The listening circle was conducted in Harijan Basti on the 3rd of February,2022 with 10 women domestic workers and 3 adolescent girls on Sexual Gender based violence (SGBV) and what are the some of the non-judicial ways to deal with that. The session was facilitated by Prerna Barua, Programme Officer, Martha Farrell Foundation.
Speaking about violence is difficult but the learning circle process made it easier and safe for participants to speak and share. All participants were seated in a circle along with the team members who participated equally including sharing their own stories. The focus was led on the value that Everyone’s contribution is valuable. Paper plates and a marker were handed to each participant who wrote on the plate important values that they expect will be remembered by each one through the process. Values like love, trust, understanding, respect, and honesty were written on the plates, shared, and placed at the center of the circle surrounding a lit candle which stayed there throughout the activity.
Keeping all these values in mind the first round built a common understanding on what domestic violence was. There were common responses such as taunting, staring and inappropriate behavior and participants were quick to correct those who had answered wrongly. When asked what they would do if they were given a day where they were completely free, all participants shared that they would either spend time with their children or take some time to themselves and think about their life.
The facilitator then asked a statement, “Women in India are safe and there is no violence towards them” which elicited many discussions. Without hesitation every participant answered with a "this statement is false”. They shared that from a 6-month-old girl to an 80-year-old Woman no female is safe, since the societies thinking, and teachings are such there is no respect towards women. They firmly stated that women cannot walk alone at night without fear for their safety and that women are always looked at wrongly and inappropriately.
In the next round, Participants were asked about their personal experiences, However, sharing was not mandatory. Many women shared stories which they have witnessed. There were a few who shared their personal stories.
In the next round of the circle participants were asked about the reason for not filing a complaint. participants responded with the fact that they didn’t know whom to complain to. Some replied that they were too afraid of judgement, while some stated that the people they would go to for help would take advantage of their vulnerable state and harass them more, but the most concerning was when one said no one would believe them and they feared that if they went to the police, they might be victims of further harassment.
Following this question, a small discussion about support occurred, where the participants stated how important it was to have support and trust from close family members. Some are fortunate to have these while some do not. Due to lack of support the latter tend to bottle up their emotions which leads to a decline in their mental health and way of living.
The last question put emphasize on the ways to tackle the problem of women and girls being unaware about the laws and various helpline numbers and how one supports each other. For this, all participants answered by saying that it should all be taught to children at an early stage and awareness by the responsible authorities must be spread at regular interval. They also highlighted the fact that there is need of strong connection and feeling of trust to support each other.
The listening circle process ended with a stretching exercise called shake it off to reduce the heavy and impactful atmosphere formed and everyone was again remembered to carry the values which they have decided as a group outside the circle also.
After the activity, women domestic workers shared that they are feeling lighthearted after the talking and the circle process was very inclusive in nature which allowed safe space and equal opportunity to all.