Aiming at gender sensitization of men and reducing violence against women the 15-month campaign project was implemented in HMFs 40 project villages of the Lohara and Tuljapur blocks of the Dharashiv (previously Osmanabad) district. Utilizing the cadre of male animators, community-based youth groups inclined to collaborate for gender equality campaign, and the credibility HMF established with village-level decision makers, the following activities were conducted:
- Appointment of the implementing team or the project staff consisting of 1 Coordinator, 2 male and female Social Workers, 2 male and female supervisors, Counsellor
- For Community engagement: established community support groups of selected women, men and youth in the project villages (called as the Lakshya Gat) who would lead the village level work on addressing gender and domestic violence issues in synchronization with each other and conducted:
- Training, exposure visits and conventions
- Centralized intense training sessions for the select group members (2 youth from each village) and
- Training of Trainers (ToT) for the male animators for mobilizing and training the Lakshya Gat.
- Engagement with the government stakeholders:
- Workshops for the government stakeholders, including authorities appointed under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the police, protection officers, lawyers and District Legal Aid Centre, and other service providers
- Support services provided for the women survivors of domestic violence
- Provided through Savali Counselling Centre that offered counselling, livelihood promotion, awareness on land/property rights of women, referral services, and community-level support.
- Training of Counsellors
- Counsellors underwent a rigorous training in theory and practice of counselling, covering topics of patriarchy, psychology and mental health, law, and counselling techniques. The training spanned two years and conducted through three-day residential workshops at regular intervals and hands on training in counselling by the Women’s Studies Centre, ILS Law College Pune.
- A ready-to-use manual in Marathi “Pravaas Sakshamatecha” meaning ‘Journey towards Empowerment’ was provided to Counsellors for ready reference.
Financial partner:
SWISSAID under its project titled: “Campaign for Gender Sensitization of Men and Reducing Violence Against Women in Maharashtra.”