Domestic violence has long been a scourge in tribal life, and the Covid-19 pandemic served only to magnify it.
Unemployed and confined to their houses during the lockdown, men vented their anger and frustration more often on their wives. Alongside, alcoholism, promiscuity and aggression against women intensified.
“Violence against women grew by 75% during the pandemic,” points out Sushree Prangyan Dash, district coordinator at the Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD) in Koraput. “It was a sinister trend.”
Domestic abuse is prevalent among the Paraja, Kondh, Desia and some other tribes. “Alcoholism, men’s extramarital affairs and some women’s inability to conceive are some of the reasons behind such atrocities against women,” says Dash. “Even child marriage leads to male highhandedness.”
It was then that Anganwadi workers and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) stepped up work in some tribal pockets of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Koraput districts to provide relief to battered women.
In April 2021, a drive to put an end to violence against women began under the aegis of CYSD in 30 villages under Boipariguda block of Koraput district. In each village, two male and two female volunteers took up the fight as Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Warriors. More than two dozen Anganwadi workers and the same number of ASHAs underwent training for two months for the campaign.
The first and foremost problem was that most cases remained unreported. To counter this, helpdesks were set up at the grassroots. Volunteers then counselled the women in the villages, cajoling them to come forward if they were beaten by their husbands.
Victims are now lodging complaints at the helpdesks, where sarpanches, ward members, panchayat members and block child protection officials work tirelessly to resolve the issues.
“If a case is not resolved at the help desk, the matter is referred to Sakhi, the government’s one-stop centre,” Sibani Patra, a former administrator of Sakhi in Koraput, tells theindiantribal.com. “There, the woman is given shelter for five days.”
RC Swain, CYSD programme manager in Koraput, says five to 10 complaints started getting lodged with Sakhi every month on an average, an improvement from the days when none were reported.
Patra further explains that while the problem remains unresolved at Sakhi, the women can live in the Swadhara Gruha. Minors are handed over to the government childcare institutes, whereas trafficking victims find shelter in Ujala Gruha.
Although it will take a long time for men to be educated and counselled against domestic violence, and for women to be made aware of their rights, over a year down the line the humble beginning among Odisha’s tribals remains a ray of hope.
