Finding a voice, finding courage
There are many things about SNEHA Mumbai that I appreciated:
the long-term (in some cases decades long) committment of the staff to the cause and the organization;
the decency and care they displayed towards the women who came to cry on their shoulders (literally);
the depth and extent of their trainings and subsequent knowledge about the laws on the books which could then be implemented/demanded in favor of the abused;
the real energy and enthusiasm of their volunteer task force in the slums of Mumbai;
the kind of professionalism that comes from a deep understanding of the many moving parts of their organization’s multi-pronged programs;
their willingness to address the question “How do you know your programs are working?” through years of systematic research with outside agencies as partners
their willingness and real effort to coordinate with different government bodies and take them along, educating them as they see necessary; and,
their thoughtful realization that such serious issues can only be dealt with, over a long period of time, if staff and volunteers are kept involved through periodic celebrations which involve games, competitions and activities that require a great deal of whole-hearted participation and team building.
With Dr. Nayreen Daruwalla, Director of Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Program & Vandana Singh, Program Coordinator at SNEHA’s oldest office located within a branch hospital in Dharavi, Mumbai
Photo credit: SNEHA Mumbai
But perhaps, the one thing I appreciated most, about SNEHA Mumbai’s staff is their attitude - they will not give up on a woman, they will stick with her, and they will help her fight for her rights. This is important.
Sometimes it is very difficult not to give up for a woman who has no support from family or friends, nowhere to go AND she is under fire from someone significantly important to her like her spouse or members of his family. It is at this breaking point that women often become suicidal, or are perhaps beaten/raped/poisoned/burned to the point that they end up in hospital. It is also at this point that SNEHA’s staff, located strategically, in government hospitals, armed with their own ‘Woman and Child OPD (Out Patient Department)’ intervene. (Their primary intervention initiatives focus on prevention and I will talk about it separately.) Their trained counselors and case workers who work in the hospital are responsible for identifying victims and following up with them even after they have been discharged.
It may come as a surprise to some (though not so much when you think about it) that often victims of domestic abuse will not open their mouths to speak up against the perpetrator or for themselves. They need help to begin to gather the courage to speak out. This is not the case for the victims who are under 18, who are often referred to the hospital by the police under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), and there are too many of those here. Then there are the unmarried girls who come in to the hospital pregnant and unaware of where to go, who to turn to. There are the rape victims and the ones who are taken innocently or fooled into believing marriage is imminent.
With nurses, doctors, other staff members and SNEHA personnel who together form the Core Commitee and Rapid Response Group at Mumbai’s Nair Hospital. The purpose of this joint endeavor is to identify and follow up, providing care, services and support to the victims of violence, be it domestic or child abuse. We are seated in SNEHA’s Child and Women OPD (out patient department) located within the hospital where one-on-one or whole family counseling sessions are held, as required.
Photo Credit: SNEHA Mumbai
Marriage, that ultimate bastion of respectability in Indian society, is often not so very respectable at all. Not when a woman is abused and subject to marital rape within the confines of that respectable institution. Domestic violence is the number one cause of crime against women, as recorded by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). It makes up 32% of the total crimes officially reported. In 2021, there was a 15% increase in this one sphere of reporting, with 136,234 cases recorded across the country. Of course, during the pandemic this particular problem was exacerbated, and it began to be referred to as ‘the shadow pandemic.’
The way SNEHA’s outreach is currently structured it is both far-reaching and flexible. Their staff is present in the major government hospitals in Mumbai, which also serve as teaching hospitals for doctors and nurses in training. They run their own counseling-based OPDs within these hospitals. 80% of the total number of cases cases of domestic abuse dealt by SNEHA are referred to them by hospital providers. When I enquired of the nurses if SNEHA’s presence was a help to them and how they were managing before, they responded by telling me they were very grateful when SNEHA entered the scence, ““Dealing with the patients when they tell us their problems. What can we do? Even if we can do something, who will follow up? If we have to get involved and go to police station; still we need backup from a proper organization. Who can lead us in the right direction. With SNEHA, we could coordinate for the patient properly.”
Another remarkable poster made by a nursing student at Nair Hospital to participate in a poster making competition on the occasion of International Woman’s Day.
Photo credit: SNEHA Mumbai
A doctor who was present said, “We are here 9 to 4” indicating that SNEHA’s staff would provide counseling, legal advice, practical help with issues of shelter and food, make visits to the police station with the victim, if required, to file complaints, and diligently follow up with them after they are discharged, both within and beyond their offical working hours. They will go into the community where SNEHA’s counseling centers are located, their trained volunteers are based.
In other words, they cast a comprehensive net to save the woman and children who are trapped in a cycle of abuse. Another hospital staff told me, “They (SNEHA staff) reach where we cannot reach and they have very good coordination with the police.” Again, part of SNEHA’s mission is to strenghten existing systems in the government sphere, to sensitize and train government personnel be they in healthcare or police so that they in turn are better able to handle their responsibilities.
An NGO need not perpetuate it’s existence forever; rather, in an ideal case, an NGO exists only to bring itself to an end by solving the problem for good. This then is SNEHA’s long-term approach as it considers how to hand over programs to government bodies and to the trained volunteers themselves in the areas where they are currently operational.
