The 18-month project titled Building a Coordinated Response to Prevent and Reduce Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Kishangarh Block, Ajmer, Rajasthan India, conceived and funded by PTF and IDRF, will implemented by the Centre for Advocacy and Research, India (CFAR) and aims to shape a systemic and grassroots response and solution to the issue of GBV.
The overall project goal is to strengthen the readiness and capacity of the administrative and legal system and the community to develop the mechanisms including standard operating procedures and grassroots structures to address GBV in a timely and decisive way.
The project aims to reach out to all women, girls, and groups affected by GBV in 33 Gram Panchayats (GPs) or Village Council of Kishangarh Block, a total population of 68,397. The project will spread awareness on law/legal recourse as well as about all the services available to those both vulnerable to and affected by GBV. Simultaneously, CFAR will identify potential change agents and leaders within the community, enable them to form Gender Forums led by women, and then support them in collectively reaching out to and engaging key stakeholders in shaping an enabling environment and key processes to both prevent and reduce GBV.
These processes of both self-organizing and working with the governmental system will enable Gender Forums to collaborate with multiple levels of local service providers, duty-bearers, and decision-makers to ensure that the justice system not only becomes gender sensitive but also responsive and willing to use administrative and legal address systems. This will help to take on or neutralize local power structures set up by dominant groups and self-anointed leaders.
“By facilitating the empowered grassroots groups to work with both systemic and societal stakeholders, we will ensure that the eradication of GBV becomes everyone’s business and is no more siloed into a personal or woman-alone problem,” said Akhila Sivadas, Executive Director, CFAR.
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