Preventing Gender Based Violence in India

Opportunity International Australia

Supported beneficiary groups within Women & Girls

Overseas communities or charities | Victims of crime (including family violence)

Age Demographic

Families

Project Focus

Human rights

Project Area

International

Rural/Regional

Project Description

Our goal is to empower women in India to build a life free from poverty, by addressing their right to safety and equality. We focus our efforts on two of the most significant threats to women’s safety: human trafficking and domestic violence.

Both of these threats have been exacerbated by COVID-19.

Human Trafficking:
In India, 1 girl is sold into sex slavery every 3 minutes and only 1% of these girls are found. We work at scale to prevent trafficking through:
• Using artificial intelligence to identify villages most at risk to traffickers,
• Grassroots education teaching families to keep their daughters safe,
• Mass media campaigns to raise awareness in the general public,
• A national helpline providing services in multiple languages.

Domestic Violence:
In India, 1 in 3 women experience domestic violence but only a fraction of victims report the offence. We address domestic violence by providing access to free counselling, legal aid and rights education.
We train local women, PeaceMakers, to identify cases of domestic violence in their community and help provide support and access to services for peaceful restorations. This is achieved through a 4-pillar approach:
• Prevent through awareness and education,
• Provide support through intervention services,
• Protect the safety of survivors,
• Prepare men to be allies and advocate for the safety of women.

Expected Outcomes

Human Trafficking Prevention will reach 400 villages and educate 200,000 people.
Outcomes include:
•Identify, educate, and empower communities about risk factors that increase their vulnerability to commercial sexual exploitation across India.
•Partner organisations demonstrate increased capacity to change norms and behaviors in the communities where they work.
•Women and girls, men and boys demonstrate strong understanding of the threat of human trafficking and can recall the National Trafficking Helpline.

Domestic Violence Prevention will train 80 PeaceMakers, reaching approximately 4000 families.
Outcomes include:
•Provide counselling, rights education, legal aid and other social support to help women restore their confidence, self-esteeem and ability to negotiate in a household, enabling them to live a life of dignity.
•Empower women at the individual, household and societal level, focusing on changing knowledge, attitudes and norms around domestic violence.

Project Data & Lessons

The Opportunity network has collaboratively developed an approach to monitoring and evaluation. We are committed to transparency and accountability, working alongside implementation partners and clients to develop reporting frameworks that ensure our stated goals are achieved effectively.

We monitor the quality and impact of our gender based violence project through our reach to more people and more communities in India, measured by the number of:
•Implementation partner organisations and volunteers equipped to train at-risk villages on human trafficking prevention
•Community members reached with trafficking prevention training
•PeaceMakers trained and providing services
•Women and families who have received direct support to deal with cases domestic violence
•Educational meetings conducted to raise awareness of domestic violence.

The results of our projects are shared in our bi-annual Impact Reports which can be found at https://opportunity.org.au/our-work/your-impact/impact-reports

Both of these threats have been exacerbated by COVID-19.

Learn More

Project Dates

Project Commences: October 1, 2021

Project Completes: June 30, 2022

Funding Details

$99,000
Funding Needed

$101,000
Current Funding

$200,000
Total Project Costs

Approved Tax Deductability Status

Approved Tax Concession Charity

Other Funding Sources

Other Support Opportunities
Not Interested

Organisation Details

Opportunity International Australia

ABN: 83 003 805 043

ACNC Registration Link

Contact

About Opportunity International Australia

Opportunity International Australia is ending poverty in developing countries –one family and one community at a time. By providing small loans to families in need, Opportunity helps them grow their own businesses and generate sustainable incomes so they can lift themselves out of poverty with dignity. To break the cycle of poverty for good, Opportunity also increases families’ access to healthcare and quality education, while strengthening communities to reduce the risk of human trafficking and domestic violence–creating a new future for generations to come.

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If we are to achieve gender equality we will need to pull every lever; being more intentional about bringing women into focus supports smart investment decisions. Philanthropic dollars are limited; it is investments in women and girls that bring the greatest opportunity for social change.

Sam Mostyn AO, Chair, Australians Investing In Women

Also known as Australian Women Donors Network (ABN: 28 141 197 471), Australians Investing in Women is a registered charity endorsed by the Australian Tax Office as a deductible gift recipient (DGR1) under a special listing, all donations over $2 are tax deductible.