The Public and the Digital: Examining the Spatial Dimensions of Increasing Gender-based Violence in India

LEAD at Krea University

December 2022

There has been an exponential rise in Gender-based Violence in the last decade, unmitigated by national and international policies and initiatives. The National Crime Records Bureau, in its Crime in India Report 2021, documented a 15.3% increase in crimes against women, compared to 2020. One in every three women has experienced gender-based violence (Violence Against Women Prevalence Estimates, 2018, WHO).

This note summarises discussions from a workshop on the spatial dimensions of gender-based violence in India, organised by Krea University in Chennai from 19-20 December 2022. Over 25 leading experts, practitioners, academics, and representatives from civil society and policy participated in the two-day workshop to explore synergies across disciplines. The workshop examined the spatiality of gender-based violence and how it shapes participation in public spaces, with a critical reflection on the shifting nature of the public and the public-digital continuum. The sessions also focused on identifying conceptual and implementation gaps in policies, interventions, and legislations and mapping areas for further research inquiry.

Thematic Area

Institutions and Society