Addressing Violence Against Dalit Women Insights Based on Field Experiences in Haryana Copyright PRIA 2013. All rights reserved. Content may be used/quoted with due acknowledgement to PRIA and the Vio- lence Against Dalit Women Project (funded by The Asia Foundation). Addressing Violence Against Dalit Women Insights Based on Field Experiences in Haryana Submitted to THE ASIA FOUNDATION New Delhi Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) 42, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi – 110 062 Phone: 91-11-2996 0931 / 32 / 33 Fax: 91-11-2995 5183 Email:
[email protected] Web:www.pria.org Contents Abbreviations 6 Glossary of Indian Terms 7 Preface 8 An Introduction to Violence Against Dalits/Dalit Women 10 Factors Contributing to Violence Against Dalit Women 14 Economic Discrimination 14 Political Discrimination 15 Cultural and Religious Norms 17 Limited Access to Social Infrastructure 18 Addressing Violence Against Dalit Women 20 Strengthening Local Level Institutions 22 Social Justice Committees 22 Village Information Centres 28 Empowering Women 29 Legal Empowerment 30 Political Empowerment 32 Village Level Committees 33 Mahila Samitis 33 A Multi-Stakeholder Approach 34 Involving the Youth 34 The Importance of CSOs 34 Role of Media 35 Conclusions and Ways Forward 36 References and Bibliography 39 Appendices 41-46 Abbreviations ANM Auxiliary Nurse Midwife ASHA Accredited Social Health Activist AWPS All Women Police Stations BDO Block Development Officer CBO Community Based Organization CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination