Author: Alex Chaggar

Dr Sunita Toor said

One comment

“Through training we hope to create empowered police officers and lawyers who have the ability to
perform their duties more effectively, without prejudice and discrimination and with a greater
understanding of how working in partnership with other agencies can improve justice for victims.

“The project will improve operational practice and prevent fewer victims from pulling out of the criminal justice system and this will contribute to addressing the limited impact of the government’s recent
legislation to deal with violence against women and girls.

“This is a unique approach to previous siloed initiatives in India where agencies tended to deal with
gender violence in isolation rather than in partnership. We are working with a number of key
stakeholders in India.

“The UK and the project partners have vast experience of establishing successful and sustainable
multi-agency partnerships. Our work will target policy and practice and seek long-term change in
procedures and training, which in turn will support more effective utilisation of the law.”

Improving Women & Girls Access to Justice in India

Leave a comment

Sheffield Hallam University is leading a project on behalf of the British High Commission in India to
improve access to justice for female victims of violence in India.

The two-year project will seek to increase access to justice, rights and protection for women and girl
victims of violence in the states of Delhi, Haryana and Punjab through knowledge transfer and training police officers and lawyers.

Violence against women and girls is seen as a key women’s rights issue in India and has received global
attention as a consequence of several high profile cases, including the gang rape case in Delhi in 2012 and subsequent cases involving young girls in 2015.

Evidence from NGOs working in the field claim there is a need for better informed strategies for
improving access to justice for victims at the point of their entry into the criminal justice system.

The training will raise awareness and understanding of the barriers to justice for victims and strategies to tackle associated issues, with the aim of preventing victims from pulling out of the criminal justice
system.

The project is funded by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy and led by Dr Sunita Toor of Sheffield Hallam University’s Helen Kennedy Centre for
International Justice.