence and abuse against women in intimate relationships is perpetrated by men whom women know, often in their homes or environments they share. The UN SecretaryGenerals indepth study on all forms of violence against women, issued in October 2006 at the 51st session of the General Assembly, has confirmed that violence against women is a widespread and gross violation of human rights prevalent in all countries and socioeconomic levels. It also drew attention to the fact that violence against women is not the result of random, individual acts of misconduct, but is deeply rooted in structural relationships of inequality between women and men. Violence against women cuts across the boundaries of culture, race, class, geography and religion. Violence against women includes all types of interpersonal violence, and has been addressed as a component of gender inequality and inequity. Typical forms of violence in the family in the AsiaPacific region are domestic violence, marital rape, harmful traditional practices, and honour killings. Violence in the community includes sexual harassment and violence in the workplace, and in transborder contexts, such as trafficking of women and girls. Drawing violence against women out of the private domain into public attention and the arena of state accountability has been a formidable task. Through the grassroots work of womens organizations and movements around the world, and the interaction between womens advocacy and United Nations initiatives, progress is increasingly being made in establishing violence against women as a human rights issue on the international agenda. Violence against women and children is complex and diverse, and its elimination requires a comprehensive and systematic response by individuals, families, and communities. In India, surveys have been carried out to understand attitudes to violence and help in designing interventions to prevent it. The National Survey on Community Attitudes to Violence against Women 2009 contributed to strengthening these initiatives. The key objectives of the Survey were to examine the factors that influence the formation of community attitudes that support violence against women, and to achieve a baseline from which to measure changes in attitudes over time. The results provided a guideline for the development and targeting of interventions that can change individual attitudes and behaviours and challenge gendered norms and practices, in ways that nourish cultures of nonviolence and value equal and respectful relationships between men and women in the communities.

Womens groups and organisations in rural and urban regions across India have developed community based initiatives to prevent violence. The term communitybased interventions has a range of connotations depending on the implied constructions of community used by organisations, collectives or groups carrying out the work. The community can be implied in terms of setting, as a target, as a resource or as an agent. As a setting, the community is primarily defined geographically as the location in which interventions are implemented. Such interventions may be citywide, use any approach, and may take place in community institutions such as neighbourhoods, schools, work sites, voluntary agencies or organisations. The community as a target refers to the goal of creating healthy community environments through broad systemic changes in public policy and communitywide institutions and services. The community as a resource is applied in communitybased health promotion, with the premise that a high degree of community ownership and participation is essential for sustained success in population health outcomes. These programs are aimed at mobilising communities internal resources to prioritise healthrelated targets. The community as an agent has an emphasis on respecting and reinforcing the natural, adaptive, supportive and developmental capacities of communities. Organisations across India have used the aforementioned mixed approaches to address violence in their respective communities, and these have made the issue more visible and helped us understand the efficacy of communitybased interventions. Each organisation has an idea of what has worked and what have been the challenges in implementation. It is crucial that we share the journey of our innovations, our successes and challenges in carrying out this work across the nation. We at SNEHA have organised a Community Symposium on Understanding Community Based Interventions on Prevention of Violence against Women and Children: A Reflection on Innovations, Successes and Challenges, on 2nd, 3rd and 4th February 2012, in Mumbai, to understand the range of communitybased interventions on violence against women and children carried out by organisations across India. Invariably, conferences and symposia require presentation of research papers that are generally delivered by mid or seniorlevel representatives. This symposium is designed to elicit participation from field staff implementing grassroots activities, and give them an opportunity to present their work in the form of discussion papers.

Organising group
SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action) is a registered nonprofit organization founded in 1999 by a team of concerned medical professionals working in the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal hospital, Mumbai, to address the needs of vulnerable women and children in urban slums. We at SNEHA work towards innovative solutions to problems in nutrition, education and health in urban slums. Our work revolves around four major themes: newborn and maternal health, child health and nutrition, sexual and reproductive health and prevention of violence against women and children. The strategies

we have adopted aim to build sustainable and replicable models of intervention and partnerships that will empower women to change their lives and the lives of those around them.

Objectives of the symposium

To understand the communitybased interventions on VAWC carried out by organizations across the country. To give visibility to grassroots intervention, and its contribution in the larger arena of work on VAWC, to consolidate learnings, and to share innovations. To give an opportunity to field staff to present discussion papers at national level and build their capacity to articulate and share their experiences. To integrate approaches and best practices. To bring solidarity to the issue and help to make progress towards equality, development and peace.

We would like to invite one fieldworker, accompanied by a midlevel colleague, to attend the symposium, which will be conducted in Hindi. As the symposium is being organised in Mumbai, there is a provision for 50% travel reimbursement. Lodging and boarding expenses will be borne by SNEHA. Logistics and details of the venue will be provided later. SNEHA will compensate maximum two persons for 50% travel costs ONLY upon submission of bills or receipts or production of original tickets. By train: 2nd class (nonAC) General Sleeper or by regular bus. NO airline tickets will be reimbursed. NO reimbursement of private vehicles including taxis or hired cars will be given, unless advance approval in writing is sought from SNEHA.

Themes for discussion papers

Organisations are requested to choose a theme relevant to their communitybased interventions, and to submit a Discussion Paper on the same. Email to: pvwc.sneha@gmail.com Guidelines for writing your Discussion Paper: The paper should not exceed 1500 words It can be in HINDI or English The paper should include a title and the name of the organisation Below the title, please state the subtheme(s) that your paper will explore The focus of your paper has to be on your community intervention, in relation to violence against women and/or children The points for discussion under each of these subthemes are only guidelines The deadline for submission of Discussion Papers is the 23rd of January, 2012

Format for writing a Discussion Paper 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Title of paper Name of organisation and author(s) Subtheme and section within which the Discussion paper falls Introduction of the subtheme and the organisation Organisations innovative communitybased Interventions on Prevention of Violence against Women and/or Children (in relation to the subtheme) 6. Successes attained and Challenges faced in communitybased intervention on violence against women and children (in relation to the subtheme) 7. Taking your work forward

Session I: Engaging with the community (Innovations and Challenges in intervention and prevention) Engaging with men What issues do you involve men in? How do you involve men in your work (Strategies)? How do you engage men in your work and how do you sustain their involvement? What is your approach to working with men? (For e.g. Do you challenge gender roles? Or do you work on changing mindsets?) Engaging with women What issues do you involve women in? How do you involve women in your work (Strategies)? How do you engage women in your work and how do you sustain their involvement? What is your approach to working with women? (For e.g. are women your target or catalyst or agent or resource?) Engaging with youth What issues do you involve youth in? How do you involve youth in your work (Strategies)? How do you engage youth in your work and how do you sustain their involvement? What is your approach to working with youth? Engaging with children What childrens issues (related to abuse) do you work on? How do you reach out to children who face abuse? How do you work with them (Strategies)? Which stakeholders do you engage with to tackle issues of abuse? How do you engage with these stakeholders?

Session II: Working with systems Government systems (health, police, judicial, legal) Do you educate the community on how to access these systems? Do you give the community access to these systems? What strategies does the organisation use to elicit help of the government systems in responding to violence against women and children?

Laws (criminal, civil and PWDVA) related to women Do you educate the community on the laws related to women? How does your organisation ensure that the community is involved in the implementation of these laws? Political linkages and local level Samitis or Panchayats How do you engage with political parties or local samitis or panchayats? Does your organisation have a formal or informal partnership or any kind of relationship with them? If you do engage with them, what are you reasons for aligning with a these groups? What is their role in your interventions and how do they respond to such cases and address issues that arise from these cases at the local level? Mahila Panchayats or Federations and Nari Adalats Do you use these local level mechanisms to address issues of VAWC in the community? What is the role of these bodies? How does the community respond to these bodies and the decisions that they make? What strategies has your organisation used to prepare the community to accept decisions made by these bodies? What are the challenges these bodies face in their work? How are they linked to local government systems?

Session III: Working with Marginalised Women Sex workers How do you identify and engage with sex workers? What intervention and prevention approach does your organisation use to work with sex workers? Along with sex workers, do you work with other stakeholders (e.g. pimps, brothels, police, etc.) for your intervention programmes? What rehabilitation work does your organisation do for sex workers? What challenges do you face in the course of your work? Women with disabilities Does your organisations approach mainstream the issue of women with disabilities and the issues of violence that these women face? What interventions on disability and violence have worked for your organisation? Do you work with other stakeholders (e.g. health care system, police, etc.) for your intervention programmes? What rehabilitation work does your organisation do for disabled women? What are the challenges that your organisation faces? Sexual minorities (LBT) Does your organisation make visible the issue of LBT women and the issues of violence that these women face? What interventions on sexual minorities and violence have worked for your organisation? Do you work with other stakeholders (e.g. health care system, police, etc.) for your intervention programmes? What rehabilitation work does your organisation do for LBT women? What are the challenges that your organisation faces? Dalit and Adivasi women How are the issues of violence faced by Dalit and Adivasi women different from those of other women? What is the organisations strategy to address their issues? How does the organisation work to break the cycle of violence that arises due to both, her gender and caste? Does the organisation have a strategy to mainstream their concerns?

Session IV: Violence and its impact on womens health Mental Health What intervention programme does your organisation have for women with mental health conditions who face violence? What is your organisations strategy to address women with mental health conditions (e.g. homebased intervention)? What are the challenges that your organisation faces? Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights What intervention programme does your organisation have on reproductive and sexual health and rights? What strategy do you employ with your target group? Do you work with other stakeholders (e.g. health care system, etc.) for your intervention programmes? What are the challenges that your organisation faces? Sexual Violence (including marital rape and sexual harassment at the workplace) What intervention programme does your organisation have on sexual violence? What is your organisations strategy to address sexual violence faced by women? Do you work with other stakeholders (e.g. health care system, police, etc.) for your intervention programmes? What are the challenges that your organisation faces? Pregnancy and violence What intervention programme does your organisation have on pregnancy and violence? What is your organisations strategy to address violence faced by pregnant women? Do you work with other stakeholders (e.g. health care system, police, etc.) for your intervention programmes? What are the challenges that your organisation faces?

Venue Sarvodaya Hall, St. Pius X College Complex, Gate No.2, Virwani Road, Goregaon East, Mumbai 400063

Contact: Programme for the Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Phone no: 02224040045 / 02224042627 Email: pvwc.sneha@gmail.com