Main description:

This book discusses the pervasiveness of violence against women (VAW) in India and traces its evolution as a public health concern. It highlights the fundamental relationship between health and violence and identifies institutional gaps, which hinder comprehensive healthcare and support to VAW survivors.

The volume brings together in-depth case studies from various states and civil society organisations on their initiatives to help bring adequate support and health services to women affected by VAW. These include engagement with hospitals to increase awareness and sensitivity among health service providers and community-run health clinics for marginalised women. The book documents the mobilising efforts of feminists, community-based organisations, state institutions, and CSOs in developing comprehensive healthcare responses and bringing violence against women into the public health discourse. It provides insights into the lack of guidelines for responding to sexual violence in medical and nursing education, and the way that the police and the justice system function in India.

This book will be of interest to public health professionals, and students and researchers in public health, gender studies, social work, and sociology. It will also be useful for policymakers and for professionals working for thinktanks or CSOs working on developing health system responses to VAW.

Contents:

List of Figures. List of Tables. List of Contributors. Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgments. Section 1: Introduction Violence against women (VAW) as a public health issue Sangeeta Rege, Padma Bhate-Deosthali, and T K Sundari Ravindran Section 2: Institutionalising a health system response 1 North East Network (NEN) Darilyn Syiem 2 Bhoomika V Jithesh 3 Sukoon Sonia Trikha Khullar and Manpreet Kaur 4 Upscaling of Dilaasa Sangeeta Rege, Padma Bhate-Deosthali and Chitra Joshi Section 3: Working with hospitals 1 Vimochana Donna Fernandes, Satyadevi.K and Padma Bhate-Deosthali 2 Sneha Nayreen Daruwala, Preethi Pinto and Nikhat Shaikh 3 Soukhya Suneeta Krishnan, N.S. Vishwanath, Prarthana Appaiah, Anuradha Sreevathsa, Nayanatara Patil, Kameshwari Devi, Sangeeta Rege and Padma Bhate-Deosthali 4 Swati Poonam Kathuria, Anagha Pradhan and Jasodra Rana 5 Anweshi K Ajitha, P Sreeja and Jayalakshmi Rajeev Section 4: Working with health workers in rural and semi-urban areas 1 Masum Ramesh Awasthi 2 Rural Women's Social Education Centre (RUWSEC) Balasubramanian.P, Bhuvaneswari Sunil and T K Sundari Ravindran Section 5: Advocacy with the health sector 1 Sama Deepa Venkatachalam and Adsa Fatima 2 Tathapi Audrey Fernandes Section 6: Conclusion. Index.