Sexual
Harassment
Unfortunately, sexual harassment is a pervasive problem in many communities, and young people are often particularly vulnerable. We believe that education and awareness are critical tools in preventing sexual harassment and promoting healthy relationships. That is why we recently held a sexual harassment awareness campaign. Our goal was to educate people about what sexual harassment is, how to recognize it, and how to respond if it happens.
What did we do?
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Research, and networking meetings, to learn more about the topic, and to inform ourselves on the existing processes in Auroville.
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We met with AVSecurity, mattram, ICC,AVCP, Council, and we had informal meetings with people that had experience sexual harrasment, to understand their struggles and perspective.
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With all the info received we created infographics on statistics in Av, different types of harassment and harassers, consent, bystander , how to help a victim, and ICC informal and formal process breakdown.
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We printed emergency cards with all the contacts needed in case of incidents, emergencies, and who to contact in case of legal actions.
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We made a list of contacts for mental, emotional, psychological support
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We had creatives to show visually when someone is overstepping boundaries.
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We had a survey where we collected information on how many people had experienced harassment first hand, second hand. (Find results below).
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We had a few facilitators on stand-by for support and to be able to answer questions or have further discussions for anyone interested. They also helped us in checking that our information was good and gave us feedback. A big thanks to Julia, Elisa, Fakeera, Lakshmi and others. We also collaborated with AVSST for the statistics on Auroville safety for the last 6 years, and received their feedback.
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We also have spread awareness through our social media platforms and will be sending out the information through digital format via email for those that have asked us. If you would like to receive infographics and security cards, please reach out to Youthlink@auroville.org.in
On-site Survey
We asked people to take chits designated with each colour representing the aspects, 75 votes had been cast total.
1 “ I have experienced ”
2 “ I have supported “
3 “ I have seen and not known what to do “
4 “ I have not seen nor experienced it “
27 green : voted that they have witnessed sexual harassment
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20 red : voted that they had experienced sexual harassment
21 yellow : voted that they had supported someone that experienced sexual harassment
7 pink : voted that they had never experienced or witnessed sexual harassment
Following our sexual harassment awareness campaign, we have taken additional steps to promote awareness and prevention. We have given two seminars at the Auroville high schools, one at Future school and one at Last school, which were well received by students and faculty. We have also created a network of units that work towards making Auroville safer in regards to sexual harassment. This team then collaborated with YouthLink and planned a sexual harassement month, called SBA (Safety and Boundaries Awarness). By working together, we can raise awareness, promote education, and empower young people to create a safer and more inclusive community for all.
If you would like to read more about what we did, click down below!
Read about our previous campaign!