NGOs screen film on domestic violence, Dharavi women recount experiences
Laying emphasis on the role of public health workers in addressing domestic violence issues, non government organisations Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT) and Point of View released a short film At The Crossroads on Tuesday. The film traces the life of a victim of domestic violence who ends up in a hospital after repeated instances of abuse.
The premiere was attended by around 100 women from Dharavi, many of whom recounted their experiences of surviving domestic violence. We wanted to do a community screening where women who have experienced domestic violence and are working against it would be able to attend and discuss the film and take it back to their communities to spread the thought, said Padma Deosthali, coordinator, CEHAT.
The film traces the story of Meera who attempts suicide and ends up at a city hospital after facing repeated abuse at the hands of her husband. At the hospital, a concerned nurse puts her in touch with an organisation attached to the hospital called Dilaasa that counsels survivors of domestic violence.
Our studies have shown that nearly 60 per cent of the women have not gone anywhere for help, have not even approached police stations to file a non congnisable offence when faced with domestic violence, despite the severity of the violence, Deosthali said.
This is the story of our lives. Many of us are Meeras here. We realised quite late that we could seek help, said a resident of Dharavi after the screening.
The film also tries to explore sexual violence in a marriage. According to CEHAT, nearly 70 per cent of the women who have approached them have admitted to have faced sexual violence in their marriage
Sometimes, its not just the violence; there are good moments as well in a marriage, which is why it is difficult to get out of it. The idea was to show all aspects of a marriage in the film. Violence is not just on the women, but also on the children and from a psychological perspective it becomes very difficult to erase the hurt for a very long time, said Ipshita Maitra, director of At The Crossroads.
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ngos-screen-film-on-domestic-violence-dharavi-women-recount-experiences/750766/0