Your impact
through safety

Safety Report – October 2018 (data to June 2018)

Operation Red Alert

To June 2018, your support for Red Alert has helped 1,945 communities participate in the Safe Village Program – reaching 1,139,140 people with knowledge and tools to prevent girls from being trafficked.

CREATING SAFE VILLAGES

Operation Red Alert's mission is to create safe villages by putting communities on red alert. Core to the program are two days of training in communities, with content specifically equipping Good Fathers, Informed Mothers, Cool Boys and Guardian Girls.

For example, Guardian Girls pledge to be on red alert for themselves and other girls in their communities.

Operation PeaceMaker

Prevention focus sees surge in cases reported

Following our increasing focus on prevention and awareness programs, there has been a surge in reporting of child sexual abuse cases to Operation PeaceMaker's counselling centres. In response, we've strengthened our relationships with the agencies dealing with these cases, and now play a vital role in pursuing cases as well as guiding and supporting families and children through the necessary process.

Empowering teens

One of these prevention initiatives is the Shakti program. In June we celebrated the graduation of 73 girls from Shakti – a year-long mentorship program empowering teenagers to take control of their own safety, and impact the community around them. Participants become part of a peer support network where they learn how to avoid risks, such as child marriage, and share their struggles. Through Shakti girls are equipped to continue their education, recognise and address dangerous situations and negotiate life choices for themselves. Beyond keeping themselves safe, girls are supported to articulate their aspirations and take steps towards achieving their life goals.

We know that preventing violence is best, vitally the Shakti program helps teenage girls live safer, happier lives free from violence.

Safety Report – March 2019 (data to December 2018)

Operation Red Alert

Fundamental to Red Alert's strategy is preventing trafficking in India at the source – vulnerable families in rural communities. But with over 600,000 villages across India we have to prioritise where to bring Safe Village education first. 

Technology has helped Operation Red Alert create a strategic approach to preventing human trafficking in India. Without it, prevention is a guessing game. With it, prevention efforts translate into real lives saved.

With big data analytics, we're prioritising trafficking hot spots. Red Alert's mapping tool, built by Quantium, brings together a growing number of data sets from national and regional bodies to identify where girls are most at-risk. Analysing this data, Red Alert can prioritise delivering Safe Village Programs in these communities.

Operation PeaceMaker

A PLACE TO CALL HOME

Women and their children seeking to flee domestic violence often have nowhere safe to go. The first PeaceMaker safe home opened in late 2018 – the Lotus Safe Home. A key step on the journey to lives free of violence and abuse, Lotus can accomodate 12 women and their children at any one time. Women staying here experience not just a safe shelter but holistic support. This includes counselling, legal aid and vocational and skills training to equip them to implement their individual plans for independence. 

EDUCATING TEENS TO PREVENT FUTURE ABUSE

The Shakti program for girls is a year-long, peer-support and mentorship initiative for teenage girls. Over twelve months, these teenagers build bonds with their peers – so they have friends to turn to when they need help – while learning about the dangers they can face, and strategies to take charge of their own lives. For example, girls are taught to recognise and resist illegal child mariage. They are taught to negotiate for themselves and develop healthy relationships, as well as how to access services in times of need.

In October 2018, 63 teenagers graduated from two Shakti Circles – we congratulate these girls on their commitment and encourage them to use their new-found confidence and knowledge to take control of their own futures, and impact their communities.

Operational sustainability is the ability of an organisation to cover the costs of its lending program with the revenue earned from its lending program. 

Portfolio at risk is a stringent measure of a microfinance institution’s loan portfolio quality. The portfolio at risk calculates the total value of outstanding loan balances for loans, for every payment that is overdue by more than 30 days.

Meet Shanti*

"You are not good enough for our son"

"You did not bring any dowry" 

"You come from such a poor background" 

After marrying Prasad and moving in to his family home, these were the kinds of things Shanti would hear constantly from her father-in-law. At first they were directed at Prasad, his own father beating him for "marrying a worthless woman". In turn, Prasad would emotionally abuse Shanti – especially when his poor management of their finances left them broke. 

One day Shanti's father-in-law handed his son a belt and encouraged him to beat his wife over a disagreement, which Prasad did. From this time on physical abuse from her husband became a regular part of Shanti's life. Despite the constant abuse, when Prasad asked for a divorce out of the blue, Shanti worked to save their marriage. The couple went through a long period of separations and reconciliation. As the abuse continued to escalate, Shanti's neighbours became increasingly concerned by the screaming, crying and other noises they would hear regularly. Seizing an opportunity when no one else was home, these neighbours came with money and pleaded with Shanti to flee to her parent's house for safety. 

However, Shanti's parent's house was not a safe place for her. Her in-laws threatened to kill her brother and kidnap her newphew if Shanti would not "behave herself and come back to her husband". Shanti's parents refused to support her. At this time Shanti was already working two jobs to try and support herself as well as pay back long-standing debts her husband had accumulated in their names. 

With nowhere else to turn, Shanti approached the local police. Thanks to our partnership with local police services, she was referred to a PeaceMaker Counselling Centre. It was only during these counselling sessions that Shanti began to realise what she had experienced was wrong. Her PeaceMaker recalls their first session, where a naive Shanti listened intently to the definition of abuse and her legal rights. 

While working with her PeaceMaker to resolve her situation Shanti continued to hope her marriage could be saved. She believed that free from the influence of her in-laws, her husband would stop the abuse. Both sets of parents come together to organise a meeting with community leaders. During this meeting Shanti listened to her father-in-law address their community, detailing how Shanti had insulted their family by getting a job, by stepping in to a police station and separating from her husband. He told everyone he believed she would come back to her husband and he would "show her her place".

As she heard this, Shanti's heart sank. For the first time she truly realised that she would never be valued or respected by her husband or his parents. Then and there she decided to proceed with the divorce and fight for an independant life, free from abuse. 

Shantis's case is continuing. She's still working two jobs, struggling to pay off their shared debt. The divorce court proceedings are ongoing. Shanti has grown in confidence and self-esteem, but she still has a long road ahead of her. Her PeaceMaker Counselling Centre continues to walk along side her, offering support and helping her access the services she needs to secure her safety and independence.

*names changed to protect privacy.

Meet Saidul

Saidul and his wife have five children – three daughters and two sons. The family are from a minority group, like most families in their community they face persecution and limited opportunities – for example, neither of them learnt to read or write. Saidul and his wife rely on seasonal agricultural jobs, meaning their income fluctuates through the year.

In communities like Saidul’s it is very common for parents to arrange their daughters’ marriage to men they do not know, who live outside their village – in the hope that this will give their daughters the chance to find better opportunities and leave poverty behind.

When a woman from their community came to Saidul with a marriage proposal for his 16-year-old daughter, Saidul thought this sounded like a good opportunity for her. He was told the man was a successful business person who would care for his daughter.

Despite the family never having met the man in person, marriage preparations were well underway when Operation Red Alert’s Safe Village Program came to Saidul’s village. As Saidul learnt about how traffickers operate he became suspicious of his daughter’s marriage arrangement. He rushed home and shared what he had learnt with his wife. They both agreed that their daughter could be at risk, so they decided to call off the marriage.

When Saidul told the woman, who had helped arrange the marriage about their decision, she pleaded with him to reconsider. She visited their home every day for several days, until Saidul threatened to inform the local police station and call the Red Alert helpline.

In time it was confirmed that this woman was associated with other girls going missing after assisting to arrange their marriages

Saidul now knows that this woman has been connected to numerous girls going missing after helping arrange their marriages. He feels certain he would never have heard from his daughter again if they had gone through with the arrangement. 

Meet Maheshwari

Maheshwari was 16 years old when she married. Her husband didn't work, so Maheshwari worked as a maid in an office building to ensure she could support her two children. Eventually, she decided to leave her husband and live with her parents, but she always felt as if she and her children were a burden on them.

Shortly after moving back to her parent's home, Maheshwari joined the PeaceMaker training program. She found it difficult because of what she was experiencing in her own life, but the counsellors and teachers rallied around and supported her. "I discovered strength, independence and peace during my training," she says. "While it gave me the ability to help other women, it also taught me how to deal with my own pain and frustration. I'm now a better mother and communicator."

As soon as Maheshwari heard the stories of other women, she felt she had a responsibility to use her new knowledge and skills to support them. She runs awareness workshops throughout her local community and provides support to women who are experiencing domestic violence. She reconciled with her husband and they are making a new start in their relationship. "I have a great sense of pride in both my family and work," she says.

Thank you for empowering PeaceMakers like Fouzia and Maheshwari to help reduce domestic violence, so more families in India can live peaceful lives. Lives in which women find their voice, are heard and respected. 

I have a great sense of pride in both my family and work.

Maheshwari

An Army of Good Fathers