Empowerment of Women Experiencing Violence
Our partner organisation SIEDS fights for a nonviolent environment for women and men in Bangalore, India, and strengthens women in their self-determination. The SIEDS-Collective promotes awareness and will not give up until the situation of women has improved.
SIEDS counsels women in threatening situations in the crisis intervention centre in Bangalore and offers temporary protection to women and their children in the women’s shelter in Kolar. The counselling of SIEDS is resource-oriented and holistic. In the long term SIEDS empowers women to reject different forms of violence in their households and in society. SIEDS strengthens the position of women by promoting their self-organisation in groups in the suburbs of Bangalore. SIEDS includes the civilian population in the discussions about violence and equal rights and holds the government and responsible institutions accountable for gender discriminating laws and practices. The prevention campaigns of SIEDS increase the awareness of those concerned, the public and the authorities for the problem of dowry violence, selective abortion of female foetuses and the lack of security for women in public space. An effective fight against domestic violence and to promote gender equality requires – just as in Switzerland – a lot of time, and a constant multidimensional commitment. It includes immediate crisis interventions in cases of violence, a long-term strengthening of women and prevention and sensitizing campaigns to give impulses to social norms, official practices and the legal basis not to tolerate violence against women and to promote gender equality. This is exactly what SIEDS fights for.
Mamatha Yajamman
Counselor SIEDS-Collective, India
“One of the basic principles underlying the community work is the belief that a woman has the right and ability to make decisions about her life; our role is to facilitate this decision-making process.”
