New Delhi: In an inter-ministerial meeting attended by representatives from nine line ministries, the Ministry of Rural Development’s DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission) unveiled its plans for the second year of the National Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence – ‘Nayi Chetna – 2.0’. Chaired by the Additional Secretary, MoRD Charanjit Singh, the meeting, held yesterday, aimed to foster convergence and collectively strengthen redressal mechanisms for survivors of gender-based violence.
The campaign, scheduled to launch on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November, will be observed across 34 Indian states and UTs until 23 December 2023. Led by DAY-NRLM’s self-help groups network of over 9.8 crore rural women members, the campaign will operate as a Jan Andolan or people’s movement.
Data from NFHS – 5 reveals that more than 77% of women still do not report or discuss their experiences of violence. Motivated by these findings and the experiences of violence faced by women SHG members nationwide, the Nayi Chetna Campaign aims to advance the rights of women and gender-diverse individuals for a life without fear, gender-based discrimination, and violence. Campaign activities will deepen awareness of gender-based violence (GBV) among self-help group members and encourage GBV reporting, while also addressing social norms that perpetuate such forms of violence.
During the meeting, various ministries expressed their interest and highlighted specific areas of support that could be provided. A key activity will involve sensitizing service providers on their role in supporting survivors of gender-based violence, creating a conducive environment for survivors to speak up and seek support and justice. Participating ministries included Panchayati Raj, Women and Child Development, Home Affairs, Law and Justice, Information and Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports, Education and Literacy, Social Justice and Empowerment, as well as Health and Family Welfare.
This campaign will complement DAY-NRLM’s ongoing programmatic efforts to address GBV, including the establishment of Gender Resource Centres (GRC) at the block level. These community-managed platforms aim to protest gender-based inequalities and discrimination and provide support for survivors through collaboration with other departments and agencies. With over 3000 GRCs established nationwide, efforts are underway to set up more, making this campaign a pivotal step towards fostering societal-level change concerning gender-based violence.