PCVC

2015 OUR FOREMOST

RESPONSIBILITY IS TO EMPOWER WOMEN AND

PROVIDE A VOICE TO THE VOICELESS.

ANNUAL REPORT

FOR OVER 15 YEARS

NOW

My husband is a business man, we both struggled together to come to this level. I am teacher in

a government primary school which I liked a lot to be. I owned my own scooty and that’s where

ego hit his head. Then slowly he started doubting, very suspicious and abused me verbally. One

fine day when I was having my breakfast with my children, he came and poured acid on my head.

All that I know now is I am in PCVC’s Shelter and getting my surgery in Shankara Netralaya.

Deepti

My life has been a roller coaster ride the last 12 years. Outings for my children have been to

police stations, hospitals and shelters. He would drink and hit me and then apologise the next

day. I tried leaving him several times but it never worked. PCVC’s help in stages helped me

finally come out and I’m in shelter now. My children are happy. In another 3 months I will finish

my training and will start work and then live my own violence free life.

Shanthi

INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR CRIME PREVENTION & VICTIM CARE

The International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC) is a non-profit, tax

exempt, registered public charitable trust in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Founded in response to the

state’s noticeable absence of support agencies for women survivors of domestic abuse, its

journey from 2001 has been challenging as it has attempted to formulate better, more effective

and integrated interventions for women survivors of family violence, strengthen its systems and

gender-sensitive protocols, increase coverage, and aid many more women towards the path of

self empowerment.

Today, its head ways and expertise to create protective spaces for women survivors of violence,

aid their efforts to make choices and lives of their own, and draw public and policy attention and

dialogue to the issue is widely acknowledged. This is particularly so as many of PCVCs efforts

have been unprecedented in the state, and could serve as roadmaps for actionable learning.

PCVC’s goals

PCVC’s GOALS:

• PCVC's overarching goal is to provide emotional and practical support structures for women

with abusive partners; our focus areas are prevention of crime and victim care

• Our projects aim to help women report instances of violence against them, protect

themselves and their children, and if they choose to, leave their partners and achieve both

financial and emotional independence

• Our client group cuts across class lines, and we address their manifold problems: physical

beatings, economic and emotional manipulation, sexual violence and coercion, and acid or

kerosene burns inflicted by partners or in-laws

• We attempt to provide and locate resources for women in situations of domestic violence,

and validate and respect our clients' ongoing processes of independent decision-making

PCVC’s MISSION:

• Provide direct services to survivors of domestic violence, with a particular focus on women

and their children. Specifically, we hope to facilitate a process by which women survivors

make empowering personal decisions

• Create an effective community response to domestic violence, both from major institutions

(law enforcement agencies, medical centers, etc), and at the grassroots level (to include

communities, self-help groups, local news publications, etc)

• Create more socially responsible future generations through community education

initiatives and gender-sensitization workshops

WHAT WE PROVIDE

SHANTHI - CRISIS INTERVENTION CENTER 24X7 HELPLINE

In an attempt to provide emotional and practical support structures for women with abusive

partners, the projects under the Crisis Intervention Centre try to stop the abuse, ensure safety,

empower women survivors and heal them. The focus is on gender sensitive handling and

protocols.

Shanthi, started in 2001, till date, is the only crisis line for domestic violence victims in the city.

It has progressed from just a referral centre to a 24-hour crisis line that provides information,

phone in and direct counseling, referrals, emergency shelter, legal advocacy and assistance in

finding housing, relocating, and planning for safety. Its activities are anchored by staff who

assure and ensure confidentiality and speak English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. As it

networks with the city’s women helpline, a project of the city police, it has become one of their

major referral services, especially for calls from domestic violence and sexual abuse victims who

need non police officers to come to their rescue. Its crisis counseling is a solution-focused

approach has paved the way for women to identify and explore resources, and understand their

rights and options available.

Crisis counseling is offered to those who are unsure of their rights, options and plans. During this

year, 512 crisis calls were received from Tamil Nadu and 664 calls from Telungana and Andhra

Pradesh District. In the month of October our crisis line received 586 calls from Telungana and

Andhra Pradesh, which was the response of PCVC’s article in a Magazine.

ASTITVA – EMERGENCY SHELTER FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN

A confidential emergency shelter, offers women and children victims a safe temporary place to

stay. During their stay here they are assisted in identifying needs, exploring options, setting

goals, following through with the steps needed to obtain their goals and domestic violence

4 3 3 2 2 3 1 3 4 1

17

8 613

8 6 7 5 3 4 6 4

32

17

35

22

10

25

9 611

511

5

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

CrisisCall-24x7totalnumberofonlineintakes

totalnumberofintakes(Phonein/Direct/Online)

totalamountofconsultaLonperyear(includingintakesandfollowups)

68 34 59 67 46 53 58 33 36 16 19 23

512586

78

664

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec TOTAL

SHANTHI

FollowupcallsandNewIntakeCalls

callsrecievedfromAndhraPradesh&Telangana(Refferal)

counseling. This also includes legal assistance, housing, employment, financial assistance,

education, childcare, etc.

UDHAYAM - A PCVC COMMUNITY SUPPORT UNIT

A Support Unit operates in collaboration with All Women Police Station – AWPS as follows

W7 (Anna Nagar), W8 (Thirumangalam), W9 (Villivakkam) and W29 (Avadi) allows women

survivors who approach police stations to avail of crisis and support services. Crisis counseling

is offered at the police station and at the counseling centre where the woman/couple is counseled

and educated on victim rights, legal processes and given assistance. Follow up home visits are

ensured and so is phone in/direct counseling, if the women survivors are still living with their

partners. The programme does not interfere with the working of the police but functions by

undertaking a risk assessment (of all victims approaching the station), and safety planning

(where the victims of the risk are informed of PCVCs programmes and given the crisis line

number.) The result of PCVCs efforts is that women police personnel’s attitude have undergone

a huge transformation. While earlier they addressed cases of domestic violence with a view that

women had no refuge other the homes of their husbands, now they are aware that women do

31 2 23 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

5 64

64

17

53

16

12

710

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

ASTITVATotalNo.ofintakes-womenandchildrenperyear

totalnumberofpresenceofwomenandchildrenperyear

totalnumberofconsultaLonwomenandchildrenperyear

have safe spaces that they can live in. It is this conviction that has made all 35 women police

stations promote Udhayam and encourage women to approach their crisis and support counseling

VIDIYAL – A PROJECT FOR BURN SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE &

RECOVERY AND HEALING CENTER FOR BURN SURVIVORS

The Recovery and Healing Center for Burn Survivors is a multi-year initiative (2013-2015)

that aims to provide a one-stop, complete rehabilitation programme for 500 women and child

survivors of burn injuries in Chennai admitted at the Kilpauk Medical Hospital. With a grant of

US$240,000, the focus is on a triad of factors: capacity building of burn professionals, setting up

a Care House and delivery of burn rehabilitation services (so as to create a comprehensive

community rehabilitation model that integrates families in the healing and rehabilitation of the

burn survivor, and one that facilitates the process of re-entry and reintegration of the survivor

into a life at home and society). Supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China

(Taiwan) and facilitated by the support and guidance of the Sunshine Social Welfare Foundation,

the idea is also to simultaneously lend impetus to capacity building for burn rehabilitation

professionals among PCVC staff (including social workers, therapists) and hospital staff

(including doctors and nurses). Number of Clients and Means of Service (Feb-Dec. 2013). After

14

4

119 9

12

22

10

18

74 5

47

11

30

25

20

29

45

2022

7 85

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

totalnumberofintakes

totalamountofconsultaLonperyear(includingintakesandfollowups)

Udhayam–AllWomenPoliceStaAon–Counseling-2015

site visits from Sunshine Social Welfare Foundation and extensive training of PCVC staff at

Taiwan, the Care House became a reality in April 2013 and can today accommodate 12 patients

in house. It offers psychosocial support, physical support for mobility, laser therapy for scar

management, wound care and pressure garments, and integration programmes with family and

the community. The table is an inkling of the small and big strides we have taken.

Client feedback (collected in the form of questionnaire at the time of discharge in the pie chart

(below), garnered to improve upon the rehabilitation services, is encouraging. One client’s words

in particular is heartwarming. “I was riddled with so much self-doubt after I was burnt that my

initial days at the Centre were difficult. I was terrified even after my physical wounds were

treated at the hospital as I still had grave misgivings about facing the world. Today, I feel

confident about handling my life after my stay at the Centre. The group sessions and

motivational talks have allowed me to independently handle my life – a huge transformation for

which I am thankful to PCVC.”

17 21 21 16

3325

37

20 1624

6 11

43

27

4538 41 39

24 29

1320

1319

7281

46 50

9081

94

68 67

80

40 36

187

2415 12 15 17

312 15

33

6

0102030405060708090100

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Totalno.ofIntakes-Womenperyear(DV)TotalamountofWomenperyear(NonDV)IntakesTotalamountofconsultaLonsperyear(includingintakes/followups)Totalno.ofChildren(NonDV)-Intakes

Vidiyal–ProjectforBurnSurvivorsofDomesAcViolence-2015(Projectinthegovernmenthospital)

SMILES – A PROJECT FOR CHILDREN WHO FACED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

A project initiated in 2007, has been working towards identifying the special needs of children

witnessing violence at homes, conducting assessments and offering intervention programs. The

Smiles programme this year has assisted 125 children facing violence at home (and those who

have left home with their mothers to seek a violence-free life) by providing a safe stay home.

This allows them to heal from the trauma before setting forth on a new violence-free life. One-

to-one counselling, group therapies and non-traditional therapy programmes like life skills, art

and play, and yoga have been used to help them heal psychologically and emotionally.

The services have been goal oriented, comprehensive and case based. Other than dealing with

behavior, parent-child sibling, school and peer related problems and the psychological effects of

domestic violence, the programme has looked at imparting education on relationship -healthy

relationships. The distinctive feature of this programme is that it supports the education of the

child irrespective of the victim-survivor status of the mother and ascertains that their education is

not disrupted due to any problems that arise from the change in their lives.

5

13 4 3

5

0 1 1

7

1 1

5

14 5

75 4 3 2 3 2 2

5

1

5 53 4

13 2

7

1 25

1 24

7 63

1 13 2 1

5 58 9 8

119 10

6

10 118

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Totalno.ofResidenLalclientsTotalno.ofoutpaLentsTotalno.ofDVcases(Fromtheintakesfortheyear)TotalNo.ofNon-DVcases(Fromtheintakesoftheyear)Totalno.ofclientspresenceintherecovery&healingceneter(Monthwise)

Recovery and Healing Center for Burn Survivors - 2015

VISIT TO BIRLA PLANETARIUM

The children were taken to Birla Planetarium for a visit. It was an educational one day tour,

benefitting children on their subjective knowledge.

Children came to knew that astrological ideas. It will use for their studies in schools. It will

trigger their interest towards astronomy.

CSR PROGRAM - CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL FOREST DAY

The children were explained about the importance of the nature and the green environment. Also

they got to know about the significances of Air Pollution, Environmental care and Afforestation.

The CSR team displayed a video on Natural vs Human, a kind of tech video for the children. As

a part of the session, each of them was given medicinal saplings and explanations were given to

each plant, requested them to plant a sapling in their home.

Other than this they distributed gifts with school bags for each child.

The children came to know about the importance of our nature and hoping that they will initiate

to save our generation. They all have a plant in their home. The International Forest Day was

celebrated with so much information and knowledge.

PONGAL CELEBRATION

The children of SMILES and NAM KNDUMBAM were engaged in traditional games and

competitions like Rangoli, eating sugar cane, etc through which they brought in the 'Pongal

2 21 1

5

8

54

3

7

12

1 1

4

1 12 2

8

21

4

8

2

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

SocialandculturalacAviAeswithchildren

AmountofinternalacLviLesperyear AmountofpublicacLviLesperyear

Totalno.ofIntakes-childrenperyear

festival' mood. The session also focused on the impact and positive changes of cultural

development in the present society. They tried to think about the chances that happened and

happening in our culture when we compare with our past and think about the future.

SPORTS EVENT

The children of SMILES & NAM KUDUMBAM participated in an Inter NGO's sports meet

around Chennai, which was organized by Concern India Foundation, Chennai. All our children

participated very actively and enthusiastically. They encouraged each other and they supported

their team members and presented themselves in a very sportive manner with other children.

EXPLORING MY WORLD – 2015 SUMMER WORKSHOP

To make this summer productive and useful for the children, along with them SMILES initiated

a new idea of “EXPLORING MY WORLD” tool (Book) and conducted 5 days workshop for

them at ASHA NIVAS, Here we segregated the children in two batches. I batch on 4th and 5th

May 2015, II batch on 20th & 21st, May 2015 and last day (22nd May) we had model making

workshop for both the batches. This tool works more on the interpersonal level of each child.

Whereas the facilitators added more high to the tool kit along with activities related to the tool

topics and information regarding to those or their ideas. The facilitators covered about half of the

tool kit within two days which were actually spacious time for the tool. Though it was so helpful

for the children in such a way where they have realized, where they are..? Why they are..? Who

they are..? What they are going to be..? This workshop includes both SMILES’ and NAM

KUDUMBAM children.

NAM KUDUMBAM – OUR FAMILY

PCVC’s strengthening community initiative connects with the Choolaimedu Community Girl

Children and educate them and work along with them in making interactive understandable

knowledge on gender and related issues.

SHARP – Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

SHARP is PCVC’s initiative to promote respect and safety at the workplace. Having offered

crisis support to many victims of sexual harassment at the work place and witnessed their bleak

attempts to get justice, we are determined to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace. Sexual

harassment is not only harmful, it’s costly. A major million dollar settlement by a well known

software company is just an example of the serious impact it has on the corporate world. With

more and more working women and more of them experiencing sexual harassment in their

lifetime, you can be sure that future will bring more eye-opening settlements. How can you

prevent or eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace? The answer is education and training,

not litigation or out of court settlements.

CLAPP – COMMUNITY LED ACTION PROGRAM WITH POLICE

CLAPP, police community partnership program where youth from educational institutions and

local police units work together to innovate and implement solutions to prevent sexual

harassment of women in public spaces. The process adapted to achieve the goal would be

transformative, in that, it inspires change and brings about a shift in mind-sets so as to promote

strategies that proactively address sexual harassment.

“No form of harassment is ever okay; Everyone should be treated with respect, dignity and

empathy.”

51

3438 38

5045

68

35 37 35

1620

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

TotalnumberofPCVC'sIntakewomenfromallprojects-2015

HIGH LIGHTS OF 2015 AT PCVC:

March 07 – Harely Davidson Rider’s Club team was shaking the PCVC compound with 6 HDs,

came to visit and interact with our empowered women.

March 08 – Celebrated Women’s day program with AROHI at PCVC with our women and

children.

May 07 – Super Bikers team came to PCVC regarding their All India Ride – Support Women

Rights.

September 03 – CLAPP launch in Hyderabad

October 06 – CLAPP launch in Chennai

November 18 to23 – Workshop on “Gender sensitization & training of trainers on violence

against women” for Police, Lawyers and Judges.

INTERNSHIP STUDENTS

S.No Names Course & Institute City & Nation

1 Ann Alex MSW, Stella Maris College Chennai, India

2 Ujjwala Mani MSW, Stella Maris College Chennai, India

3 Babi Christina MSW, Loyola College Chennai, India

4 Bala Sowmya PGDM, Xavier Institute of management and

entrepreneurship

Bangalore, India

5 Devi Saranya MSW, SDNB Vaishnav College for women Chennai, India

6 Lakshmi MSW, Stella Maris College Chennai, India

7 Gracelin Daniel MSW, Stella Maris College Chennai, India

8 Rwicha Basumatary MSW, Stella Maris College Chennai, India

9 Gloria Preethi MSW, Stella Maris College Chennai, India

10 Evageline Grace MSW, Madras Christian College Chennai, India

11 Bettina Hansen (CIOSA)

BA in Psych, Adler University Vancouver Campu

British Columbia, Canada

12 Danielle Holtjer (CIOSA)

BA in Psych, Adler University Vancouver Campu

British Columbia, Canada

13 Beza • (CIOSA)

• Electrical and Computer Engineering, Addis Ababa University

• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

FCRA 2015

CHARATED ACCOUNTANT 2014-2015

A note from the founder trustee and CEO of PCVC, Dr. Prasanna Gettu: