The Roadmap Ahead

The Roadmap Ahead: Drafting the Protocols & Manuals on PWDVA 2005

Now with the successful culmination of the campaign to create a sensitive, gender-just domestic violence law, the LCWRI has been approached by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to draft Training Protocols and IEC materials to create awareness on the law and for the use of the implementing agencies. These materials to be prepared by us will be adopted and disseminated by the central government.

We are also undertaking a Project with grants from the UN Trust Fund to eliminate violence against women (administered by UNIFEM) for the purpose of implementation of the PWDV Act 2005 to carry out a project for training and advocacy on laws relating to domestic violence. Under this Project, we will be preparing a Training Manual for Implementing Agencies (Protection Officers & Service Providers) as well as a Bench Manual for the Judiciary. We would be creating instruments that would be used to train and sensitise implementing authorities under the Act and to raise awareness on this law in order create an enabling environment for women to assert their rights against situations of violence. We hope to disseminate enough information about domestic violence, its history and other factors such as identifying potential victims or perpetrators, understanding theories of domestic violence, the legal aspects of dealing with abuse etc. Thereby facilitating the creation of an atmosphere free from violence and helping women to negotiate for space within their domestic relationships through easier access to justice.

Our efforts will be linked up with support from the Ministry, the NCW and the TISS.