Sama along with Aman Network-Delhi organised a Delhi level consultation on the issue of ‘Gender based violence: towards strengthening interlinkages; issues and challenges’. This consultation was planned to facilitate discussions towards enhancing the practical and procedural understanding of the working with different systems, and relevant issues, gaps and strategising towards how they could be addressed. It was a daylong meeting held on June 17, 2016 and participants from across 16 organisations/groups based in Delhi including the coordinator of the Delhi Police Social Workers took part in this consultation along with Sama.
The objectives of the consultation were to learn about the work of different organisations and groups working on the issue of GBV in Delhi, to share their experiences and to discuss the challenges; to understand the interlinkages between different systems i.e., police, legal, health etc., to assess the existing gaps and challenges in responding to GBV; and to discuss strategies towards realizing a better and improved interlinakges within different systems for responding to GBV and its survivors.
The consultation was designed in a way that facilitated sharing of experiences by different organisations and groups working with different systems – police, legal, health; and the groups working directly with the survivors. The consultation led to increased interface, exchange of information between different organisations and clarity over operationalisation of various laws, policies through sharing field experiences amongst the groups. It was suggested from the participants that consultations like this should be regular held to link with each other and towards collective efforts for a comprehensive response to GBV.