5 NGOs fighting violence against women

LOOKING back on the details of the attack on Nirbhaya, who died on December 29th eleven years ago, one of the questions asked is what makes a person commit such violence? Whether it is throwing acid on a woman’s face, abducting a woman and forcing her into prostitution or a husband beating his wife, one common thread is that the victims are almost always women. While acid attacks, forced prostitution or domestic violence can happen to both genders, we rarely hear of male victims of these crimes. Misogyny, or the hatred of women, appears to be the common thread.

The following 5 NGOs in India work across India to fight these issues by caring for its victims and raising awareness on how to prevent their occurrence and change mindsets: 

Kshamata

We all want to live in freedom and security. This basic human desire is what leads many women to escape from red light districts where they are forced into prostitution. But when they finally escape, they are faced with a world that does not accept them. These women also realize that they are in need of employable skills to be financially independent. Kshamata is an NGO that shelters victims of trafficking in a safe and protected home and trains them in vocational skills that allow them to get jobs and have financial security.

“The challenge is that women who are coming from exploitation, their skill level is low, their literacy level is low. We start by providing them with safety and counseling. And then we begin to help them rebuild their lives,” shares Bharathy Tahiliani, the founder of Kshamata. Since 2016, this Thane-based NGO has helped over 1,000 women get back on their feet and find safe employment to rebuild their lives with dignity and self-respect. To support Kshamata, you can donate here.

Inchara Foundation

When children are victims of sexual violence and rape, it is extremely difficult yet crucial to help them recover from trauma that their minds are too young to comprehend. This is a sensitive task that Inchara Foundation has been taking on by offering the child victims of sexual abuse a safe home to live in and access to trained and professional counselors who patiently work with them through their abuse and trauma. While they are being counseled, the girls are also enrolled in school and are on the path to rebuilding their lives.

Inchara Foundation has reached over 50,000 people with its awareness campaigns on child sexual abuse and has cared for 150 girls who are victims of the horrific crime. “Almost 90% of the time, the perpetrator is known to the child and sometimes, the sexual abuse happens within the family,” the founder shares. This makes it even more difficult for the child to seek help. But once the girls are in safety and their mental and physical health is being cared for, they are on the path to recovery. To support Inchara Foundation, you can donate here.   

Sayodhya Home for Women in Need

Because the abuse occurs within the family, most women who are physically abused by their husbands tend to keep it quiet. In many cases, the physical abuse extends to the children as well and this severely affects their futures. Sayodhya Home for Women in Need is a Hyderabad-based NGO that supports women in distress. The NGO’s safe home for women fleeing violent households provides a nurturing environment for the women and their children to recover while they receive medical, psychological and even legal support.

“Domestic violence is a big problem in the world. However, most women suffer in silence and do not ask for help,” explains Mrudula Vemulapati, the founder of the NGO. Sayodhya Home for Women in Need works with the local police and runs a 24-hour helpline and a free legal aid clinic while providing medical and psychosocial support and vocational skills training to the women. The NGO has helped 3,500 women since 2010 and has impacted ten thousand families through their counseling and reconciliation efforts. To support Sayodhya Home for Women in Need, you can donate here. 

Guria

“If you want to see hell, it is here on this planet where young girls are sexually abused.” These are the words of the founder of Guria, an NGO that conducts rescue raids in the red light districts of Uttar Pradesh. On these raids, the NGO shares that the most horrific abuse and torture happens to these girls by people who appear to enjoy inflicting pain. Once these girls are rescued, Guria rehabilitates them by providing safe shelter, education, nutrition, vocational skills training and other services until they are united with their families or in a permanent place of safety. 

Since 1994, this Varanasi-based NGO has rescued more than 5,500 girls from sex trafficking and child prostitution. Guria played a role in shutting down hundreds of illegal brothels and putting many traffickers in prison for their crimes. Even though Manju, the founder of Guria, faces dangerous backlash from traffickers, the NGO is determined to continue rescuing girls and helping them recover from the repeated torture they endured in the red light districts. To support Guria, you can donate here. 

Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation

To permanently disfigure a woman’s physical appearance as a form of “punishment” is not a normal reaction to anger or being rejected and is therefore a crime. Despite this, girls and women are still subject to acid attacks which affects them in every way possible. The founder of Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation is a survivor of an acid attack and decided to stand up and help other women through her NGO which provides a safe place to live, urgent medical care, food, legal aid and even livelihood support.

For many women who may have physically recovered, there remains the challenge of being denied employment and therefore being unable to financially support themselves. Daulai Bi Khan also faced this situation, so when she founded the Mumbai-based Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation in 2016, she ensured that the 400 women she has helped so far received training in employable skills and job assistance to live independently and with self-respect. To support Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation, you can donate here.

You can help these NGOs fight violence against women

It is a complex process to explore what occurs in a person’s mind that makes them want to harm the female of their own species merely for their personal satisfaction, with no regard for humankind as a whole. It is also a process that requires both men and women to work together. Harming one half of the world does not bode well for the growth, development and progress of all our communities. NGOs that work in the area of gender based violence run important awareness campaigns in schools, colleges, workplaces and communities to fix the problem in the mind – before it occurs. 

But while this effort is underway, crimes are still being committed. To alleviate the suffering of those victims, these NGOs provide crucial services to women while working with the authorities and law enforcement to ensure that perpetrators are treated according to the law of the land. On the eleventh death anniversary of Nirbhaya, we remember courageous women like her mother Asha Devi, who continues to keep the issue of preventing and eradicating crimes against women in the foreground of our national discourse. 

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Shirley Bobby

Shirley has been in the development sector for over 10 years and is passionate about making a change in the world around her, including adopting dogs and writing to make a difference.