16 organisations from ten states are being strengthened and further developed to effectively combat sexual violence against women. Our project partner Jan Sahas is coordinating the work, which also includes sensitising representatives of authorities such as the police and courts. Central contact points for women in need are to be established in 32 districts. Women who have experienced sexual violence are given practical and legal support. Another focus is the work with the state ministries and the central government to implement legal requirements for the protection of women.

Violence against girls and women is widespread in India, including in schools. This is where this project comes in. Raising the awareness of both male and female teachers to support a violence-free school environment is an integral part of this project. In addition, the team of our local partner organisation works with boys and their fathers as well as with girls and their mothers.

Our project partner Samata Mahila Foundation (SMF) supports women and adolescent girls from disadvantaged communities in eight slums. Health training for adolescents, financial, psychological and legal support for women and the provision of high-quality early education enable the inhabitants of the slums to have a better future.

The self-defence courses "Wenlido" are part of the Prabodhini project in Nagpur. It supports women and girls in dealing with stressful social circumstances. They learn about their rights and the laws to protect them. They do not have to put up with being picked on or grabbed. Dealing skilfully with everyday situations of this kind and developing verbal repartee that exposes the braggarts is also the aim of the training.

Our project partners Jan Sahas and Lawyers Initiative Forum support Dalit and Adivasi women who have been victims of violence to cope with the experience of violence and to take legal action. For this purpose, they competently train small self-help groups on site as well as higher-level organisations. In addition, men and families are also sensitised in the target areas so they will support victims of violence.

60 women and 60 men from impoverished and disadvantaged communities are enabled to generate their own income through the production of environmentally friendly CSEB bricks. By setting up ten production sites, each with a brick press, the former unemployed and day labourers are given a perspective for their lives and for the well-being of their families. The project contributes to the development of a region that is severely affected by poverty and marginalisation of individual communities.

Within the Dalit castes, the Musahar ("rat catchers") and Dom ("latrine sweepers") are particularly discriminated against and disadvantaged, which also means that they have not been able to benefit from government programmes and other socio-economic advantages. This project enables 120 Musahar and Dom families a humane livelihood with the help of vegetable cultivation and the workmanship of bamboo.

The school, whose sponsor is the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Cultural Institute (ITBCI), enables children from indigent families to receive a sound school education. The parents are often illiterate and unable to provide the financial or familial support needed for their children's studies. Education extends from first to eighth grade. The standard curriculum is taught in English, which gives the students good opportunities to find a job later on.

Our project partner Green Tara Nepal (GTN) takes care of mother-child health and women's empowerment in this project. One focus is awareness raising against child marriage to prevent teenage pregnancies. The project provides improved health care for women, infants and adolescent girls in the areas of sexuality and reproduction. The ten obstetric centres in southern Nepal provide permanent medical care close to home for pregnant women and for mothers of young children as well as for newborns and children.

Girls (and boys) from Dalit and other marginalised and disadvantaged families are given access to quality education so that they can successfully complete primary school and move on to secondary school. In this project, 900 very disadvantaged girls are supported with the help of girls' clubs. Educational standards and equipment in 15 schools are being improved, enabling the children to receive a quality education. Parents are involved and 600 mothers are empowered to start a small business to earn their own living so that they can continue sending their daughters to school.

In western Nepal the humiliating practice of Chhaupadi is a wide spread one: Girls and women are regarded as impure during their menstruation and are regularly excluded from participating in social, economic and school life. They are locked out of the house and sleep in stables, have no access to public areas. They are exposed to many dangers and often fall ill. Mothers are also ostracised as unclean for four weeks after giving birth. They have to live in unhygienic conditions, which leads to a high mortality rate among mothers and babies.

The project improves the health of women, mothers, newborns and children in Western Nepal through better access to health care in rural areas. Health stations are equipped with all the necessary equipment and the medical staff are taught the required expertise and skills. Education is provided in mothers’ groups about family planning and childbirth, and in schools about menstruation.