Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; September 18, 2020)

Not everyone could take stock of their lives or find solace in the lockdown that was implemented to contain the rising cases of Coronavirus. It unleashed a shadow pandemic (as dubbed by the UN) called domestic violence on women and children around the world. Taking a stand against it, Femina launched a campaign, #ActAgainstAbuse, which features a poem written by noted lyricist and writer Prasoon Joshi. The video on the poem takes its inspiration from the proverb of the three wise monkeys — ‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’. And actresses Shabana Azmi, Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, Radhika Apte and Aditi Rao Hydari embody that saying as they are seen with either their eyes, ears or mouth covered in the video. While talking to BT about the initiative, Taapsee and Sonakshi reiterated the need to encourage women to raise their voice against this violence at home.

WOMEN ARE GIVEN TO FEEL THAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS PERSONAL: TAAPSEE PANNU
“Domestic violence is considered to be a personal matter, especially for women, who are at the receiving end of it most of the time. They are made to believe that issues like this should be kept between the couple and the family. It’s also hushed up because Indian society is more concerned about what other people will say. However, it is important to raise your voice at some point. If a woman is not able to put an end to it by herself, she needs to speak up, seek help and support from outside. Otherwise, it is going to kill her — mentally and physically.

Most victims might not be able walk out of their houses, but they should pick up the phone and call the authorities concerned. The entire family needs to hold each other’s hands to get through an extreme situation like a lockdown. And, if a family is witnessing domestic abuse taking place and keeping quiet, it’s not the mark of a caring family.

If I come across a victim of domestic abuse, I will try to explain how the situation needs to be addressed and resolved. If the couple do not take steps to end it, then she or he needs to reach out for help, because it can scar a human being and also their child’s future.”

Among the actresses who feature in the video against domestic violence (as part of Femina's campaign #ActAgainstAbuse) is Sonakshi Sinha. She reiterates the need to encourage domestic violence victims to speak up, “Domestic violence is treated as a personal matter as most cases happen behind closed doors. As a society, we need to bring about a change and it will happen only when we don’t normalise abuse. It is important to raise your voice against domestic violence and also encourage women, who are victims of it, to fight for themselves. If we know anybody experiencing domestic abuse, we shouldn’t be afraid to step in and help.”

She adds, “Having a conversation with the victim and validating their feelings are the most important things to do, before they find the courage to report the abuse officially. Help the victim to find support and resources. Educate them with helpline numbers and if possible, go along for moral support to the police, court, or lawyer. Counselling and psychological support should get a boost. The electronic media can raise awareness in regional languages, so that more women are educated about it. Solutions for women who don’t have access to cell phones is also important.
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THE RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS HEARTBREAKING: PRASOON JOSHI

It's the indifferent response to domestic violence that led Prasoon Joshi to add his voice to the campaign with a poem. Says the poet-lyricist, “The pandemic changed a lot of things for us. As a nation and a society, as we dealt with adversity, we saw so many positives in human spirit, in the environment, in collective action. Unfortunately, the evil of domestic violence saw an upward spike through the pandemic with families confined at home. And what was our response as a society? It’s heartbreaking to say, but in most cases apathy. Apathy that leads us to ignore it, pretend it does not exist, condone it, and sometimes even justify it. And makes us, society at large, as much a party to the crime as the perpetrator. It’s important for communication around this issue to go beyond information dissemination. It is important to jolt society out of its collective apathy. To mobilise society to ignore no more.”