Gram Sabha in Biddupur, Bihar

A Gram Sabha was organised by Safecity and its partner organisation Nirman in Biddupur, Vaishali District, Bihar on 26th May, 2018. Priyanka Kumari- the Protection Officer, and Kartik- the Counsellor at Women Helpline Number, Women Development Corporation, Dept. Of Social Welfare, Govt. Of Bihar were our chief guests. We also had members of the Zilla Parishad and ward members attend the Gram Sabha. 25 women from the village attended the Sabha as well.

This Gram Sabha was organised to discuss the issues of women safety and using technology to make places safer. Safecity has been conducting awareness workshops about sexual harassment and the laws related to it. We have conducting workshops for the past 5 months on how to report anonymously on the mobile and web app as well as file FIRs.

The women from the village shared their learnings from the past few months and recounted how the sessions have helped them become more aware and brought changes in their lives. Now, they are aware of the different types of sexual harassment as well as their rights. They now know how to file an FIR and follow up with it. Some of them have tried reporting sexual harassment by using the missed call facility that Safecity offers and are more confident to share their stories without the fear of their identity being risked.

The women also shared a few stories like how they are often harassed in auto rickshaws and buses and how they are groped in market places. They also shared that girls are often teased on their way to school or way back home. On the occasion, the Protection Officer shared that she gets very few sexual harassment reports because women are afraid of reporting. Though afraid they should report without any fear and she assured that she will keep their personal details confidential. The women said that they are definitely going to share with everyone in the family and their neighbours what they learnt in these past months.