As news of leaked MMS videos of girls from a Chandigarh university hostel going viral started coming in sometime ago, the country predictably reacted with shock and indignance. A more surprising and disturbing report was that the videos were recorded by one girl only, a hotel inmate herself. There were also reports that the girl was being blackmailed to make such videos.
However, there were conflicting reports as well, with the official police statements giving out different versions. Nevertheless, this incident once again brought to the fore the question as to what turns a victim into an offender. If the girl has actually done all the things she has been accused of, couldn’t she have shown some courage and stood up against the main culprit – her male friend? In that case, she wouldn’t have landed in this mess. The very fact that she, or several others before her, didn’t do that, points to the disturbing fact that, till this day, there is a lot of stigma and shame associated with a girl’s sexuality, which encourages a guy to start blackmailing.
Knowing this too well, 2011-batch IAS officer Abhishek Singh, who is currently posted in Delhi, is trying to address this issue with his ‘No Shame’ campaign. In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, the officer, who is also an actor, talked about his noble initiative, which is garnering support not only from the political leadership, but from the film fraternity as well.
NO FEAR, NO GUILT
The ‘No Shame’ campaign has been started to address the vulnerabilities of young girls who are blackmailed due to ‘non-consensual’ image sharing. By using this kind of leverage, they are forced to do things they might not want to do.
Mr. Singh said, “If such incidents happen, the victim won’t turn to police because they fear of being shamed. They will not even talk to their parents. In such conditions, they are easily exploited to the extent of committing crimes. All this happen because of lack of guidance. So, we started this ‘No Shame’ campaign for girls who need help in such a situation.”
The officer’s another initiative, ‘United by Blood’, has associated with LB Trust to provide assistance to such girls.
PROVIDING LEGAL SUPPORT
Under the ‘No Shame’ campaign, a legal team has been formed with mostly women lawyers who provide legal assistance. They guide the victim about their rights and about taking legal action. Mr. Singh said, “The legal team is full of female lawyers as they can connect with the victim more. We also focus on counseling them that what they are fearing most is just a stigma and they should not feel guilty about it.”
In case any victim wants to file a police complaint, the legal team provides support in that, too. However, the most important part of this campaign is removing all stigmas associated with the display of women’s sexuality. Taking the campaign to the colleges and schools, Mr. Singh and his team are trying to make the students, especially the girls, aware that there is nothing to feel guilty or fear about.
“We made such a fuss about the Chandigarh university incident. If such a case happens, instead of blaming the offender, we start shaming the victim,” Mr. Singh said.
Till now, he has visited many colleges in Delhi, including Miranda House, Daulat Ram College, and he he has been supported in his endeavour by Bollywood celebs like Sara Ali Khan and Rakul Preet. He is also getting support from political leadership, including the wife of Deputy CM of Maharashtra, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis.
