Way out of violence - Counseling and career prospects for women in India

Since 2016, TERRE DES FEMMES (TDF) has been supporting the Indian women's rights organization BHUMIKA Women's Collective (BHUMIKA), which works to help women affected by violence in the state of Telangana in south-central India. 

Violence against women is omnipresent in India. Hundreds of thousands of violent crimes are reported each year - in 2021 alone, there were 405.326 documented cases (NCRB). Traditional patriarchal structures are also firmly entrenched in large parts of society, with devastating consequences for girls' and women's freedom of choice and development opportunities. 

 

 

Every year, hundreds of women affected by violence receive urgently needed legal and psychological support in the counseling centers operated by BHUMIKA. The goal is to give them the stability and capacities they need to permanently find their way back to a life free of violence. However, BHUMIKA has repeatedly found that severe economic hardship becomes an insurmountable obstacle. The extreme financial dependence on husband and family-in-law prevents many women from breaking away from violent structures. If they do manage it, they often find themselves pushed to the edge of their existence. In desperation, many eventually return to their partners, and the cycle of violence begins again. 

To enable women seeking help to actually escape violence, BHUMIKA therefore aims to combine comprehensive counseling with economic empowerment: 

 

- Psychological and legal counseling for 500 women affected by violence. BHUMIKA informs the women about their rights and options for action, helps them process trauma and, if desired, also conducts counseling sessions with the spouse or other family members. If a woman wants to separate and/or press charges, BHUMIKA supports her in doing so. 

- Work equipment/start-up aids to self-employment such as sewing machines, thermo-boxes (to keep food warm for sale) or push carts (for mobile trade) for 40 socially disadvantaged clients of the counseling centers. With their own income, the women can secure their livelihoods, escape dependence on male providers, and stand up for their goals and rights with greater strength.   

- Business workshops for 150 women affected by violence and socially disadvantaged women. The participants learn the most important basics for setting up and running their own business. 

 

BHUMIKA's goal is to break the cycle of violence long-term and to give women in India a self-determined and violence-free future - support us in this!