Virtual event to counter gender based violence 

Hyderabad: Every year, United Nations observes International day of elimination of violence against women, unfolding 16 days of activism which concludes on 10th of December which is also Human Rights day. For this year the theme is “Orange the world: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect” 

Observing the International Day of Elimination of Violence against women, Youngistaan Foundation’s Gender program organised a virtual event - “Orange the World, Educate| Respond| Prevent” on 5th of December, 2020  to counter Gender-Based Violence and to create awareness on reducing violence faced by women in specific and everyone in general. 50+ participants attended this event while more than 2,000 people watched the event on Facebook and Youtube Live streaming. 

The event was graced by the presence of four esteemed panellists, namely Sumathi Badugula an IPS officer, DIG, CID Women Safety Wing, Sudarsana Kundu, a Co executive Director Gender at Work Global, Pearl Choragudi, Head of Counseling at My Choices Foundation and Richa Singh, Assistant Manager in digital engagement at Breakthrough in addition to Live music performed by Rinky Sharma. 

The event started with an alluring performance by a city-based popular singer-songwriter, Rinky Sharma from her own album. Followed by which, an enlightening talk on Gender based violence was delivered by Sudarshana Kundu. She addressed gender based violence, highlighting the influence of existing social structures on Gender based Violence. She also educated the audience on different types of violence that can be seen around us in different spaces. 

Women of a lower caste would be facing violence on a daily basis. In continuation of understanding Violence, Sumathi Badugula spoke about the rise that was seen in Domestic violence cases during the Pandemic. There was a 60% rise in the number. She addressed the importance of counselling in situations of domestic violence as a way to construct healthy relationships. 

As an extension of Domestic violence, Intimate partner violence was discussed by Pearl Choragudi. She shed light on red flags and emotional abuse or manipulation in relationships which form the basis for a toxic relationship. She also spoke about consent in a relationship and how ‘no means no’ It is highly important to respect and reciprocate to the partner which is achieved by better communication. 

This was followed by Richa Singh’s talk on Bystander intervention. She started off by showing a short video on bystander's intervention. She provided insight on Bystander intrusion and how sensitive yet vital it is to provide support to the victim against the perpetrator. The victim should always be in the centre where his/her needs are kept in mind and ‘heropanti’ is not expressed.   

The session concluded with a panel discussion and a set of questions posed by the audience. They thoroughly enjoyed the panellists discussing on such vital topics.  

Swathi M, a BTech student said- ‘’The topics are very crucial, informative and very relevant to our daily lives. As such topics are not discussed in our colleges, the session helped me to deal with certain issues. I shall continue to implement in my life”. 

Dhanya, a BA student said - “I loved the entire session. Sessions like these help youngsters like me to deal with daily difficulties. I request the team to host these sessions more in number”. 

Concluding the session, Arun Daniel Yellamaty, Founder of Youngistaan Foundation thanked each and every volunteer for making this event happen. He urged the audience to be aware of various kinds of Gender-Based violence and have courage to counter it alone/ by using the resources around.