Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Friday, 28 January 2022 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
WDC Executive Director Sashi Stephen
Women’s Development Centre (WDC) is an NGO that fights to protect, provide for and rehabilitate women and girls who are survivors of violence. A community-driven organization, based in Kandy, the WDC has two operational shelters in Kandy and Anuradhapura with resource centres located across several districts in Sri Lanka.
The UNFPA-supported Women’s Wellbeing Survey (2019) shows that 1 in 5 (20.4%) ever-partnered women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Yet close to half (49.3%) of the women who experienced sexual violence by a partner did not seek formal help due to various reasons, including shame or a fear that they would not be believed, be blamed or told that the violence was normal and or not serious enough to seek assistance.
Many are also often unaware of the help and services available to them. But help is most certainly available for all women and girls in Sri Lanka. Victims/survivors can call the 1938 Women’s Helpline or the newly introduced Mithuru Piyasa 070 26 11 111 hotline. Those who call any of these hotlines are referred to the appropriate channels where they can lodge a formal complaint and be transferred to a safe shelter with access to livelihood opportunities, psychosocial support, legal redress mechanisms and, most importantly, recovery, while they rebuild their lives.
WDC Executive Director Sashi Stephen speaks on the importance of the organisation’s role, the challenges they face and their admirable efforts towards ensuring a safe environment for women and girls, who are survivors of violence.
Q: Tell us a little about the Women›s Development Centre and what it does?
A: WDC is an active women’s movement focused on ensuring gender equality and empowering women and girls to rise above their circumstances. We lobby to eliminate unfair structures that undermine women’s contribution to society and ensure that no one is left behind, including LGBTQI people, sex workers and any other vulnerable groups.
Recognised as one of the earliest and largest service providers for survivors of violence, WDC helps victims take action against perpetrators, while supporting them to rebuild their lives with dignity. But our task is no easy one. We continue to face several roadblocks in relation to funding, the present rigid referral system, and the reintegration of survivors into society, amongst other challenges.
Let us take the example of Dulani*, whom we took under our care at 16 years of age. An excellent student, she passed her O/Ls with good grades while being pregnant; a result of years of regular rape at the hands of her father. Still, with our help, she has risen above her circumstances and, today, is preparing for her A/Ls, while caring for her baby. Her family has disowned her, but WDC is continuing to support her education. While Dulani’s case is inspiring, the road to recovery is a long one and WDC is committed to helping all those who travel this journey. Survivors often leave the shelter and return to abusive homes, where they continue to face violence. Many then return to us again, completely broken. At WDC, we take a rights-based approach, helping survivors understand the injustices they have faced and continuing to lobby for policies that will help women obtain justice.
Q: What are some of the challenges you face, particularly during COVID-19? How do the UNFPA and other organisations help?
A: Our operations have become harder due to the pandemic, but we continue to strive to make ourselves available to anyone who needs our care. However, for WDC to sustain its operations, we need donors and partners willing to enter into a dedicated long-term commitment.
In the context of a shrinking donor space, we continue to rely on both national and international partners and organizations for support. In the past, we were fortunate to have constant support from various donors, civil society organizations, individuals, and collectives. However, we are presently struggling to receive consistent, continuous support as a result of shifting priorities for donors, post-COVID, which presents us with significant challenges.
One of the main challenges we faced during the lockdowns was the interruption to education. We were unable to immediately switch to online education due to a lack of digital facilities and equipment. However, the UNFPA immediately came forward to fulfil this need by providing laptops and other facilities. There have been several other organizations too that came forward during this period, and we are grateful to each and every one of them. Some have come forward not only to support us financially but also to fulfil other needs such as food, nutrition and infrastructure support.
At one point, immediately after the first wave hit, we had 21 babies under our care, which was a huge responsibility. We also have a responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of the mother, as most of these babies are born out of violence and are often unplanned. So, taking care of the mother’s psychosocial wellbeing as well, beyond her physical recovery from violence and childbirth, becomes crucial. If not for the support we receive from donors and well-wishers, we would be unable to cope. Therefore, I take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all of them.
Q: How hard is it for survivors to lead independent lives after they leave the shelter? And what are some of the steps WDC takes to ease their reintegration back into society?
A: Social reintegration of survivors is very challenging. It requires a collaborative effort by all – both state and non-state actors. However, the system is still quite rigid and often disregards the unique complexities of each case. As there are numerous stakeholders involved, it can also be a lengthy process, which can impede reintegration. In such circumstances, the responsibility of ensuring access to education, health, and psychosocial wellbeing continues to lie with us.
Ensuring the safety and security of our women and girls, while keeping their future in mind, is a huge responsibility for WDC. Unfortunately, for many survivors, society often becomes their enemy, as their families and communities disown them due to stigma. It is even worse when the victim is pregnant; as a mother, she is faced with an impossible choice of putting her child up for adoption or not having a place to go once she leaves the shelter. As family members often disown survivors, the situation only worsens if a survivor wants to go back home with the baby.
At WDC, we regularly struggle with challenges of this nature, because even after recovery, there is nowhere these women and girls can go if they do not have an accepting family. In many cases, when this happens, we bring these individuals back to the shelter and ensure their wellbeing until some future opportunity opens up for them.
Q: How can people help?
A: We welcome donations, contributions and assistance in any form, from any willing individual or entity. If you would like to help, please reach out us at WDC via any of the following channels: Website: http://womendev.org/contact-us/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womendev.org
Call: (+94) 081 2234511
The WDC is committed to ensuring that survivors, be they women or girls, have recovered and are ready before we initiate social reintegration. While with us, we counsel, guide and protect them. We educate them so that they know their rights and help build social skills, while providing opportunities for economic emancipation and reintegration into society. Ultimately, we do whatever it takes to support our women and girls so that they learn to love themselves again and live with dignity, despite the pains of their past.
*names have been changed to maintain anonymity.
