In order to further sensitise students about crimes against women, Jawaharlal Nehru University’s gender sensitisation committee is planning to use street plays and other such interactive initiatives to ensure gender equity in campus. This move comes almost a year after the gruesome axe attack on a student by her classmate left the student community in shock.
This is supposed to be mainly for all the freshers in JNU. Sonam Goyal, a PhD student and student representative of Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH), said, “One of our initiatives is to introduce GSCASH to new students. This was lacking in previous years when students were not aware of it and its functions.”
The awareness drive includes street theatre acts presented in front of a small audience. These acts are mostly impromptu performances, Goyal said, adding performers invite narratives from the audience to make it more interactive. Additionally, the committee has been organising sessions inviting speakers and counsellors, and engaging students through presentations and video clips which elucidate gender-based discrimination.
“To know what sexual harassment means, it is imperative to understand consent and violence in a relationship. Since, students here belong to diverse backgrounds, interactive sessions are being conducted,” said Goyal.
Raising awareness about filing complaints related to sexual harassment has also become central to the committee. To file a sexual harassment complaint with GSCASH, a student is not required to visit the committee office but can file the complaint with any of the course faculty or the chairperson. Once the complaint is filed, a formal enquiry is taken up with due confidentiality of both the complainant and against whom the complaint has been filed. “This time, we have been targeting a counsellor’s panel which will act as a support system for complainants,” Goyal said.