Story1

Story2

Story3

Story4

Yatra Updates

24th      20 Jan 19


Many mothers fear that their family will be shamed for having a ‘rap

Read More
23rd      19 Jan 19


Today #DiginityMarch program was conducted at Bardhaman school. The ch

Read More
22nd      18 Jan 19


#DignityMarch rally in Balasore, Odisha yesterday, inaugrated by Smt.

Read More
21th      17 Jan 19


#MadhyaPradesh witnessed one of its most heart-wrenching cases when Po

Read More
20th      16 Jan 19


#DignityMarch was at Utkal University in Odisha, yesterday. Professor

Read More
View All Updates

About Us

Dignity March is an initiative to end sexual violence against women and children. Under this national march survivors and other stakeholders will travel 10,000 KM in 200 districts of 24 States/UTs in India. March will kick-off from Mumbai on 20thDecember 2018 and culminate on 22nd February 2019 in Delhi.

Dignity March is a call for women and children to speak out their experiences of sexual abuse without shame. It is also an appeal for the stakeholders and the larger community to create a healthy, non-judgemental and a safe environment to support the voices of the survivors and to take the fight for justice forward.

The Dignity March is a response to what is happening around us. It is time to speak up, condemn the act of sexual violence and to end the culture of victim shaming/blaming and shift the blame. Collectively, we must hold the state actors accountable to ensure justice to survivors.

Dignity March is a platform for the survivors to tell their stories in their own voice, to represent their own narratives. It is a call to end the culture of shame and fear, to encourage others to speak up, and demand zero tolerance for sexual violence in our society. It is to hold society and the state accountable toward punitive action against the perpetrator, through effective implementation of legal guidelines, and ensuring rehabilitation facilities for survivors.

images_map2

Situation

In India, rape and sexual violence on women and children remains one of the most critical problems that needs urgent redressal. According to NCRB, reported cases of crime against women increased by 83% from 185,312 in 2007 to 338,954 in 2016. As many as 2.5 million crimes against women have been reported in India over the last decade. Rape accounts for about 12% of all crimes against women. In 2016, 106 cases of rapes were reported every day and the same year it saw the lowest conviction rate of 18.9% in the last decade of crime against women.

Children especially are often subjected to sexual violence because they’re more vulnerable and susceptible to it than adults and are easily threatened. In India, a child is sexually abused every 15 minutes. 1,04,976 cases were registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (PoCSO), during the year 2014-16 with 36,022 cases alone in 2016; out of which 19765 were rape and 12262 were of sexual assault cases. Around 24,000 children and women were victims of human trafficking in 2016, a rise of nearly 25 percent from the previous year.

Intervention

Resources

Download the PDF file .

Download the PDF file .

Download the PDF file .

Download the PDF file .

Vistors

5711

Expected Outcomes:

  • 1. Create an environment to end victim shaming in 24 states and 200 districts.

  • 2. More than 50,000 survivors of rape and sexual abuse feel motivated and confident to continue their fight to claim justice, relief and rehabilitation.

  • 3. Create a network of support and solidarity between victims, families, stakeholders.

  • 4. Public initiatives for justice and rehabilitation for survivors.

  • 5. Reform for a comprehensive socio-medico-legal relief and rehabilitation of Survivors’ in the policies.

Key strategies:

  • 1. Building a National Network of Survivors, family members and other stakeholders across 200 districts and 24 states/UTs and 200 districts across the country.

  • 2. Triggering Dialogue with the Socio-Medico-Legal support system, to enhance their capacity to deal with issues of rape and sexual violence.

  • 3. Policy Engagement at local, state and national level for effective implementation of protocols, improved budget allocation and developing and monitoring the system towards a comprehensive approach to address sexual violence against women and children.

  • 4. Public Engagement by getting the attention of media to do comprehensive reportage of issues related to rape and sexual violence.

Activities:

  • 1. Meetings with the survivors, their families and the larger community: To trigger conversations around rape, sexual violence, child sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation of children and trafficking meetings will be conducted with the survivors, their families and the larger community in 200 districts across the country.

  • 2. State-level stakeholders meetings: 24 state-level meetings will be held with different stakeholders to sensitize them on issue of rape and sexual violence. These will culminate in a set of recommendations for better implementation and monitoring of law and policies.

  • 3. Awareness and sensitization programmes: To be held in different locations with students, lawyers and medical professionals highlighting the challenges and gaps they face daily and dealing with issue of rape and sexual violence.

  • 4. Survivors’ Convention at the State-level: Convention of survivors will be organised to discuss patterns in cases related to violence against women and children and to provide immediate legal assistance and guidance.

  • 5. Resource material: Distribution of resource material targeted at different stakeholders to help deal with issue of violence against women and children. The aim is to spread awareness and equip different stakeholders with updated protocols, guidelines, government policies, law and schemes, toll free helpline numbers and short videos and posters talking about their roles and responsibility in dealing with case of rape and sexual violence.