Violence against women and girls is common but largely invisible, underscoring the importance of preventing gender-based violence through evidence-based interventions. Beginning in the 1960s, the women’s movement against violence in India emphasised a constitutional and rights-based approach to reforming the status and treatment of women. Feminist efforts focused on supporting survivors of violence through shelters, counselling, legal help, and law, leading to the landmark Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Contemporary understanding has shifted towards not only addressing violence but also preventing it by challenging the norms and practices that increase its use and acceptance and limit its reporting and intervention to stop it.

This article outlines the learnings from a community-driven violence prevention programme by SNEHA, a Mumbai based nonprofit organisation and discusses crucial steps in delivering interventions for prevention of violence against women and girls in complex urban settings.

More than 40 percent of Mumbai’s homes are in informal settlements, many of which are overcrowded and poorly planned, with limited ventilation, inadequate lighting, and insufficient sanitation. In these conditions, the health and safety of women and children remain deeply compromised. Women and girls in informal settlements also experience gender-based disadvantages rooted in hierarchical, relational, and institutional structures. A double burden arises from the combined effects of traditional roles, unequal responsibilities, and rigid social expectations, with the harsh living conditions in settlements that disproportionately undermine the health and security of women and girls.

Furthermore, when women and children who suffer violence visit the hospital, they often receive only medical care, while their emotional, social, and legal needs are largely ignored, failing to fully support them and prevent gender-based violence. To address this gap, we set up the centre for women and children in distress to address the hidden nature of violence, women’s wish to protect family unity, and the need to work with families, communities, and service providers.

Most cases concerned domestic violence, homicides and suicides and required more than counselling—needing coordination with stakeholders and communities. This highlighted the need for trauma-informed care and community mobilisation to prevent and respond to violence.

Read the full article about preventing gender-based violence in Mumbai by Nayreen Daruwalla and David Osrin at India Development Review.