Establishment of a rehabilitation center for Dalit women victims of gender violence (Pondicherry, India)

Status : Completed| Number of beneficiaries: +1500 women

Project duration: 24 months.

Local partner: ADECOM Network – an organization that aims to contribute to the development of disadvantaged Indian communities, especially Dalit people, women and children.

inde-22The problem

Discrimination against girls and women is very pronounced in India: the infant mortality rate of girls is very high and their schooling is lower than that of boys

Acts of violence against women are also widespread, according to the Indian government a woman is raped every 22 minutes and one in three is under 18 years old

The Indian caste system is based on the fact that women and men are not equal. The “Dalit” population (also considered as “untouchable”) is totally excluded from the caste system because they exercise jobs considered impure and degrading

Dalit women (80 million in 2011) suffer from discrimination, social and economic exclusion and abuse: in 2013, a report by 32 Indian NGOs indicated that 54.8% of them suffered one or more physical abuse and 46.8% experienced one or more acts of harassment or sexual assault

Objectives / Activities

The project provides for the creation of a rehabilitation center:

  • Capacity: hosting 70 women in extreme vulnerability and supporting 1500 women in the long term
  • Information on legal rights and legal support for the prosecution of aggressors
  • Adequate medical and psychological follow-up
  • Accompaniment to develop knowledge and prepare women for professional integration
  • Establishment of sensitization workshops on gender-based violence (for men and women)

Beneficiaries

Direct beneficiaries:

  • 1500 women and girls mainly Dalits (from 14 years old) over the duration of the project

Indirect beneficiaries:

  • Encouraging women to be welcomed (counseling and mediation activities, and raising awareness among nonviolent men, sensitizing families or friends about the possibilities of legal proceedings against domestic violence)