Shakti Shalini

About us

Shakti Shalini, established in 1987, is a non-governmental organization based in Delhi, India, that is committed to gender equality. It provides support services to survivors of gender/ sexual violence across India which include counseling, crisis intervention, a shelter home, legal aid, health aid, rehabilitation and/ or reintegration, and follow-up. Shakti Shalini works with five socio-economically marginalised urban-settlement communities to mobilise grassroots changemakers for the prevention of gender/ sexual violence. Further, Shakti Shalini engages youth from high schools, universities, and professional spaces in training programs so that they may become champions of a gender equal future and conducts regular media and digital awareness and sensitisation on issues of gender, sexuality, and violence. To actualise our vision, we work in solidarity with local, national, and global networks and alliances dedicated to mitigating systemic patriarchy and creating a gender equal world.

Ideological principles:
• Gender equality
• Equal educational, economic, and social opportunities for all
• Respect for individual choices, dignity, independence and personhood
• Zero tolerance for violence

Programmes:
• Crisis Intervention and Counseling Centre (CICC): CICC is the first point of contact for a survivor of gender/ sexual violence seeking support at Shakti Shalini. It provides counseling, crisis intervention and rescue support, a helpline service, facilitates shelter, mental/ physical/ sexual and reproductive healthcare, legal counseling and litigation aid, rehabilitation and/ or reintegration, and follow-up.
Pehchan Shelter Home: Shakti Shalini’s shelter home for women in distress. It is a small establishment that can house ten, and at most twelve, women (with or without children) at a time. All cost of living of the women and children (food, sanitation, medication, travel, clothes, etc.) and of upkeep of the home is borne by Shakti Shalini. The services provided to the survivors will include counseling and crisis intervention, food and nutrition, sanitation and hygiene, security and confidential location, physical and mental healthcare, sexual and reproductive healthcare, legal counseling and litigation aid, skills development and vocational training, educational and income generation support, rehabilitation and reintegration, and follow-up.
• Child Protection Unit: The Child Protection Unit furthers the mission to provide the children of survivors of gender/sexual violence with services and environments that are holistic, specialised, and effective. It will intervene not only with the children, but the immediate caregiving unit, that includes the adult survivor of gender/sexual violence as well as the person who has caused the harm to build a healthy environment for a child by a transformation in socio-cultural practices of caregiving. In doing so, our project will be able to serve the dual purposes of both responding to ongoing violence and preventing future violence.
• Community Outreach Program: We regularly organize health awareness and free health checkup camps in the communities that are facilitated by medical practioners. Shakti Shalini’s affiliated advocate conducts legal awareness and advice camps. Shakti Shalini engages community men, women, adolescent girls, boys in various life skills training program that include developing smart communication and negotiation skills, knowing conflict resolution and problem management skills, developing self-esteem and a confident personality, knowing how to ensure one’s safety and basic self-defense skills. Finally, Shakti Shalini organizes a variety of workshops and events in the communities such as a games, sports, races, movie screenings, and discussions and so on.
• Kushalta Vikas Kendra (KVK) or the Skills Development Centre for Combating Violence is a project under Shakti Shalini’s Prevention of Gender/ Sexual Violence Program. The vision and mission of KVK is to effectively merge skills development and vocational training with feminist action. The trainings KVK offers include certified courses in cutting and tailoring, beauty culture, basic computer, and basic literacy, and non-certified volunteer and collaboration run courses such as English, notebook making, handmade paper making, incense making, macrame-based art production, etc.
• Artivism, Art for Activism, is a project within Shakti Shalini Prevention of Gender/ Sexual Violence Program with the vision and mission to deploy art as the site of feminist action, activism, critical thinking, awareness, discussion, debate, collectivisation, free expression, and therapeutic impact.
• Media Outreach at Shakti Shalini is a program with a vision and mission to mobilise across media and communication platforms to generate and nurture conversation and dialogue around the subjects of gender, sex, sexuality, identity and self, violence and abuse, trauma, mental/ physical/ sexual/ reproductive health, the feminist movement, intersectionality, safety, constitutional and human rights, support services, community and solidarity building. It has a mandate to challenge patriarchal, authoritarian, undemocratic, and exclusionary narratives across media and communication platforms and make a vehement ideological intervention in favor of gender equality, and a democratic and inclusive order.
• Educational Enhancement: The vision of the program is to train and nurture interns and volunteers, with a priority on youth, to understand the challenges and complexities of addressing gender and sexual violence at the grassroots within the Indian context.

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.