Abstract
The Indian state Kerala is renowned for its overall development in various indexes such as human development, equality and education. However, in terms of combating violence against women and girls, state policies do not fulfil their objectives. The total number of crimes against women in Kerala during 2007 was 9381, by the end of 2019, it had risen to 13925, and by October 2020, it was 10124. To prevent all forms of crimes against women, the state established a vigilant committee in 1997 under Kerala Women’s Commission’s supervision. This vigilant committee is known as Jagratha Samithi (in the Malayalam language) and works in every Local Self Government (Panchayat). Therefore, the object of this research is the Jagratha Samithi (JS). The study aims to identify the JS’s role and activities in a panchayat to prevent violence against women and children. The methodology of the research is based on a qualitative study with primary data collected from 40 elected female and male representatives from 35 panchayats from one district in Kerala. The study shows that Jagratha Samithi in a panchayat has a significant role in addressing crimes against women and girls. However, there is a lack of sufficient support from society on its mission.
Highlights
Article 1 of the United Nations General Assembly resolution identifies violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.” In India’s case, the NationalCrimes Records Bureau (2018) of India found out that crimes against women happen every 1.7 minutes in any part of India
To analyze the role of Jagratha Samithi (JS) in preventing violence against women and girls, this paper seeks to find out what activities were implemented by the JS at the panchayat level by referring to the mandates issued by the Government of Kerala
The JS helps a panchayat get men involved in such measures by various activities
Summary
Article 1 of the United Nations General Assembly resolution identifies violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.” In India’s case, the NationalCrimes Records Bureau (2018) of India found out that crimes against women happen every 1.7 minutes in any part of India. Article 1 of the United Nations General Assembly resolution identifies violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”. Every 16 minutes, a woman is raped and every 4.4 minutes domestic violence occurs. According to the National Population Register, in Kerala, the sex ratio is 1058. It is only 914 per 1000 males for the whole of India. Studies show that domestic violence is a prevalent form of violence (George, 2011; Sunny, 2003). Many married women who are victims of violence commit suicide due to various forms of torture in Kerala (Indu et al, 2020). The patriarchal ideology of gaining more control over women caused an increase in the violence against women (Hunnicutt, 2009)
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