Nandini Ghosh, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata, pointed out that often the responsibility of ‘preserving the family and the marriage’ falls on the woman. The threshold for violence is therefore very high, preventing women from seeking help as soon as they are subject to such situations. When a woman finally seeks help, it is because of a trigger: an incident of such magnitude that she realises the intensity of her situation. Beyond gendered thresholds for violence, financial and social status influence women’s approach to survival. “Help seeking for marginalised women is very different from help seeking for mainstream, dominant caste women,” said Nandini. Preeti Karmarkar, co-investigator, said that these findings have been derived from detailed interviews with 180 survivors from three states–Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal–over the course of two years (2020-2022). The survivors’ testimonies were supplemented with statements from about 180 social workers such as lawyers, medical practitioners and NGO volunteers among others.Philippa Williams, Associate Professor in Human Geography at Queen Mary University of London, shared the resources and a few open-access pictures taken by feminist photographers as a part of the project. Photographers Priyadarshini Ravichandran, Vidya Kulkarni and Debalina captured candid photographs in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal respectively. Open access photographs do not feature survivors, said Philippa; it features people from the community, added Nandini. Regarding the creative process, Nandini said that briefs of interviews were shared with the photographers, who then captured pictures representing resilience through their own lenses. The goal was to reframe domestic violence, said Philippa. Vidya, one of the three photographers, talked about how photographic elements such as light, contrast and saturation were used to represent survival as experienced by the survivors. The photos do not reveal the faces of subjects; instead the focus is on symbols of resilience, she said. Two hands clasped around the thorny stems of fresh pink roses, a woman’s reflection in a bucket full of water, a bangle-clad hand gripping fabric: pictures with many hues and shapes, none hinting at violence. “What the photographer sees and captures is different from what the viewer sees. These photos are open to interpretation,” said Vidya. Swarna Rajagopalan, founder of The Prajnya Trust, said though the findings from this research merely affirm existing ideas, the quality of information gained will help in future policy formulation. “Work is ongoing,” she added. In addition to shareable resources, the website also contains reports and policy briefs based on findings from the research project. State-specific helplines have been collated by regional NGOs, available upon request. PCVC Dhwani crisis hotline: 044-43111143 / 1800-102-7282
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