‘Create an eco-system to stop the assaults’

As a society we have momentary outbursts of emotions that last as long as the next breaking news comes forth It takes a gruesome heartwrenching incident of violence like that of Nirbhaya or Asifa or Abhaya to make us raise our voices I am not referring to NGOs or activists or even a handful of conscious citizens This is about the entire nation and every stakeholder families friends influencers civic authorities politicians and law enforcers All of them seem to wake up for a bit and then go back into complacencyGender factorThe Kolkata hospital didnrsquot have basic amenities and doctors were forced to work long hours with hardly a decent place to rest or take a break Who is checking these hospitals for infrastructure from a gender and safety perspective We may have the odd check when it comes to physical infrastructure to repair something that has broken down What we really need is audits from a gender safety perspective For example functional hygienic toilets for women and men demarcated rest areas for working women and men within the premises inaccessible to outsiders That should be the baseline for every government and public space where lsquogender safetyrsquo not just safety needs to be ensuredPost Kolkata there has been a case in Badlapur Schools must do background checks with rigour even for those hired on a contractual basis Even when laws are in place we hardly witness any penalties for flouting or not implementing them When people see that there are lawbreakers getting away with impunity then that emboldens others or makes them dismissive or flippant about the possibility of any repercussions Hence stricter laws and their stringent implementation are required to deter offendersAt all levelsWhat we need in this country is change at different levels of society First and foremost we need to educate our boys if we really want to solve the problem of Sexual Gender Based Violence SGBV Teaching our boys consent is integral to this We must include gender sensitivity and sex education in our education systemMedia and Bollywood play an important role when it comes to education of children and youth There is content being created that sometimes glorifies toxic relationships under the lsquogarbrsquo of love When superstars and influencers enact these roles the youth imbibes such behaviour not understanding that in reality these are criminal offences We need art appreciation courses as a mandatory part of the education system This will equip youth to be mindful while consuming contentCohesive unitWe have laws and systems of redressal but if we want to preemptively stop such heinous crimes then the government NGOs civic authorities and law enforcers need to work together with ordinary citizens to ensure we create a future where SGBV is not a pandemic The systemic change needs to be topdriven as well as implemented on the ground levelIt is not easy for NGOs or activists to find their space working with the law enforcers for instance Yet we have to create that space keep turning up consistently with data showing why there is a cause for concern which places are dangerous timings trendshellip provide solid proof which shows that attention is neededWe at the Red Dot Foundation launched Safecity after the Nirbhaya protest to make a change and increase reporting of such crimes in public spaces The Safecity app gives individuals an anonymous and alwaysaccessible online platform to complain or report an incident as a victim or an observer These reports are visible to law enforcement authorities When one person speaks out it emboldens others to speak out and we can then start the process of designing solutionsAt Red Dot Foundation we are trying to end SGBV through education advocacy and crowdsourced data As part of our work we conduct lsquobystander interventionrsquo programs for the lay public to make them understand what they can do as a bystander if they witness any such violence We help them to steer one away from the I do not want to get involved attitude and teach people what to do or how to intervene safelyWe have an initiative called Safety Champions where we train youth to talk to peers friends and families about gender sensitivity violence and stereotypes We need to harness the power of collaboration As an NGO we work closely with law enforcement agencies civic authorities corporates educational institutions NGOs and communities and our collaboration has seen impact It goes to show that together is the way ahead we need to create an entire ecosystem to truly turn the tide and bring an end to this violenceThe columnist is a filmmaker cofounder and CEO Red Dot Foundation Red Dot Foundation works in the space of gender equity safety and justice