Capacity Building of Service Providers, Advocacy ad Effective Lobbying for Effective Implementation of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
 
This project aims at enhancing the capacity of service providers/stakeholders for effective implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005) in India and South Asia. With this initiative, Centre for Social Research, in co-ordination with stakeholders and partner NGOs, will formulate strategies for the effective implementation of the PWDV Act, foster a rise in awareness level about the provisions of the PWDV Act, increase accountability of the service providers and the government machinery, and ultimately serve victims of domestic violence by providing better access to the redress and legal services they are entitled to. The project is supported by Interchurch Organization for Development Co-operation -ICCO).

The passing of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act was a great step forward in the battle against domestic violence. However, if the act is to have any effect on the lives of the women affected, effective implementation is essential. Lack of awareness on the new legislation as well as unavailable civil infrastructure is impeding the effective implementation currently. Civil infrastructure required for the successful functioning of the act but currently unavailable includes well trained protection officers, medical and shelter facilities for aggrieved women, free and accessible legal aid, and well trained police and service providers.

Against this backdrop, the Centre for Social Research with support from ICCO endeavours to bring together service providers and stake holders to share their experiences and best practices under the PWDV Act in order to allow women to better attain redress for domestic violence and to more effectively access the services they are now by law guaranteed. The project envisions building capacity against domestic violence at the national level via a three track implementation plan. Each track focuses on the specific objective.

  • Track 1: Awareness generation and grass-root advocacy - This will be done through Knowledge Sharing Consultations in six regions of India and also partnering with media by holding Media Consultations.
  • Track 2: Lobbying at National and State Level - This will be carried out in partnership with WPC to build pressure on government by using different lobbying tools.
  • Track 3: Capacity building of the Service Providers (Duty Bearers). This will be done through Training of Trainers Workshops, in Six Regions of India.

The first track includes knowledge sharing consultations in the five regions of India that would bring together relevant stakeholders including law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations, community members and media to initiate discussion on their respective experiences, including problems faced in the field and best practices. Track two will consist of lobbying at the national and state levels for better implementation and proper allocation of resources for the PWDV Act. The regional consultations will result in an action plan and from this a lobbying document will be made, advocating the need for mechanisms necessary to make the implementation of the PWDV Act more effective and accessible to victims of domestic violence. Track three will focus on building capacity among service providers. This will include 3 days Training of Trainers (TOT) of the service providers who have been given authority by the State Government to provide support services; shelter, legal aid and counseling to the victim of violence.

Current Status

In 2008, the first track of the project has been completed. The regional Knowledge Sharing Consultations have taken place. The first consultation was in Patna on 6th August 2008, Bihar the partner for which was Ms. Kanchan Bala, Coordinator, CSDS. The second was in Chennai on 16th September, the partner here was Ms. Bargavi Devendra, Secretary, India Women's Association, the third was organized with National Centre for Advocacy Studies, and the focal person here was Ms Prasanna. The fourth Regional Workshop was conducted in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh with Ms. Jaya Joram, Covenor, Arunachal Pradesh Women's Welfare Society on 21st October 2008. The last one was a National level Consultation where people from across India joined to chalk out the lobbying document. This National Consultation took place on February 12, 2009. Have a look at the agenda here.

Many important issues were brought to the foreground trough the knowledge sharing consultations. These will provide the basis for the action plan and lobbying document.

With the coming into force of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in October 2006 domestic violence is no longer to be accepted as “normal” in Indian families and society. With this Act, the Government has acknowledged that to protect women from Domestic Violence is a public policy matter and a human rights concern.

Capacity building workshop

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA) was brought into force on October 26, 2006. In order to create a better understanding of the PWDVA and the related legal procedures among Protection Officers and Service Providers, so as to ensure that the opportunities created by the PWDVA reach more and more victims of violence, Centre for Social Research (CSR) along with Socio Legal Aid Research and Training Centre (SLARTC) organized a Training of Trainers workshop.

    Trainings Conducted

–        Kolkata, West Bengal, 24th -26th June 2009, 37 participants      News      Gallery

–        Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, 26 – 28 August 2009 49 participants    News      Gallery

–        Bhubneshwar, Orissa, 7 – 9 October 2009, 31 participants

–        Nagpur, Maharashtra, 5 – 7 November 2009, 54participants

–        Kolkata, West Bengal, 6 – 7 December 2009, 25 participants

 

For more information about this workshop click here.

Please find here Agenda for the Training of Trainers Workshop On “Protection of Women from Domestic Violence”.