Photo Credits: Anju Mathew  

By R Rochin Chandra &  Anju Mathew 

December 27, 2019 at 16.05 pm

Filed Under: Community Crime Prevention Event, News, Center for Criminology & Public Policy

Udaipur: Centre for Criminology & Public Policy (CCPP), in association with Janardhan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidhyapeeth (JRNRV), held a community crime prevention event on Monday to raise awareness about domestic violence and its reduction.

The event, which was led by criminology researchers and students, took place in Shreya Bharti Center at Sakroda. Nearly 200 women from different villages turned up to the event, which saw a mix of creative activities to educate the participants.

Readdressing gender norms 

Referring to the cultural norms that support domestic violence, CCPP’s director, R Rochin Chandra said, “Boys in our society are raised with a stereotype about how men beating up their wives isn’t wrong, whereas women are told that being assaulted by their husbands is acceptable. Similarly, women are taught that they can be punished by their husbands for their disobedience and that reporting such abuse would only mark them disloyal and cause dishonor to their families. Because of this, women often justify violence on one ground or the other and hold on to their abusers.”

Domestic violence prevention exhibition 

Students and researchers of Criminology displayed posters, enacted silent skit, and sung songs to explain the various forms of domestic violence, their causes, and the power-control dynamics involved in such abuse. The skit, which grabbed audiences’ attention, was conceptualized and directed by Anju Mathew, while Vinita Kewlani ensured that the posters conveyed the message needed to change communities’ attitudes and beliefs, and prevent violence against women. Kewlani also stressed the need to provide legal support and counseling services to domestic violence survivors, as they feel helpless and hopeless in their situations.

Doing translational criminology 

Explaining the significance of community crime prevention programs, Chandra, said, “as a ‘think-and-do tank’, CCPP makes a conscious effort to communicate its research findings to the public and educate them in new ways. This approach allows us to take our research (medicine) from the bench (laboratory) to the patients’ bed (affected people), and re-imagine how people will relate to our research findings (just how a doctor estimates the treatment effect). In academic parlance, we call it as ‘knowledge application process’, for it effectively translates criminological knowledge into community practice.”

Field work for criminologists 

Chandra, who is currently a practicing professor at JRNRV, also highlighted the importance of student participation in community engagements. “Field action is critical for the success of criminology students, as it helps them develop the spirit of volunteerism and positive engagement towards responsible citizenship. As with this, they also learn various skills relating to advocacy, networking and alliance building”.

Director of women’s studies department, Prof. Manju Mandot, Dean of Agricultural Sciences department, Prof. Rana and the Hon. Vice-Chancellor of JRNRV, Prof. S.S. Sarangdevot also attended the event.