In the six years (2014-2019) following the enactment of the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Wor... more In the six years (2014-2019) following the enactment of the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act (PoSH Act), 2013, Partners for Law in Development (PLD) undertook extensive work to facilitate its implementation. The primary strategies adopted were: capacity building of stakeholders combined with the production and dissemination of knowledge and information resources. We view both as mutually reinforcing and essential for creating institutional capacities to implement the law as well as raise awareness among workers of the rights and consequences for actions that amount to sexual harassment. It is through partnering with diverse stakeholders, across contexts PLD contributed to creating the conditions necessary for implementation of the law. The training and orientation workshops are also valuable sources of learning for PLD, for it is through the exchange, interaction and queries posed, that we have over time, come to understand the landscape of complaints and how workplaces and individuals involved respond to these. Each training conducted by PLD is documented. The consolidated documentation is processed for reflection and the creation of new knowledge. This report consolidates the reflections, lessons and findings from the 'field' of workshops, to contribute to a collective and evolving understanding of the challenges related to the compliance of PoSH Act.
This report seeks to provide the building blocks to CEDAW training for wider use. The workshop, o... more This report seeks to provide the building blocks to CEDAW training for wider use. The workshop, of which this report is an outcome, had certain specific objectives including the creation of awareness of the concepts and mechanisms pertaining to CEDAW. It also sought to enhance clarity on treaty regimes and CEDAW as effective tools for planning development and accessing rights for women.
This Report is a narrative of the Peer Learning workshop that took place in Nepal from 26th – 28t... more This Report is a narrative of the Peer Learning workshop that took place in Nepal from 26th – 28th August 2009. The objectives of the workshop, which is reflected in the report, was to provide a platform for learning and exchange of knowledge/information/experiences on a) the key elements of the cedaw reporting process; b) process of implementing CEDAW concluding comments; c) identifying areas of technical assistance for reporting, implementing and monitoring CEDAW
This guide focuses on knowledge content and perspective, illustrations and examples, communicatio... more This guide focuses on knowledge content and perspective, illustrations and examples, communication tools and application exercises, all of them meant to be adapted or borrowed selectively at the discretion of the user. It is designed to meet the varied needs of the users/trainers, and the diverse constituencies with which they work.
This workshop report explores the dominant understanding of human rights in relation to events in... more This workshop report explores the dominant understanding of human rights in relation to events in South Asia, pointing out its limitations in relation to women before moving on to discuss the relevance of CEDAW to human rights of women. Examining CEDAW through its core concepts, strategies for application at the local, national and international levels, this report is useful tool for understanding the treaty at work. In addition, the report mentions other special mechanisms for women within the UN human rights system
The report is an outcome a workshop held in Puri, Odisha in 2006. The workshop was aimed at devel... more The report is an outcome a workshop held in Puri, Odisha in 2006. The workshop was aimed at developing an understanding of the relative concept of gender law and human rights and the relation between these. It further aimed to develop an understanding of the concept of gender in general, its implications for individuals, family, society, State and legal system
Targeting of Women as Witches: Trends, Prevalence and the Law in Northern, Western, Eastern, and Northeastern Regions of India (2012)
The report is an outcome of 3 consultations held in Northern, Eastern, Western and Northeastern r... more The report is an outcome of 3 consultations held in Northern, Eastern, Western and Northeastern regions of India by PLD in partnership with state organisations, with the support of the NCW. The report maps the trends of violations inflicted on women in the name of witch hunting, its repercussions, and the role of the state and the law. The consultations involved 165 participants, including lawyers, activists, academicians, NGOs, survivors, police and state women’s commissions. The report also offers recommendations that are instrumental to advance justice to the survivors of witch-hunting.
This workshop report focuses on alternative legal processes through three-way collaborations betw... more This workshop report focuses on alternative legal processes through three-way collaborations between community groups, local lawyers and PLD. This report documents group discussions on case studies that surface the political economy of law and the creative strategies in law to challenge marginalization
The workshop report outlines the conceptual framework of CPR, identifying challenges within the l... more The workshop report outlines the conceptual framework of CPR, identifying challenges within the law. It documents the rich discussions on legal strategies used by field-based activists for asserting rights in relation to forest, water and land within the framework of CPR.
Intersections Between Women’s Equality, Culture & Cultural Rights (2010)
This report documents the process of understanding cultures and cultural transformations that emb... more This report documents the process of understanding cultures and cultural transformations that embrace and promote women’s rights. It involved mapping discursive interventions across Bangladesh, Indonesia, India and Nepal.
The title, like the report, alludes to applications and practice of law beyond the courtroom and ... more The title, like the report, alludes to applications and practice of law beyond the courtroom and court appearances. It documents field-based strategies in alternative law in different parts of India, setting out the relevance of alternative law practices for social justice in the context of India.
A review of 6 years of PLD’s partnership programme. It profiles the work of the field-based partn... more A review of 6 years of PLD’s partnership programme. It profiles the work of the field-based partners, discusses PLD’s contribution to their work and assesses the impact of collaborations giving insights into the gains and challenges of such partnerships.
The resource book ‘Rights in Intimate Relationships’ seeks to understand rights in intimate relat... more The resource book ‘Rights in Intimate Relationships’ seeks to understand rights in intimate relationships within a framework that recognizes rights for all women regardless of their sexuality, marital status, or legality of relationship. In proposing a framework based on ‘intimate relationships’ it moves beyond the boundaries of the exclusivist, marriage centric framework of conjugality in the law. The resource book examines customary and contemporary non normative intimacies in rural and urban India from a feminist perspective, relies upon constitutional, comparative and human rights law, to explore a transformatory rights agenda in respect of the family.
This report documents diverse strategies adopted by community groups in Bangladesh, India, Indone... more This report documents diverse strategies adopted by community groups in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Nepal to negotiate women’s rights in the context of culture, while grounding the strategies in the specific political – historic local and national contexts. It looks at secular strategies along with the more recent responses to fundamentalism, that use of cultural identity and religious/ cultural resources. These admittedly political strategies that use cultural resources seek to contest not just sex discrimination, but also the orthodox, elite, male monopoly of cultural leadership. The report provides a rich account initiatives that promote culture as relational, transforming, plural and accommodating of women’s rights, and in doing so, challenge dominant static and fundamentalist assertions of culture.
Piecing Together Perspectives on Witch Hunting: A Review of Literature (2013)
From the European witch-craze in the 16th century to modern day African witchcraft beliefs and co... more From the European witch-craze in the 16th century to modern day African witchcraft beliefs and contemporary cases of violent witch-hunting in India, history has been witness to witch-hunting across time and place. Why have witch-hunts taken place in the past? What makes them endure to the present? How are witchcraft beliefs different from place to place? Why are women targeted as witches? What is the role of gender in witch-hunting? How can we make sense of how witch-hunts play out in today’s world? This review of diverse materials including scholarly articles and NGO reports tries to answer these questions and more from a feminist perspective, and attempts to piece together varied understandings on witch-hunting so as to find ways forward in which to respond to ongoing attacks on women in the name of witch-hunting.It particularly explores the value of moving beyond discourses of culture, illiteracy, superstition and irrationality, to investigate the structural reasons that explain the gendered nature of witch hunting. The review is a second publication by PLD on witch hunting, and part of a larger ongoing initiative for creating evidence and a knowledge base on the targeting of women as witches.
Witch-Hunting in Assam: Individual, Structural and Legal Dimensions (2014)
The report based on a study undertaken collaboratively by the three organizations, draws its find... more The report based on a study undertaken collaboratively by the three organizations, draws its findings from 16 case studies of victims from Goalpara and Sonitpur districts of Assam, as well as police records on the subject from Goalpara. Using the ethnographic data, the report highlights the continuum of violations connected with witch hunting, also bringing into focus, structural causes that make it possible to rationalize conflicts and losses through witch hunting; It points towards gaps in law and justice, in terms of lack of police inaction, and most importantly, lack of preventive and reparative measures that enable a continuum of violations. Modeled on an earlier report based on field work in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar by Partners for Law in Development, this report critically speaks to the policy solutions through special law or increased criminalization; highlighting instead, the need for legal and policy responses that guarantee preventive action, and simultaneously assure reparative measures for healing victims of community led/ supported victimisation similar to witch hunting, irrespective of the motive.
Contemporary Practices of Witch Hunting: A Report on Social Trends and the Interface with Law (2015)
This is a socio legal study on witch-hunting conducted by Partners for Law in Development (PLD). ... more This is a socio legal study on witch-hunting conducted by Partners for Law in Development (PLD). It is based on action research conducted in collaboration with community organisations in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. Against the backdrop of sensationalised narratives of witch hunting, and calls for state specific laws, this study reports critical insights that question narratives that mystify and 'other' targeting of women as witches: it questions the relevance of state responses in India that are framed exclusively for witch hunting.
The study, the first of its kind in India, provides evidence of contemporary social trends of witch hunting, and the interface of witch hunting related victimization with law. It draws upon a variety of sources: case studies from select blocks in the districts – Bilaspur and Janjgir-Champa (Chhattisgarh), Jamui (Bihar) and Ranchi (Jharkhand); police records collected from Jamui, Bilaspur , Gumla and Ranchi for the years 2010 to 2012; and High Court and Supreme Court judgments from ten states.
The findings suggest that that witch-hunting targets middle aged and older, mostly married women, across social groups. Although significantly fewer, there are male victims too. The data shows that the most violent acts, including murder, are one end of a continuum of violence which accompanies witch-hunting. Social stigma and ostracism, temporary or long term dislocation and resultant impoverishment are more common consequences of witch-hunting in the regions of the study. Threads of counter narratives challenge the flat discourse that conflates witch hunting with superstition and also highlight the relevance of structural contexts in which witch hunting occurs, bringing administrative neglect and governance concerns to the fore.
In relation to law and policy, the data and findings speak to the growing trend of enacting special laws at the state level in India. Though the three states where the field work was undertaken have special laws on witch-hunting- these are rarely, if at all, invoked on their own. Rather, action is likely to be taken under the Indian Penal Code when violence escalates. Preventive action is unlikely. Issues of reparative/ rehabilitation components of justice remain missing in the current legal responses including the special laws. The study thus offers an evidence based critique of current trends in law and policy making in response to incidences of witch-hunting.
This book principally aims at enhancing and deepening the understanding on CEDAW, its coverage an... more This book principally aims at enhancing and deepening the understanding on CEDAW, its coverage and potential. It therefore covers conceptual, substantial and contextual issues, addressing complexities within each, to provide information as well as encourage dynamic inquiry and application of the Convention.
This book principally aims at enhancing and deepening the understanding on CEDAW, its coverage an... more This book principally aims at enhancing and deepening the understanding on CEDAW, its coverage and potential. It therefore covers conceptual, substantial and contextual issues, addressing complexities within each, to provide information as well as encourage dynamic inquiry and application of the Convention.
In the six years (2014-2019) following the enactment of the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Wor... more In the six years (2014-2019) following the enactment of the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act (PoSH Act), 2013, Partners for Law in Development (PLD) undertook extensive work to facilitate its implementation. The primary strategies adopted were: capacity building of stakeholders combined with the production and dissemination of knowledge and information resources. We view both as mutually reinforcing and essential for creating institutional capacities to implement the law as well as raise awareness among workers of the rights and consequences for actions that amount to sexual harassment. It is through partnering with diverse stakeholders, across contexts PLD contributed to creating the conditions necessary for implementation of the law. The training and orientation workshops are also valuable sources of learning for PLD, for it is through the exchange, interaction and queries posed, that we have over time, come to understand the landscape of complaints and how workplaces and individuals involved respond to these. Each training conducted by PLD is documented. The consolidated documentation is processed for reflection and the creation of new knowledge. This report consolidates the reflections, lessons and findings from the 'field' of workshops, to contribute to a collective and evolving understanding of the challenges related to the compliance of PoSH Act.
This report seeks to provide the building blocks to CEDAW training for wider use. The workshop, o... more This report seeks to provide the building blocks to CEDAW training for wider use. The workshop, of which this report is an outcome, had certain specific objectives including the creation of awareness of the concepts and mechanisms pertaining to CEDAW. It also sought to enhance clarity on treaty regimes and CEDAW as effective tools for planning development and accessing rights for women.
This Report is a narrative of the Peer Learning workshop that took place in Nepal from 26th – 28t... more This Report is a narrative of the Peer Learning workshop that took place in Nepal from 26th – 28th August 2009. The objectives of the workshop, which is reflected in the report, was to provide a platform for learning and exchange of knowledge/information/experiences on a) the key elements of the cedaw reporting process; b) process of implementing CEDAW concluding comments; c) identifying areas of technical assistance for reporting, implementing and monitoring CEDAW
This guide focuses on knowledge content and perspective, illustrations and examples, communicatio... more This guide focuses on knowledge content and perspective, illustrations and examples, communication tools and application exercises, all of them meant to be adapted or borrowed selectively at the discretion of the user. It is designed to meet the varied needs of the users/trainers, and the diverse constituencies with which they work.
This workshop report explores the dominant understanding of human rights in relation to events in... more This workshop report explores the dominant understanding of human rights in relation to events in South Asia, pointing out its limitations in relation to women before moving on to discuss the relevance of CEDAW to human rights of women. Examining CEDAW through its core concepts, strategies for application at the local, national and international levels, this report is useful tool for understanding the treaty at work. In addition, the report mentions other special mechanisms for women within the UN human rights system
The report is an outcome a workshop held in Puri, Odisha in 2006. The workshop was aimed at devel... more The report is an outcome a workshop held in Puri, Odisha in 2006. The workshop was aimed at developing an understanding of the relative concept of gender law and human rights and the relation between these. It further aimed to develop an understanding of the concept of gender in general, its implications for individuals, family, society, State and legal system
Targeting of Women as Witches: Trends, Prevalence and the Law in Northern, Western, Eastern, and Northeastern Regions of India (2012)
The report is an outcome of 3 consultations held in Northern, Eastern, Western and Northeastern r... more The report is an outcome of 3 consultations held in Northern, Eastern, Western and Northeastern regions of India by PLD in partnership with state organisations, with the support of the NCW. The report maps the trends of violations inflicted on women in the name of witch hunting, its repercussions, and the role of the state and the law. The consultations involved 165 participants, including lawyers, activists, academicians, NGOs, survivors, police and state women’s commissions. The report also offers recommendations that are instrumental to advance justice to the survivors of witch-hunting.
This workshop report focuses on alternative legal processes through three-way collaborations betw... more This workshop report focuses on alternative legal processes through three-way collaborations between community groups, local lawyers and PLD. This report documents group discussions on case studies that surface the political economy of law and the creative strategies in law to challenge marginalization
The workshop report outlines the conceptual framework of CPR, identifying challenges within the l... more The workshop report outlines the conceptual framework of CPR, identifying challenges within the law. It documents the rich discussions on legal strategies used by field-based activists for asserting rights in relation to forest, water and land within the framework of CPR.
Intersections Between Women’s Equality, Culture & Cultural Rights (2010)
This report documents the process of understanding cultures and cultural transformations that emb... more This report documents the process of understanding cultures and cultural transformations that embrace and promote women’s rights. It involved mapping discursive interventions across Bangladesh, Indonesia, India and Nepal.
The title, like the report, alludes to applications and practice of law beyond the courtroom and ... more The title, like the report, alludes to applications and practice of law beyond the courtroom and court appearances. It documents field-based strategies in alternative law in different parts of India, setting out the relevance of alternative law practices for social justice in the context of India.
A review of 6 years of PLD’s partnership programme. It profiles the work of the field-based partn... more A review of 6 years of PLD’s partnership programme. It profiles the work of the field-based partners, discusses PLD’s contribution to their work and assesses the impact of collaborations giving insights into the gains and challenges of such partnerships.
The resource book ‘Rights in Intimate Relationships’ seeks to understand rights in intimate relat... more The resource book ‘Rights in Intimate Relationships’ seeks to understand rights in intimate relationships within a framework that recognizes rights for all women regardless of their sexuality, marital status, or legality of relationship. In proposing a framework based on ‘intimate relationships’ it moves beyond the boundaries of the exclusivist, marriage centric framework of conjugality in the law. The resource book examines customary and contemporary non normative intimacies in rural and urban India from a feminist perspective, relies upon constitutional, comparative and human rights law, to explore a transformatory rights agenda in respect of the family.
This report documents diverse strategies adopted by community groups in Bangladesh, India, Indone... more This report documents diverse strategies adopted by community groups in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Nepal to negotiate women’s rights in the context of culture, while grounding the strategies in the specific political – historic local and national contexts. It looks at secular strategies along with the more recent responses to fundamentalism, that use of cultural identity and religious/ cultural resources. These admittedly political strategies that use cultural resources seek to contest not just sex discrimination, but also the orthodox, elite, male monopoly of cultural leadership. The report provides a rich account initiatives that promote culture as relational, transforming, plural and accommodating of women’s rights, and in doing so, challenge dominant static and fundamentalist assertions of culture.
Piecing Together Perspectives on Witch Hunting: A Review of Literature (2013)
From the European witch-craze in the 16th century to modern day African witchcraft beliefs and co... more From the European witch-craze in the 16th century to modern day African witchcraft beliefs and contemporary cases of violent witch-hunting in India, history has been witness to witch-hunting across time and place. Why have witch-hunts taken place in the past? What makes them endure to the present? How are witchcraft beliefs different from place to place? Why are women targeted as witches? What is the role of gender in witch-hunting? How can we make sense of how witch-hunts play out in today’s world? This review of diverse materials including scholarly articles and NGO reports tries to answer these questions and more from a feminist perspective, and attempts to piece together varied understandings on witch-hunting so as to find ways forward in which to respond to ongoing attacks on women in the name of witch-hunting.It particularly explores the value of moving beyond discourses of culture, illiteracy, superstition and irrationality, to investigate the structural reasons that explain the gendered nature of witch hunting. The review is a second publication by PLD on witch hunting, and part of a larger ongoing initiative for creating evidence and a knowledge base on the targeting of women as witches.
Witch-Hunting in Assam: Individual, Structural and Legal Dimensions (2014)
The report based on a study undertaken collaboratively by the three organizations, draws its find... more The report based on a study undertaken collaboratively by the three organizations, draws its findings from 16 case studies of victims from Goalpara and Sonitpur districts of Assam, as well as police records on the subject from Goalpara. Using the ethnographic data, the report highlights the continuum of violations connected with witch hunting, also bringing into focus, structural causes that make it possible to rationalize conflicts and losses through witch hunting; It points towards gaps in law and justice, in terms of lack of police inaction, and most importantly, lack of preventive and reparative measures that enable a continuum of violations. Modeled on an earlier report based on field work in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar by Partners for Law in Development, this report critically speaks to the policy solutions through special law or increased criminalization; highlighting instead, the need for legal and policy responses that guarantee preventive action, and simultaneously assure reparative measures for healing victims of community led/ supported victimisation similar to witch hunting, irrespective of the motive.
Contemporary Practices of Witch Hunting: A Report on Social Trends and the Interface with Law (2015)
This is a socio legal study on witch-hunting conducted by Partners for Law in Development (PLD). ... more This is a socio legal study on witch-hunting conducted by Partners for Law in Development (PLD). It is based on action research conducted in collaboration with community organisations in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. Against the backdrop of sensationalised narratives of witch hunting, and calls for state specific laws, this study reports critical insights that question narratives that mystify and 'other' targeting of women as witches: it questions the relevance of state responses in India that are framed exclusively for witch hunting.
The study, the first of its kind in India, provides evidence of contemporary social trends of witch hunting, and the interface of witch hunting related victimization with law. It draws upon a variety of sources: case studies from select blocks in the districts – Bilaspur and Janjgir-Champa (Chhattisgarh), Jamui (Bihar) and Ranchi (Jharkhand); police records collected from Jamui, Bilaspur , Gumla and Ranchi for the years 2010 to 2012; and High Court and Supreme Court judgments from ten states.
The findings suggest that that witch-hunting targets middle aged and older, mostly married women, across social groups. Although significantly fewer, there are male victims too. The data shows that the most violent acts, including murder, are one end of a continuum of violence which accompanies witch-hunting. Social stigma and ostracism, temporary or long term dislocation and resultant impoverishment are more common consequences of witch-hunting in the regions of the study. Threads of counter narratives challenge the flat discourse that conflates witch hunting with superstition and also highlight the relevance of structural contexts in which witch hunting occurs, bringing administrative neglect and governance concerns to the fore.
In relation to law and policy, the data and findings speak to the growing trend of enacting special laws at the state level in India. Though the three states where the field work was undertaken have special laws on witch-hunting- these are rarely, if at all, invoked on their own. Rather, action is likely to be taken under the Indian Penal Code when violence escalates. Preventive action is unlikely. Issues of reparative/ rehabilitation components of justice remain missing in the current legal responses including the special laws. The study thus offers an evidence based critique of current trends in law and policy making in response to incidences of witch-hunting.
This book principally aims at enhancing and deepening the understanding on CEDAW, its coverage an... more This book principally aims at enhancing and deepening the understanding on CEDAW, its coverage and potential. It therefore covers conceptual, substantial and contextual issues, addressing complexities within each, to provide information as well as encourage dynamic inquiry and application of the Convention.
This book principally aims at enhancing and deepening the understanding on CEDAW, its coverage an... more This book principally aims at enhancing and deepening the understanding on CEDAW, its coverage and potential. It therefore covers conceptual, substantial and contextual issues, addressing complexities within each, to provide information as well as encourage dynamic inquiry and application of the Convention.
Economic & Political Weekly EPW MARCH 26, 2016 vol lI no 13, 2016
This paper discusses the findings of a socio-legal study on witch-hunting conducted by the Partne... more This paper discusses the findings of a socio-legal study on witch-hunting conducted by the Partners for Law in Development in Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. It highlights the results of the study in order to offer a critical perspective on the increasing reliance on special laws to address the problem of witch-hunting. The socio-legal evidence from the states which already have such special laws on witch-hunting shows their inefficacy in dealing with witch-hunting and related forms of violence. Criminalisation of witch-hunting through special laws is an inadequate response to the problem which has much in common with other forms of violence. There is a need to focus on accountability and reform of the agencies that activate the criminal justice system and to plug the vacuum in relation to reparative justice.
Prepared by PLD for the Rajasthan Department of Women and Child Development (WCD is a summary for... more Prepared by PLD for the Rajasthan Department of Women and Child Development (WCD is a summary for enabling the frontline workers, lawyers and the police in implementing the state law. It was released by the WCD during an inaugural event in Jaipur, on 5th July 2016.
Reframing Responses to Child Marriage A Closed Dialogue Between Members of the South Asian Femini... more Reframing Responses to Child Marriage A Closed Dialogue Between Members of the South Asian Feminist Inquiries into Rights and Equality (FIRE) Consortium with CEDAW and CRC Committee Members
Country Assessment on Human Rights in the Context of Sexual Health and Reproductive Health Rights (2018), 2018
This report is the first national inquiry on sexual and reproductive health undertaken by PLD and... more This report is the first national inquiry on sexual and reproductive health undertaken by PLD and SAMA on behalf of the National Human Rights Commission. It maps critical concerns pertaining to sexual health and reproductive health as two distinct but partially overlapping concerns in the context of India. The distinct and separate elaboration of the two thematic domainshave been dealt with in parts I and II of this report respectively. Sexual and reproductive health rights have been progressively enshrined under various international covenants and policy instruments. This accords sexual and reproductive health recognition within a right based framework and obligates the State to ensure their protection, promotion and fulfillment.
This is a brochure for a one-day round table on ‘Sexuality and Harassment in the wake of the #MeT... more This is a brochure for a one-day round table on ‘Sexuality and Harassment in the wake of the #MeToo movement’, Partners for Law in Development (PLD) held in collaboration with the Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality, Asoka University on December 1, 2018 at the India International Centre. The brochure provides information about the three panel discussions and speakers who discussed the many dimensions involved in sexual desire, attraction, boundary setting, agency, and transgression.
Critical Reflections: Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence (2015) - Marriage, Sexuality and The Law
The four volumes are compilations of the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Explori... more The four volumes are compilations of the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence on April 28, 2015, representing each of the panels. ‘Critical Reflections‘ is our endeavor to share the nuanced perspectives that emerged from the roundtable with the larger movement, to initiate and sustain dialogue on protectionist frameworks arising from an exclusive focus on sexual violence, to the neglect of concerns of sexuality.
Critical Reflections: Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence (2015) - Speech Sexuality and the Law (Part 2)
The four volumes are compilations of the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Explori... more The four volumes are compilations of the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence on April 28, 2015, representing each of the panels. ‘Critical Reflections‘ is our endeavor to share the nuanced perspectives that emerged from the roundtable with the larger movement, to initiate and sustain dialogue on protectionist frameworks arising from an exclusive focus on sexual violence, to the neglect of concerns of sexuality.
Critical Reflections: Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence (2015): Criminalization and Sexuality (Part 3)
The four volumes are compilations of the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Explori... more The four volumes are compilations of the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence on April 28, 2015, representing each of the panels. ‘Critical Reflections‘ is our endeavour to share the nuanced perspectives that emerged from the roundtable with the larger movement, to initiate and sustain dialogue on protectionist frameworks arising from an exclusive focus on sexual violence, to the neglect of concerns of sexuality.
Critical Reflections: Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence (2015)
The four volumes are compilations of the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Explori... more The four volumes are compilations of the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence on April 28, 2015, representing each of the panels. ‘Critical Reflections‘ is our endeavour to share the nuanced perspectives that emerged from the roundtable with the larger movement, to initiate and sustain dialogue on protectionist frameworks arising from an exclusive focus on sexual violence, to the neglect of concerns of sexuality.
Critical Reflections: Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence (2015)
The four volumes are compilations of the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Explori... more The four volumes are compilations of the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence on April 28, 2015, representing each of the panels. ‘Critical Reflections‘ is our endeavour to share the nuanced perspectives that emerged from the roundtable with the larger movement, to initiate and sustain dialogue on protectionist frameworks arising from an exclusive focus on sexual violence, to the neglect of concerns of sexuality.
Eastern Region Consultation on Adolescent Sexuality and the Law (2020), 2020
On 4th and 5th February 2020, a two-day Eastern Region Consultation on ‘Adolescent Sexuality and ... more On 4th and 5th February 2020, a two-day Eastern Region Consultation on ‘Adolescent Sexuality and the Law’ was organized by Partners for Law in Development (PLD), Swayam and New Alipore Praajak Development Society (Praajak) in Kolkata. This meeting is a continuation of national level consultations held by PLD with CEHAT and RCI-VAW (TISS) in Mumbai (August 2017), PLD with AJWS in New Delhi (December 2018) and PLD with TULIR in Chennai (September 2019), to document grassroots experiences of working with the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) to help girls prevent/exit forced marriages; as well as PLD’s socio-legal studies on elopements by under-age girls; the use of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the PCMA in cases of consensual relations. Resource persons from sectors such as sexual and reproductive health, law, child abuse, and sexuality education participated in the consultation and shared their experiences and challenges faced while working with adolescents. The consultation was a means to consolidate experiences from different interventions into adolescents’ lives and see how to engage with stakeholders beyond the social sector, including the media and the State.
Report: Round table on Sexuality and Harassment (2018), 2018
Partners for Law in Development, in partnership with Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality, ... more Partners for Law in Development, in partnership with Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality, Ashoka University, organised a Roundtable on Sexuality and Harassment to engage with the issue of sexual harassment by interrogating the complexities of our discourse around sexuality. These conversations, spread across three panels of Psyche, Agency and Law, looked at the many dimensions involved in sexual desire, attraction, boundary setting, agency, and transgression with a wide audience of students, academic researchers, legal experts, psychoanalysts and mental health practitioners.
National Consultation on Adolescent Sexuality, Health and the Law: Mapping Interventions Related Challenges and Strategies (2017)
Partners for Law in Development in partnership with CEHAT and RCI-VAW, TISS organized a two day c... more Partners for Law in Development in partnership with CEHAT and RCI-VAW, TISS organized a two day consultation to understand how policies and programmes relating to adolescents interact with each other to impact adolescents in self-arranged sexual relationships. 50 participants from 30 organizations working with adolescents across domains of health, education, sexuality and the law, came together to discuss the specificities of challenges and opportunities presented by laws and State programmes, and the approaches they adopt to navigate such challenges.
This workshop report typifies approaches to conducting a state-level programme on human rights. I... more This workshop report typifies approaches to conducting a state-level programme on human rights. It contains tools to facilitate discussion on the human rights norms, contextualising universal norms in relation to local issues and strategies and provides the national framework for justiciability of human rights.
Southern Region Consultation on Adolescent Sexuality and the Law (2019)
Partners for Law in Development (PLD) in partnership with Tulir organized a two-day consultation ... more Partners for Law in Development (PLD) in partnership with Tulir organized a two-day consultation to understand and discuss the criminalization of adolescent sexuality. This consultation sought to addressing particular the impact of laws and policies on adolescent sexuality, crisis intervention services, sexual and reproductive health and capacity development. Sixty participants representing individual practitioners as well as about 35 organizations working with adolescents across the domains of healthcare, education, sexuality and law came together to debate and discuss the specific opportunities and challenges presented by legal and state-driven interventions and mandates as well as the methods and avenues they used to navigate these structures.
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Books by PLD India
The study, the first of its kind in India, provides evidence of contemporary social trends of witch hunting, and the interface of witch hunting related victimization with law. It draws upon a variety of sources: case studies from select blocks in the districts – Bilaspur and Janjgir-Champa (Chhattisgarh), Jamui (Bihar) and Ranchi (Jharkhand); police records collected from Jamui, Bilaspur , Gumla and Ranchi for the years 2010 to 2012; and High Court and Supreme Court judgments from ten states.
The findings suggest that that witch-hunting targets middle aged and older, mostly married women, across social groups. Although significantly fewer, there are male victims too. The data shows that the most violent acts, including murder, are one end of a continuum of violence which accompanies witch-hunting. Social stigma and ostracism, temporary or long term dislocation and resultant impoverishment are more common consequences of witch-hunting in the regions of the study. Threads of counter narratives challenge the flat discourse that conflates witch hunting with superstition and also highlight the relevance of structural contexts in which witch hunting occurs, bringing administrative neglect and governance concerns to the fore.
In relation to law and policy, the data and findings speak to the growing trend of enacting special laws at the state level in India. Though the three states where the field work was undertaken have special laws on witch-hunting- these are rarely, if at all, invoked on their own. Rather, action is likely to be taken under the Indian Penal Code when violence escalates. Preventive action is unlikely. Issues of reparative/ rehabilitation components of justice remain missing in the current legal responses including the special laws. The study thus offers an evidence based critique of current trends in law and policy making in response to incidences of witch-hunting.
The study, the first of its kind in India, provides evidence of contemporary social trends of witch hunting, and the interface of witch hunting related victimization with law. It draws upon a variety of sources: case studies from select blocks in the districts – Bilaspur and Janjgir-Champa (Chhattisgarh), Jamui (Bihar) and Ranchi (Jharkhand); police records collected from Jamui, Bilaspur , Gumla and Ranchi for the years 2010 to 2012; and High Court and Supreme Court judgments from ten states.
The findings suggest that that witch-hunting targets middle aged and older, mostly married women, across social groups. Although significantly fewer, there are male victims too. The data shows that the most violent acts, including murder, are one end of a continuum of violence which accompanies witch-hunting. Social stigma and ostracism, temporary or long term dislocation and resultant impoverishment are more common consequences of witch-hunting in the regions of the study. Threads of counter narratives challenge the flat discourse that conflates witch hunting with superstition and also highlight the relevance of structural contexts in which witch hunting occurs, bringing administrative neglect and governance concerns to the fore.
In relation to law and policy, the data and findings speak to the growing trend of enacting special laws at the state level in India. Though the three states where the field work was undertaken have special laws on witch-hunting- these are rarely, if at all, invoked on their own. Rather, action is likely to be taken under the Indian Penal Code when violence escalates. Preventive action is unlikely. Issues of reparative/ rehabilitation components of justice remain missing in the current legal responses including the special laws. The study thus offers an evidence based critique of current trends in law and policy making in response to incidences of witch-hunting.
Sexual and reproductive health rights have been progressively enshrined under various international covenants and policy instruments. This accords sexual and reproductive health recognition within a right based framework and obligates the State to ensure their protection, promotion and fulfillment.