Help provide counseling to women by Sapna

Area covered and milestones achieved:Outreach was done at the following villages, as per Covid 19 norms. Shaalpuri: The counsellor and the constable visited village Shaalpuri. The total number of females who attended the meeting was 30. In this meeting counsellor first told the ladies about the working of MSSK and later proceeded to discuss the Domestic Violence Act. She discussed the various clauses of these acts and told the women that whenever they file the case in court they should be aware under what section their case is filed. As our table was also accompanying the counsellor she told them how in police stations the cases are taken, what is F.I.R, what care should be taken while filing a case in Police Station.Madanpuri: After the outreach in Shaalpuri they visited Madanpuri where they interacted with the women working under NREGA Scheme. Counsellor gave her introduction and spoke to the ladies about the working of MSSK. She informed the ladies how in MSSK we ensure that we maintain the confidentiality of ladies who entrust us with their problems. She gave a brief idea about the Domestic Violence Act and the clauses which are in the act. After the talk, there was a Question and Answer Session.Lal Diggi: As part of outreach, one of the counsellors went to Laldiggi in Alwar and informed the ladies about the working of our centre. She informed them that when women come to our centre, we listen to their plight and, after listening to her, we make her fill the form and then we call the other party against whom the woman has filed the complaint. After calling both the parties a joint meeting is conducted and issues are sorted out. Once the issue is sorted the sehmati patra is filled. Belaka: On January 26, the coordinator attended the cluster meeting of Savera Manch. It was attended by 35 women who were heads of their respective clusters. In each cluster, there are around 150 members. At the beginning of the session, the coordinator told the heads that whatever is discussed in the meeting should be discussed in their respective clusters. The coordinator gave a brief introduction to MSSK and told the ladies that when a woman comes to our centre, we listen to her problem and help her to ventilate out her feelings. After speaking to the lady we make her fill the form with an assurance that whatever communication happens between us will be kept confidential. After filling the form the other party is called to the centre along with the aggrieved party. A joint meeting is conducted to solve their problems amicably.When issues are sorted out between both the parties sahamati patr is filled. After the talk question and answers were conducted. During the session, one lady came with her problem. The coordinator talked to her and visited her house after the meeting to solve her problem.Outreach in Savera Manch (Feb 3): Counsellors Phoolwati and Lavina visited the Ibtada office in Scheme 8. The total number of females who attended the meeting was 30. In this meeting counsellor first told the ladies about the working of MSSK and later proceeded to discuss the Domestic Violence Act. She discussed the various clauses of these acts and told the women that whenever they file the case in court, they should be aware under what section their case is filed. As our constable was also accompanying the counsellor, she told them how in police stations the cases are taken, what is F.I.R, what care should be taken while filing a case in Police Station, etc.Outreach in Govt School, behind Atta Mandir (Feb 9): Counsellor Phoolwati and Constable Jyoti visited Government School where they spoke to the children of the school and made them aware about Good Touch and Bad Touch, legislations related to POCSO Act, etc. Counsellor told the children that they shouldn’t be going with strangers anywhere. If they feel uncomfortable with the touch then they should run away from there and inform their parents. After the talk, the counsellor had a Question and Answer Session.Outreach in Nai Disha (Feb 11): The coordinator and counsellor visited Nai Disha where the counsellor gave a brief idea about the working of MSSK. A group consisted of adolescent girls and women, she first discussed POSCO Act and told various clauses of the act. The counsellor informed the girls that it is important that they are aware of their rights. After discussing the act the counsellor told the ladies about the process of solving the grievances. They were told how in counselling sessions we ensure that confidentiality of cases is maintained.Outreach for Saathins (Feb 23): As part of outreach, the Coordinator and Counsellor went to One Stop Crisis Centre in Alwar and informed the ladies about the working of our centre. The coordinator informed them that when women come to our centre, we listen to their plight and, after listening to her, we make her fill the form and then we call the other party against whom the woman has filed the complaint. After calling both the parties a joint meeting is conducted and issues are sorted out. Once the issue is sorted the sahmati patr is filled. During the entire process, we ensure that confidentiality is maintained. The coordinator emphasized that the woman has to fight for her own rights. As these women are saathins, they can play a crucial role in acquainting others about their rights. After the discussion counsellor gave information about the Domestic Violence Act and told Saathins about the clauses of the Act. Pratap School (Feb 19): Counsellors visited the school where they took the session of children. The first session they took was of Good Touch and Bad Touch. Counsellors told the children that it is important that they shouldn’t allow anybody to touch certain areas of their body even if they are their close relatives. They also discussed with the students about POSCO Act. Outreach in Nai Disha: The coordinator visited the Nai Disha organization where she addressed the girls and women regarding various issues which they face in day-to-day life. She first addressed the girls and told them about the various clauses of the POCSO act and how they can come to us if they face any issues which involve harassment, blackmailing etc. After a discussion with girls, she addressed the women about their rights and how they can safeguard themselves with various clauses given in the Domestic Violence Act. She gave a brief overview of various crimes related to cyberspace and how MSSK can help them. Outreach in Adinath Jain B.Ed. College: Coordinator and Counsellor visited Adinath B.Ed. College where 100 women got together to celebrate International Women’s Day. Many students came forward and delivered a speech about women’s rights. It was a good experience as the majority of the speakers were males. After the speech, the coordinator first introduced them to the working of our centre and then she congratulated the speakers who spoke about women rights. But she emphasized that it shouldn’t be confined to speeches but should spread to other youth so that the violence against women can be stopped. The coordinator told the teacher trainees that when they move out of the college and join some institution as a teacher, they should tell their own students that it is important that we should respect each other irrespective of which gender we belong to and that we should raise our voice against atrocities suffered by us, our neighbours or our relatives.Outreach in Surya Nagar: The counsellor and constable visited Surya Nagar where around 20 people participated in the programme. Counsellor told them about the working of the centre and then discussed various clauses of acts to safeguard the interest of men and women. She emphasized that it’s very important that whenever they feel that their rights are being undermined, they should raise their voice against it.Counsellor went to Mahila Adhikar and Vikaas Foundation for the outreach programme. There were 10 ladies present. The counsellor explained to them how MSSK is working in the field of women safety for 13 years. Counsellor told them that Mahila Suraksha Evam Salah Kendra is run to ensure that the problem between the couples is amicably sorted out and the matter doesn’t go to court or police. The entire process was explained to the ladies. During the question-answer session, the ladies said that they are not facing any issues, but they will communicate to other people so that it can be of help to them.Counsellor and Constable went to Belaka village for their outreach programme. Around 30 ladies attended the meeting. Initially, there was a formal introduction then the counsellor spoke to the ladies about the centre. She told them that in our centre we ensure that confidentiality is maintained and each lady who comes to us is heard properly so she can ventilate all her feelings. We ensure the confidentiality of each case. The entire process of the centre was told and after the discussion, there was a Question & Answer session.The outreach was conducted in Kishangarh Block Gram Panchayat Chikani were 30 ladies attended the meeting. The Counsellor told the ladies about the working of MSSK. She told them that many instances happen between husband and wife which can be sorted out through counselling. Our centre ensures that confidentiality is maintained so that women don’t face the humiliation of society. They were made acquainted with the process of our centre. The talk ended with a question & answer session. During the question and answer, session women told that every woman in this village is suffering from some issue but they don’t come out openly because of fear of society.Counsellor along with Constable visited Vishwakarma Colony Alwar where around 30 ladies were present. Counsellor acquainted them with the working of our centre Counsellor told them as an arbitrator we try to resolve the issues, try to develop a trust between the client and her husband, try to unknot their differences. As we are not related to either party they listen to our suggestions and assure us that they will try to implement them in their lives. Once the differences are sorted out we make them sign sahamati patr. After the girl goes back to her husband’s place continuous follow up is done to see that she is happy. After the talk, many ladies came with their issues which were heard patiently and they were told to come to our centre for resolution.A day of training was conducted at Police Training Centre. The chief Coordinator addressed the issues of women violence at the workplace and Gender Sensitization. Then they were informed about the working of Mahila Suraksha Evam Salah Kendra. They were told that how during the entire process of counselling the confidentiality is maintained. After the talk, there was a Question & Answer Session. The coordinator and counsellor visited Nai Disha where the counsellor gave a brief idea about the working of MSSK. A group consisted of adolescent girls and women, she first discussed POSCO Act and told various clauses of the act. The counsellor informed the girls that it is important that they are aware of their rights. After discussing the act the counsellor told the ladies about the process of solving the grievances. They were told how in counselling sessions we ensure that confidentiality of cases is maintained.During the covid period, the clients who were below the poverty line were distributed ration. Counsellors visited their homes to enquire about their welfare and distribute ration. Some of the clients were called to the centre for ration. Continuous follow up was done with the client. Counsellors motivated the families of clients and their neighbours for vaccination during this time.NetworkingS.no. Date Team member Address Purpose1 04/06/2021 Deepti And Hurma N.E.B thana Networking2 09/06/2021 Deepti and Hurma Shivaji Park Networking3 18/06/2021 Deepti and Jyoti Mahila Adhikar Evam Vikaas Foundation Trust Networking4 16/06/2021 Phoolwati and Jyoti M.I.A Thana Networking5 21/06/21 Phoolwati and Jyoti Aravalli Vihar Thana NetworkingMajor eventsNational Girl Child Day Celebration - Jan 24, 2021We received a call from WCD on January 13 & were informed that MSSK has to give a presentation on National Girl Child Day & promote participation in an online poster making competition organized by WCD in collaboration with Yuva Jagrati Sangh. They also wanted us to give the name of the jury member for judging the paintings. We suggested Mrs Alka Sharma as a jury member and assured our participation. Another meeting was held on January 20th where we had to submit our programme proposal. We proposed a presentation by the girls of Shikshalaya and Pankhuri. During this meeting, Mr Rishi Raj Singhal got to know about Sapna Shikshalaya and the work we are doing in the villages of educating the girl child and that these girls can speak in English also. He was very impressed by this and told me to bring more girls from the villages and make them participate. It was decided that MSSK will bring 25-30 girls from villages for various presentations.Pankhuri & Shikshalaya prepared a skit and a dance. Two girls of SS recited poems in English. Phoolwati Saini, Counsellor MSSK, collaborated with Sonu Dance Academy to present Ganesh Vandana and Badhai Song.Our students of classes 5 and 6 participated in the online competition. The theme of the competition was Girls Education. The presentations of Shikshalaya and Pankhuri girls was highly appreciated by all the audience & the dignitaries.The programme was presided by Collector and Chief Guest was Mr Tika Ram Juli.DSG Meeting (Feb 18):AGENDA OF THE MEETING• Discussion on working of different NGO’s active in Alwar district• Cyber Crime and its related problems and functioning of Police and what we, as a collective of agencies, are doing to solve it• Discussion of Women’s International Day• To make DSG’s meeting more informative and effective. MINUTES OF THE MEETINGA DSG meeting was conducted at Police Anveshan Bhavan. It started with welcoming different agencies working for women and child welfare by a chief coordinator.• The agenda was read out to the members. • Mr Dinesh Meena, Cyber Crime in charge, who was invited for the meeting gave information about the cyber-crime, growing incidence of cyber-crime and how we can deal with the issues. He gave us few examples to make us understand the cases which can be filed under cyber-crime. He discussed in detail the functioning of the Police Department. He explained the importance of F.I.R and the procedure of filing an F.I.R. He told the audience that it is important to acquire a copy of F.I.R so that it acts as proof. He also discussed the various problems faced by Police Department as the cases sometimes filed are not authentic.• Jain B.Ed. The college lecturer spoke about MSSK’s role in educating the women about their rights and how their institution has benefitted from this.• As Mahila Diwas was approaching, the coordinator informed the participating agencies about the Mahila Diwas programme. She told them that because of Covid we will be unable to have our usual big event, but we will have a workshop where we are going to invite various schools, colleges and agencies. They agreed and informed us that they will give the names of participants to us as soon as possible.• Representative of PSK wanted that their doctor wanted to speak in a workshop about the physical health of women. The coordinator told the representative that she will come to their office and discuss the content of the talk as it should be in line with the agenda of the workshop.Meeting concluded with a vote of thanks from the Chief Coordinator to different agencies who participated. This was followed by refreshment.Workshop:- PROTECTION OF WOMEN AT HOME AND IN AT WORKPLACEVENUE : POLICE ANVESHAN BHAVANTIME : 9:30 TO 1:30 P.M08 Mar 2021 - International Women’s Day WorkshopThe hardship of a woman in every stage of life is always difficult to categorize as she is the only entity in the world that is facing such challenging phases in her life, like birth as a girl child, becoming a wife and finally becoming a mother. In the 21st century, women want equal opportunities as men and the foremost challenge is how to balance work and home. She faces her problems silently but it’s her responsibility to know her rights so that she can fight back.MSSK organised a workshop on March 8, 2021, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm at Police Anveshan Bhavan, Moti Doongri, on “Protection of women at home and the workplace”. Agenda and ScheduleTopic Speaker TimeIntroduction of MSSK Ms Manisha Bhan Ganju 9:30 - 9:40Cybercrime: a burning issue Ms Tejaswani Gautam (SP Alwar) 9:40 - 10:20Issues related to the physical health of women Dr Garima Goyal 10:20 -10:40Discussion on Domestic Violence Act Dr Bhawna Agarwal (Principal, Ramgarh Law College) 10:40 - 11:25Refreshment break 11:25 - 11:45Working women - taking care of their health, wellbeing, and growth Prof Usha Yadav (Ex-Prin Government Law College) 11:45 - 12:30Acts/Laws to protect women in society and workplace: a glimpse Mr Keshav KaushikDistrict & Sessions Judge 12:30 - 1:15Conclusion & Vote of thanks Ms Manisha Bhan Ganju 1:15 - 1:301. Mahila Suraksha Evam Salah Kendra, Alwar, in collaboration with Police Department, conducted a workshop on “Protection of women at home and society”. In this workshop many schools, colleges, and N.G.Os. participated. 2. Schools that participated were Kendriya Vidyalaya, Khanna School, Naveen School, Pratap School, D.P.S World, Adinath School and College, Bal Bharti School and College, Arya Kanya school And College, R.R College, G.D College, Arts College etc. 3. From the NGO sector, organizations that participated were Ibtada, Nai Disha, Devesh Foundation etc. 4. We were honoured to have Ms Usha Tomar, who has been selected by the Govt. of India for a Padamshri for her work in the field of women upliftment.5. The Programme started with the lighting of the lamp by guest speakers. The Chief Coordinator of M.S.S.K welcomed all the participants and gave a brief background of M.S.S.K followed by a speech from Dr Garima Goyal, Medical Incharge Kamla Nursing Home and Parivaar Sewa Kendra. In her talk, she discussed the physical issues women face in various phases of life. She told about various vaccinations which women or girls should take to save themselves from medical issues. She gave information about menopause-related issues. 6. She then had a Q&A session where she solved the queries of participants. 7. Next speech was given by Dr Bhawna Agarwal (Principal Ramgarh Law College) about the growing issues of domestic violence and how the Domestic Violence Act 2005 helps women in solving their grievances. She told the participants various clauses attached to this act and how women can take advantage of this act. She informed the participants that sometimes women misuse this act for harassing the other party. 8. Dr Garima Goyal had to leave for her hospital and so a token of appreciation was presented to her by Administrator, Sapna N.G.O., 9. Next came a break for the participants and the speakers and refreshment was served to all participants After the refreshment, Prof Usha Yadav spoke about the mental health of working women. She emphasized that we women become so busy with our lives that we forgot about our own mental well-being. Every morning we must practise yoga and try to remove all negative thoughts from the mind. We should be positive in our approach and control all emotions which demotivate us. In the interactive session, few participants gave their personal opinion about their way of coping with mental stress. 10. As few participants wanted to present their views regarding women empowerment they were encouraged to speak. A teacher from Kendriya Vidyalaya discussed the plight of women by presenting a poem that she had composed herself.11. Mr Keshav Kaushik (District and Session Judge Alwar District, Family court) gave a glimpse of various atrocities women have been facing. He narrated various examples of cases he encounters daily and how he strives to bring an amicable solution to the problems. He told the participants that it is very important that, as women, they should be enlightened about their own rights.12. After his very informative and nice speech a token of appreciation was presented to him by Administrator Sapna N.G.O. 13. A vote of thanks was given by Coordinator M.S.S.K to the speakers and participants. She emphasized that it is important that we as women should fight for our rights and say no to exploitation.14. The workshop ended with an assurance that we will all strive for a better future for all women.No. of beneficiaries impactedMonth Total number of direct cases/ Parivaad Cases Solved RemainingJanuary 20 15 05February 30 25 05March 23 12 11April 26 22 04May 17 15 02June 28 25 03

Challenges in carrying out operationsDomestic violence is widespread and deep-rooted in India and its ubiquity was highlighted prominently during the COVID-19 lockdown. In a country where every third woman faces some form of domestic violence, and 52% of women and 42% of men believe it is justified for a husband to hit his wife, there is a need for a long-term national strategy to combat violence.Even during lockdown Mahila Suraksha Evam Salah Kendra was functional. Coordinator with a team of counsellors and constables were in constant touch with the clients and their husbands through telephone as the follow-up and visit were not possible because of government restrictions.At the time of emergency, with special permission from WCD, we went to the houses of our clients and sorted out their differences. Clients were given the personal number of the counsellors so that they could be in touch with them,When the lockdown eased, we started visiting the houses of our clients to ensure that they are better. Many of the clients told us that because their husband didn’t have the access to liquor their life was much better!Plan for next 6 months• Workshop based on women issues• Conducting District Support Group meeting where N.G.Os working for women cause will be evolved• Networking with Police Departments• Networking with N.G.O.s working in and around Alwar• Running outreach programmes in and around Alwar District so more women know about the platform where their problems can be sorted out amicably.

Stories from the ground:Neha Choudhary w/o Raj (names changed) We received Parivaad from 181, therefore, contacted the girl. She picked up our call and spoke to us about her problem in detail. Counsellor told her to come to the centre as the problem cannot be sorted out by phone. After speaking to the girl, the counsellor called her husband and told him about our centre and the complaint which his wife has lodged through 181. He said that he will come on December 2, as he wanted the problem to be sorted out. On December 2, the parivaadi and her husband came to the centre. Counsellor first spoke to her husband. He told the counsellor that he works in some other town while his father works and stays in Agra. Neha stays with my mother in our village. Everything was going fine, and Neha never complained about any problem. He wants to keep Neha. Counsellor then called Neha and asked her to tell the problems. She told the counsellor that initially everything was going fine but after some time her mother-in-law started misbehaving with her. She started abusing Neha’s family. She doesn’t want to stay with her mother-in-law. She is ready to stay in Agra. Raj told the counsellor that Neha never discussed the problems, if she must have told him then he would have tried to solve it. Raj said she can't stay in Agra but as he has shifted back to his hometown, he will ensure that these problems don’t persist. Neha didn’t agree so the counsellor gave her time to think. After 2 days Neha called and she told us that she is ready to go back to her husband’s place and she will inform us when she goes. On December 8, we received the call from her father-in-law that they have brought Neha home. Counsellor asked the father-in-law to give the phone to Neha. Counsellor spoke to Neha and she said she is fine because her husband is staying with her. She will inform us if any problem reoccurs.

Since December 1, 2008, SAPNA is partnering with local police and Department of Women and Child in Alwar, Rajasthan to run a guidance and protection centre for women known as the Mahila Suraksha Evam Salah Kendra (MSSK). The MSSK is a holistic redressal centre for women providing support to women facing violence by way of:
• Assisting them to negotiate their way through the Criminal Justice System.
• Settling disputes through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Providing rehabilitation to women survivors of violence.
• Providing medical and legal aid, psycho-social support, shelter, economic rehabilitation, and any other relief required.

The concept underlying the centre is that of providing a comprehensive strategy of redressal for women who come to the centre for support. The single window assistance can range from mediation to legal aid, to intervention within the police system and the judiciary, to economic rehabilitation, to trauma counselling, to shelter and care.
The coordinator and team of social workers listens patiently to survivor’s problem. Every case is unique which requires different resolution strategy favoring survivor which probably leads to solution for survivor’s problem. Every strategy depends on the gravity and nature of grievance. Need of survivor and confidentiality are two main core values on which our work is based.

Confidentiality of each case is maintained as we understand that the victim is telling something which is very personal and close to her heart. Her trust has already been broken by the other party and she has mustered lot of courage to come to the centre.

Total number of cases received on the center- 131
Cases Solved- 125
Pending Cases-05

Training on Cyber Crime:

Cybercrime, or computer-oriented crime, is a crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer, mobile or any other computing device may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target. Cybercrime may threaten a person, company or a nation's security and financial health.
Keeping in mind that cybercrime is a burning issue, Chief Coordinator of MSSK spoke to SP Ma’am and then went personally to meet her. As she was not there, she spoke to the Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr Bairwa and informed him that MSSK wanted to conduct a workshop on cybercrime. He readily agreed and said this topic really needs attention. He appointed Mr Dinesh Kumar, Cyber Cell Incharge, to conduct the workshop.