Led by Prof (Dr.) Sairam Bhat, this project aims to raise awareness about the various ways in which Gender Based Violence may manifest, and also to train and build the capacity of elected Women Panchayat Raj Representatives to deal firsthand with the victims of this Gender-Based Violence.
Background
Although India has comprehensive frameworks protecting the rights of women across all sectors of society, EWRs in remote areas may sometimes be unaware of their rights. They often lack structured training, accessible legal resources, and coordinated support mechanisms to effectively respond to cases of gender-based violence and facilitate access to justice. Funded by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India, this project seeks to bridge these gaps by preparing training modules, conducting master trainer programmes across the country over 2 years, and establishing a legal aid clinic to provide ongoing legal and policy support. The main research area of the project focuses on the implementation of various pieces of legislation, such as the Domestic Violence Act, the Dowry Harassment Act, the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act, and the Victim Compensation Scheme, along with a deeper understanding of Gender-Based Violence from a sociological perspective.
Project Description
The project will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and partner institutions like SIRDs, Yashada and Piramal. It also plans to conduct pilot workshops in collaboration with local law universities to test and refine the training module before wider rollout. To further the reach of the project, a legal aid competition titled “4th Edition Prof. V.S. Mallar Memorial Legal Aid Competition” was conducted in collaboration with J.S.S. Law College, Mysore, in which more than 50 colleges participated, and helped bring legal aid to rural areas in various parts of the country.
Expected outcomes include empowerment of EWRs, enhanced legal support to rural women, and stronger support mechanisms for the safety and security of women.
Objectives:
- To create training modules on laws relating to the safety and security of women and girls.
- To build the capacity of Elected Women Representatives through Master Trainer Programmes
- To create multilingual and digital learning resources
- To provide continued legal and policy support to strengthen the first response to gender based violence at the grassroots.
Key activities
The project includes development of legal training modules, translation into regional languages, pilot workshops with local universities, Master Trainer programmes, creation of digital learning resources, establishment of a First Responder Legal Aid Clinic, and research, monitoring, and policy recommendations for the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR).
Duration
This is a two-year project that started in October 2025 and is expected to end by September 2027.
Team
Principal Investigator – Prof. (Dr.) Sairam Bhat ()
Consultant – Adv. Gayathri Gireesh ()
Consultant – Adv. Prateek Kamath ()
Consultant – Adv. Rohith R Kamath ()
Project Intern – Tanvi Kadakol
Project Intern – Merugu Abhigna
Project Intern – C. Malleshwari
Project Intern – Arvind S
