[vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”black” css=”.vc_custom_1474005655028{margin-top: -15px ;}”][vc_column_text]
Heightened public awareness can lead to increased dialogue, support the transformation of attitudes and reinforce the idea that violence can be prevented by highlighting successful violence prevention efforts and movements at all levels, with a particular focus on national and local initiatives.
Leading the panel discussion, Nandita Das, Actor and UNICEF celebrity advocate said, “I firmly believe that identifying and addressing the root causes of violence and the social norms that allow it to perpetuate, is a very important step in creating safer, healthier and more productive societies.”
Explaining the excessiv
Researcher Kalpana Vishwanath, who has been the force behind Jagori’s Safe Delhi for Women campaign, spoke about the “everydayness” of violence that women are faced with and how this “fear of facing violence” shapes women’s experience of a city. “More and more people are beginning to live in cities, and the very nature of an urbanised environment lends to increased incidence of violence,” said Vishwanath, who has co-founded the mobile app Safetipin. The app, released earlier this week for Delhi, works on the crowdsourcing principle to audit localities to determine if the areas are safe for women.
Policing is not the only thing that will make a city safe, said Vishwanath. “Other institutions and public service providers, such as transport and PWD officials, too are needed to improve safety.”
Talking about how violence against women is a global and regional problem, Anju Pandey, programme officer for UN Women’s Ending Violence Against Women campaign, said that the media must also report on victims of violence in rural areas as the marginalised often don’t have a redress mechanism. “Social apathy needs to change to empathy,” said Pandey. “Laws can only do so much. Social attitudes and legal recourse must evolve hand-in-hand.”
The discussion is a collaborative effort of the organizations to take forward the UN Secretary General’s campaign – UNiTE to End Violence against Women and Girls. In November, UN organisations in India are focusing on joint advocacy in support of the global UNiTe campaign.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]