When I come across an article related to women's rights or crimes against them (especially rape) I notice that it always begins with statistics that are invariably shocking to read. As I dig deeper into the article, I glance at an image of a vulnerable group of women holding candles and posters, hoping there will be a change coming soon in their lives. I read further, now with few parts of rage within me. After finishing the read, I unleash the rage through a tweet or by changing my Facebook profile picture in support of the particular movement. Then I get back to scrolling memes and forget that all this ever happened. Few days later, a notification pops up and I read yet another write up, about a different incident but the same statistics, the same picture, the same rage. This goes on. I realize that its a loop. What can break the loop, I think out loud? "Change," says the inner me.

For the past two years, Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice has been working in India, leading a project to improve access to justice for women and girl victims of violence. Justice for Her is a collaborative effort with the Indian Police across the vast and densely populated states of Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab.

The aim was pretty clear: prioritize the protection of women and girls who have been victims of violence, so they could be fully supported at their most vulnerable time, and do not face these horrific crimes again.

Justice for Her developed a training programme for police officers and lawyers in India after its commencement in the year 2016. The program focused on how they can more appropriately and effectively deal with such cases of crimes against women and secure justice for victims. This training was intense and involved a wide range of approaches, including role play, group discussions, lectures, simulation exercises and self-reflection workshops.

In fact, police officers, lawyers, NGOs, and members of civil society were brought to share their views and experiences on dealing with female victims of crime.

The training programme has now been successfully delivered in the four states to senior police trainers working across a range of police training academies. The program changed the way police offers are trained about gender violence which has now resulted in an empowered police force who have the ability to perform their duties more effectively – without prejudice and discrimination.

The project has been a success. The police force now focuses more on empathy, the victim, and moral principles. This has helped to challenge police strategies – many of which now prioritize gender violence.

Following the success of the program in 4 states, the training will now be included in the curriculum for many new police recruits in the current states and will be rolled out to existing officers in the field. This means that potentially tens of thousands of police officers will be able to better support women and girls who seek justice.

Justice for Her is a small yet impactful huge step forward in improving access to justice for women and girl victims of violence. But more is needed, much more on a larger scale. The good thing is that the seeds of change have been planted and now must be spread to other areas of India.