Reforms urged to tackle violence against women in India

The number of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada is high, so a group of Indigenous women formed an organization called Power Our Women (POW) to teach other Indigenous women across the country self-defense skills. Participants talk about their cultures, learn physical self-defense, build confidence, and learn situational awareness. Participants describe the program as healing but difficult. POW has now reached more than 5,000 women across Canada, including remote areas in northern Manitoba.

Human trafficking has become an increasingly prevalent problem, especially in states such as Florida that host a large tourist population. To better serve the victims, Miami-Dade County has created a trauma-focused court that directs adolescents to support services rather than prostitution charges.

In Colombia, violence against women and domestic abuse are some of the highest in the region due to prolonged conflict, distrust in police and justice system, and economic oppression. Women are helping each other survive and report abuse outside of official organizations.

Among the many restorative justice programs in the U.S., the Domestic Violence Safe Dialogue program was one of the few to arrange face-to-face dialogue between survivors and men who had violently abused women. This form of surrogate dialogue – the pairings are between strangers – helps two people who want to change but can't do it alone. After extensive preparation and led by a facilitator, the meeting gives survivors a way to hear they were not to blame for the harm done to them, and for the men to admit responsibility and help someone else in ways that traditional punitive justice often cannot.

The story of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act starts with a young legal aide to Sen. Joe Biden who did not identify as a feminist and knew little about the issues, but whose methodical building of a coalition and a set of arguments led to the historic passage of the law in 1994. VAWA was the first U.S. federal law to address comprehensively the ancient problem of gender-based violence. A key provision, authorizing federal civil lawsuits by victims, helped many women for six years until the Supreme Court struck it down. The law's other effects, still ongoing, include funding victim-aid groups.

Colorado’s Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) helps survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse keep their physical addresses private. Registering to vote requires an address, which is part of the public record. The ACP program can also be used to enroll children in schools, on their driver’s licenses, and in court. ACP works with the postal service to create ghost addresses for survivors and it serves as the only place where the addresses are known. Four thousand people are currently using the service and up to 9,000 have used it since it began.

Gillette, Wyoming is a small rural town that isn't connected to many resources, so that help for people who have experienced traumas can be difficult to access. With the implementation of the Gillette Abuse Refuge Foundation, however, that isolation is decreasing. Through digital connections dubbed as telemedicine, trauma survivors are able to connect with therapists to receive support and counseling sessions.

In Tajikistan, a project created by international NGOs with local partners, and funded by the United Kingdom, provides counseling and skills training for families to reduce violence against women. The two regions that participated saw significant declines in those rates of violence, as well as drops in depression levels and suicide and men also reported that they were less violent. Additionally, women's earnings and savings increased because the program helped them start small money-making ventures.

A program in Tajikistan developed to address high rates of abuse against women is showing remarkable results through a combination of family counseling and economic empowerment of women. The pilot project was created by five organizations and its initial results showed large decreases in rates of suicide and violence. It's part of the What Works To Prevent Violence Against Women And Girls Initiative and officials are hoping to find more funding to expand the project.

School-sponsored instruction on affirmative consent and increased resources for victims of sexual violence on campus have brought colleges closer to meeting Title IX requirements. Across the United States, schools like the University of Iowa are requiring students to attend courses that promote healthy behavior and campus culture. Furthermore, schools across the US are increasing support for Title IX coordinators and bringing in organizations like Green Dot and Bringing in the Bystander to conduct workshops for students.