Safecity is growing exponentially and we’re constantly striving hard to translate our vision of equality and emancipation to reality. Because we don’t want you to miss out on any of our work, we’ve decided to put together a monthly newsletter to tell all you about what we’ve been up to. You can sign up for our newsletter here.

Inclusive Urbanism is our focus for 2020

Safe Campus Program – Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives project in Maharashtra

In the month of January, our Youth Leaders conducted several workshops for their peers on helping them challenge gender norms, stereotypes and toxic expectations of masculinity. They explained the spectrum of violence and the various remedies available legally. Several of the teams also audited their college campuses and local transport infrastructure for safety.

The Safecity team led by ElsaMarie DSilva, Marissa Borges and Tania Echaporia conducted faculty workshops on the POCSO and PoSH legislations. This was attended in large numbers by the teaching and non-teaching staff. Most school prinicpals also were part of the programmes.

A workshop at M. H. Saboo Siddik College of Engineering with young men on gender roles, stereotypes and toxic masculine norms which need to be challenged. Principal Zeba Malik and Administrator Sabir Sayed also attended and shared their perspectives with the young men. The students also conducted a poster competition in their college to raise larger awareness on the issue of sexual violence. There were over 80 entries and many of the posters were stunning in their visual communication.

A Workshop with young boys on “Bullying and Changes during Puberty” during the visit of Ms. Joanna Roper, Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Special Envoy for Gender Equality, British Government.

We were happy to host a special workshop for boys of St Stanislaus School, Bandra on challenges experienced during puberty and prevention of bullying and harassment. This was attended by Ms. Joanna Roper, Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Special Envoy for Gender Equality and Beth Yates, First Secretary Political Affairs. Marissa Borges, Head of Training and Program Outreach did an interactive session with the 60 boys from Grade 6 who emphasised that they believed in Gender Equality and would ensure they would do everything they can to practise it. We are grateful to Principal Correa for supporting our work.

We have been conducting workshops for 1000 children on Prevention of Child Sexual abuse as part of a collaboration with the British Deputy High Commission Mumbai. Canossa Convent Primary School and Our Lady of Good Counsel High School participated in the project.

Updates from Pune – Amplify Change Project on Safe Public Spaces

Under the Amplify Change grant, we are working in two communities in Pune – Premnagar and Kasewadi – on Safe Public Spaces. Our Founder & CEO ElsaMarie DSilva did a site review and was thrilled by the response from the community. The young girls who are being trained as Youth Ambassadors explained how they have grown in confidence and are able to speak to people of the larger community on issues that plague them, they participate in social activities for longer hours in the day and feel confident staying in public spaces beyond 7 pm which was their earlier curfew time. They put on a skit and dance performance which expressed their hopes, aspirations and their search for “freedom” to be themselves and have choices. Read more about our work in Kasewadi here.

Updates from Satara – Project Rise Up/ Balsuraksha

On International Day of Education and the National Day of the Girl Child, 24 January, our team lead by ElsaMarie DSilva, Tania Echaporia, Mona More and Sayali Khatavkar facilitated two sessions in the schools at Satara. At the first session, young students of six schools that are part of the program presented their thoughts and opinions on prevention of child sexual abuse and gender equality to the District Level Education Officer Mr. Ramesh Chavan. They insisted that education for prevention of child sexual abuse must be mandatory for all and provision of counsellors in schools.

Later that day, Sayali conducted a session on the POCSO legislation for over 150 teachers in Medha. Understanding what is child sexual abuse, recognising the spectrum of abuse and knowing the provisions of the law was discussed in detail. Most of the teachers had a brief idea about the POCSO act, but had never undergone a workshop to understand how to identify child abuse or address it. The workshop gave the teachers a forum to also discuss various techniques used to handle children who often look up to the teacher as a trusted adult and wish to confide in them. This was important as the children themselves don’t understand the gravity of the issue, often fail to confide in their parents or teachers about the abuse and are silent victims for a prolonged period of time. The workshop equipped teachers to have a better understanding of the legislations, the effects of abuse on children and how to address the problem.

Thus far we have covered at least 500 teachers and educators in the Satara district. You can read more on our Satara Project here.

Updates from Delhi – Fearless Women of Shaheen Bagh

As a tribute to the resilient and fearless women of Shaheen Bagh, Red Dot Foundation partnered with the Fearless Collective to capture the moment in a wall mural. The mural design and painting was a collaborative effort of several volunteers comprising of women mainly from Shaheen Bagh and the teams from The Fearless Collective and Red Dot Foundation. Our team member Jyoti Goyal worked tirelessly to source the perfect wall and secure permissions. Painting the three storey mural was in itself an act of resistance and fearlessness given that many women had never done this before. If you go to Shaheen Bagh, don’t forget to check this beautiful piece of art.

Internship Fairs on Delhi College Campuses

Our Youth Engagement officer Kajal Antil, another passionate young woman has been conducting internship fairs on several college campuses. Through this outreach, she not only spreads the message of gender equality and the importance of sexual violence prevention but also recruits male allies using pop culture. By challenging sexist movie dialogues and song lyrics, young men become more aware of unconscious bias and creating cultures of insecurity. Do sign up if you want to be a volunteer.

Community Outreach in Delhi

Jyoti Goyal conducted a workshop on 21 Jan at Etasha Society, Khanpur, South Delhi for 32 participants who were trainees in a skill development program. She conducted a training on prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace. Often entry level trainees are not given this education thus putting them at a disadvantage as they may be subjected to such crimes or themselves overstep the boundaries of propriety. All the participants were appreciative of the new knowledge gained.

The Woman Inc. & Beyond Black – SAKHI ANNUAL POETRY AWARDS 2019

The Woman Inc. and Beyond Black (a subsidiary of Red Dot Foundation/Safecity) in association with The Jimmy Foundation, Sheroes and Point of View, presents SAKHI ANNUAL POETRY AWARDS 2019. An opportunity to voice your creativity through words, rhymes & rhythms, and at times blank verses.

Winners will get a mentorship/fellowship opportunity with The Woman Inc. magazine, Safecity, and Point of View, and further, a chance to get their work published in an annual poetry anthology.

Submit your works to sakhi.awards@gmail.com by February 15, with ‘Submission for TWIBBS Poetry Awards 2019’ in the subject line.

Declaration of final results is on International Women’s Day, March 8. Check out the jury members here.

Be Your Own Superhero

This campaign is to celebrate your story. It’s to celebrate the countless stories that collectively give us hope to #RiseTogether and fight against injustice. If you’re someone who has stood up for a friend who was being harassed, we would love to hear your heroic story too!

#BeYourOwnSuperhero today and share your story of action against harassment with us- bit.ly/BeYourOwnSuperhero

Our Global newsletter

Do subscribe to the Red Dot Foundation Global newsletter if you would like specific news featuring our work across the globe.

Click here to read. Do subscribe if interested.

Girl Fund Campaign

We have been selected by Global Giving to be part of their Girl Fund Campaign. We appreciate every generous donation. Even Rs 500 or $10 will go a long way.

You can use this link to donate- https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/training-10-youth-campus-ambassadors-on-safety/

That’s all for this month. Keep watching this space and we’ll keep you updated on all our work and exciting activities every month!

What’s in store for Safecity in February?

Red Dot Foundation at Kalaghoda Arts Festival
Red Dot Foundation at WUF10, Abu Dhabi
Red Dot Foundation along with Nappinai NS will be conducting CyberSaathi workshops at Banasthali University, Rajasthan
Ongoing – Safe Campus Program- Final events on 20 college campuses in Maharashtra
Ongoing – Project Bal Suraksha in Satara, Maharashtra
Ongoing – Project Amplify Change in Pune, Maharashtra
Every Friday at 9 pm IST/ 11.30 am EST join us on Twitter @pinthecreep

Safecity is now available on Android and iOS Phones.

Download now to report sexual violence anytime anywhere with access to news, blogs, updates in the law and safety tips at your fingertips.

Safecity Monthly Updates: January 2020

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