On 12th December 2020, as a part of the United Nations 16 Day Campaign to raise awareness on Gender-Based Violence, Girl Up* Bangalore collaborated with IMAGE India, our project with Terre des Hommes Netherlands (TdH-NL) and Children of India Foundation for a live discussion on Instagram about the issue and how citizen journalism can plan a vital role in putting an end to it. Our trustee and India’s Country Manager of TdH-NL, Mr. Thangaperumal Ponpandi, discussed with the Girl Up Representative about the different types of Gender-Based Violence, the four broad
categories being Trafficking, Child Marriage, Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse respectively.
He further discussed the role IMAGE India is playing to curb the violence against women,
especially the victims of Child Marriage. The steps that are followed by IMAGE to identify the
victims of Gender-Based Violence and work towards their empowerment include:
1. Identifying the victims of Gender-Based Violence,
2. Getting to know the victim,
3. Providing counseling to the victims,
4. Sharing with the victim’s family the laws about punishments for domestic violence,
5. Empowering the victim by exchanging her fears for support by the staff,
6. Motivating the victim by sharing the biographies of women who fought against violence,
7. Continuing the counseling of both victim and the perpetrator,
8. Undertaking legal action if the violence doesn’t stop,
9. Boosting the confidence of the victim by providing continuous moral support.
The discussion ended on a note about how regular individuals can do their bit in fighting against
Gender-Based Violence by " observing and reporting" any suspicious activity or behavior.
Here is a video snippet from the Instagram Livestream:
*(Girl up is a global movement initiated by the UN to fight against inequality by spreading awareness via social media clubs).
