Globally, GBV is a barrier to advancing women’s and girls’ rights and hampers their freedoms to equality and non-discrimination. According to the National Family Health Survey-5 report¹, nearly one-third of women in India have experienced physical or sexual violence. The report says 30% of women between the ages of 18 and 49 have experienced physical violence since the age of 15 years, and 6% have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.

Strengthening networks of women lawyers who offer peer support and learning is one the ways that we can improve women’s access to justice. Sensitive women lawyers who practice transparency and provide pro-bono legal aid can enable women, survivors of violence, to have clarity and strength. It helps women take control of their lives in situations where they feel the most vulnerable. As a key supporter of SAWF IN’s one-of-a-kind Legal Fellowship Programme I am convinced that strengthening women lawyers working at primary courts and equipping them with Feminist Lawyering skills are necessary to make justice truly accessible to women survivors of violence. 

At the same time, for change to percolate and create a holistic transformation it is necessary to create an accessible and inclusive funding framework. This helps communities of the most affected, women, and trans* persons in bringing about the most meaningful and sustainable changes to transform their realities.

According to a report that analyses philanthropy for Gender Equality², globally only a small proportion of the funds for gender equality address the prevention of violence against women (VAW) or support women’s rights organisations. The India Philanthropy Report 2021³ of Dasra and Bain and Company, also highlights that Indian philanthropists focus more on investing in education and healthcare as these are viewed as practical ways to address gender disparity. While this is a very important area, addressing strategic gender needs such as ending violence against women and girls is equally important to ensure a decisive shift in inequality and discrimination.

Mechanisms around co-creation of funding agendas, based on the needs emerging from the grassroots can greatly strengthen our collective efforts to end this shadow pandemic.  

1 National Family Health Survey-5 report- http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-5.shtml
2 Philanthropy And Gender Equality- Insights on Philanthropy for Gender Equality, OECD Development Centre, Paris, 2019
3 India Philanthropy Report 2021, Dasra and Bain & Company- https://www.dasra.org/assets/uploads/resources/Bain_Dasra_India_Philanth...