Building Violence Free Communities

Creating social condemnation against violence on women is one the most effective ways of preventing it. Swayam has been working consistently to establish gender-just and violence-free communities in a few rural and urban areas, in collaboration with local community members, CBOs, NGOs and the government machinery. Swayam's aim is to facilitate the creation of pro active groups of women and girls, men and boys and equip them to address and prevent violence against women in their communities, with the ultimate objective of creating communities where women are free from violence.

We work in 5 Panchayats in Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal as well as in Metiabruz, Khidderpore and Mahestala in Kolkata through our Community based Support Centres in Sarisha and Metiabruz.

Through these Community based Support Centres we

1. Provide women with support services including counselling, police follow-up and legal advice. We also support women to follow up their cases in court.
2. Engage women & girls and men & boys in these communities to become facilitators of social change, enabling them to contribute to genuine long term development in their communities.
3. Create avenues for their economic empowerment and help them to claim and access their rights and entitlements
4. Publish Hamari Awaaz, a magazine in Urdu written by community women in Metiabruz and Amader Katha, a Bengali broadsheet written and circulated in Diamond Harbour.