The Rakshin Project

Sakshi’s decades of experience in Research & Advocacy led us to understand that the starting point of the cycle of Sexual Violence is Child Sexual Abuse. When a child is sexually abused, they lose their sense of autonomy and personal boundaries, developing an inability to say ‘No’. Abusive behaviours are then normalised as the child grows up which results in them tolerating and managing other forms of abuse such as Workplace Sexual Harassment or Domestic Violence. As such, CSA leads to a 40% drop in productivity over a lifetime, not to mention the 2-8% impact it has on global GDP.

In a country where 53% of it’s population has survived child sexual abuse, where 95% of the cases happen in families and trusted circles and 50% of cases go unreported due to the shame, denial and stigma that silences communities, we recognised that in order to fix the problem from it’s very root, we had to begin with dismantling patriarchal and misogynistic mindsets which enable a culture of violence.

After extensive lobbying, Sakshi received a directive from the Directorate of the National Service Scheme (NSS), Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in 2018, to deliver pro-bono capacity building workshops to 40,000 colleges, to equip 4 Million NSS Volunteers pan-India to be champions of change for the cause.

The project was launched in 2019, however, with the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, there was a sharp rise in domestic violence and a 200% spike in demand for child-based sexual material as reported by ICPF, thus exacerbating the situation. While everyone said ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’, the home was not necessarily a safe space for nearly 50% of India’s population.

1. To address the denial, stigma, shame and silence rooted deep-seated sexist and misogynistic mindsets and dismantle patriarchal structures that enable gender-based violence.

2. To build the capacities of the youth and adult stakeholders in 21st century skills and emotional intelligence to prevent gender-based violence and child sexual abuse within families and communities.

3. To create a social tipping point in India to #ENDViolence by having at least one skill-built ‘Rakshin’ in each home, educational institute and workplace.

The directive from the ministry led Sakshi to develop an extensive 5 Level, 18 Module programme complete with creative immersive education (Films, Songs, Interactive Media) to build the capacity of the youth.

In 2019, Sakshi delivered workshops in 5 states as a dipstick to understand if the programme design and the content were relevant, relatable and led to the desired outcome. After revision, we received the first batch of funding to roll out a Pilot in 2020. Our teams were deployed in 6 states when COVID-19 struck. We swiftly shifted to online implementation, adapting the experiential learning pedagogy for the small screen.

In its pilot phase today, the project has impacted more than 19,000 students in 35 Cities, 15 Towns, 7 Villages, 85 Districts, and 360 Colleges, across all 36 States and Union Territories in India. This, however, is the only stepping stone to our fight for equality to make all spaces safe. As part of the sustained engagement pillar of The Rakshin Project, Sakshi has designed and executed several social art and behaviour change communication initiatives including the COVID-19 campaign #MakeHomeASafeSpace, Rakshin Diaries, two zoom plays - Ghat Ghat Mein Panchi Bolta Hai & We vs. V: The Art of Safe Spaces to facilitate difficult conversations and create safe spaces.

Nurtured by the ethos of Collective Action, The Rakshin Project today has opened its doors beyond the NSS Volunteers to include everyone who is willing to learn. The project is ever-evolving and with its recent partnership with X-Billion Skills Lab, The Rakshin Fellowship has expanded to include all the 21st Century Skills in order to build a workforce that possesses emotional intelligence to prevent harm and create safe spaces.