With the general elections in India having concluded in May, many observers are now analyzing the implications of the electoral outcomes on the world’s largest democracy. Yet such analyses of the country often overlook the ability of citizens, especially women, to participate in politics beyond elections. While multiple factors hinder women’s full participation in the public sphere, the prevalence of sexual violence is among the most significant. Such violence is linked to the low overall status of women in society, which has skewed birth ratios, limited access to education and health, and discouraged women from participating in the labor force and in politics. In order to ensure that democracy in India is resilient and inclusive, it is critical that policymakers and institutions take into account the role that sexual violence plays in preventing women from fully participating in a democratic society. In her presentation, Elsa Marie D’Silva will discuss her experiences pioneering the use of “Safecity,” a mobile crowdsourcing application to document stories of sexual violence, as well as how she engaged local communities and institutions through sharing trends in the data. She will also examine how such storytelling can help give women a voice, build solidarity to break the silence surrounding sexual violence, and organize women to take action. Ambassador Melanne Verveer will offer comments.
FEATURING
Elsa Marie D’Silva, Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow
WITH COMMENTS FROM
Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Executive Director, Georgetown Institute of Women, Peace, and Security
MODERATED BY
Zerxes Spencer, Director of Fellowship Programs, National Endowment for Democracy
For more information about this event and our speakers, visit ned.org: [ Ссылка ]
The National Endowment for Democracy is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world. Each year, NED makes more than 1,000 grants to support the projects of non-governmental groups abroad who are working for democratic goals in more than 90 countries. Learn more at [ Ссылка ]
Follow NED:
Facebook - [ Ссылка ]
Twitter - [ Ссылка ]
LinkedIn - [ Ссылка ]
