Jan Sahas Development Society – an Indian non-governmental organisation working with survivors of gender-based violence will receive over Rs 19 million over the course of four years from the Commonwealth Foundation’s Grants Programme. This funding will be used by the organisation to improve access to justice for the survivors of gender-based violence across five Indian states.
“This funding will allow them to establish a national campaigning platform with women survivors,” a media release said. “Jan Sahas will work closely with the judiciary, police and other state actors to improve the implementation of laws and policies related to sexual violence against women and children, specifically the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, and the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013—the principle law aimed at protecting women against rape and other crimes such as stalking, voyeurism, and acid attacks.”
The Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organisation that works to bolster people’s participation in democracy and development. Its Grants Programme lends support to innovative project ideas and approaches that “strengthen the ability of civic voices to meaningfully participate in public discourse, in policy-making processes and with governments.”
Jan Sahas, which says it has prevented 6,800 young girls from entering caste-based commercial sexual exploitation, said that women survivors will be at the centre of this project to improve access to justice with high rates of violence in the five Indian states.
Director of Jan Sahas and advocate for the end of caste and gender-based discrimination, Ashif Shaikh, said, “It is a privilege to be awarded a grant from the Commonwealth Foundation. Despite the Nirbhaya Fund being set up and various legal reforms enacted, violent crimes against women have increased by 13% in recent years. We’re looking forward to giving survivors the tools to campaign for justice.”