In an effort to assist women, who are not safe even in their homes and are subjected to domestic violence, a group of organisations — under the aegis of the British Academy — have brought out graphic booklets and short videos on surviving domestic violence. The booklets that are available in English, Tamil, Hindi and Bengali can be downloaded for free from www.survivingviolence.org and can be used by individuals and NGOs working in the field. The materials were launched during an online meeting on Monday.
The booklets and videos are a result of a two-year long project during which 180 survivors were interviewed, issues were identified and suggestions were given. “In some cases it was found that parents told their daughters to tolerate the violence and even blamed the women for causing the men to behave like this. But at the same time, families have stepped in to help the women and supported them,” said Nandini Ghosh, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata.
Philippa Williams, Associate Professor in Human Geography at Queen Mary University of London, said that the videos were specifically made low-resolution so that they can be shared easily over social media. She also said that another aspect of the study dealt with how domestic violence was being portrayed in public spaces. Three photographers had clicked pictures that can be used as material.
Swarna Rajagopalan, founder of The Prajnya Trust, said that women in urban, semi-urban and rural settings had been interviewed as part of the project. The research is funded by the British Academy under their Heritage, Dignity and Violence programme (2020-2022).
Published – November 26, 2024 11:51 pm IST
