From Training to Action: Advancing Gender-Based Violence Prevention in Jharkhand, India

“Whatever I learned today during the training about inequality and gender-based violence, I will communicate these in my community.”
—Toshila Tirkey, Community Health Worker, Jharkhand, India

These are the words of Toshila Tirkey of Hurhuri Panchayat, Ratu Block, Ranchi, Jharkhand who was moved to action by a gender-based violence (GBV) training she recently attended.

Understanding the Problem: Gender-Based Violence and a Community-Driven Training Response

Toshila, 43, hails from a small village where GBV is quite common. Toshila explains, “Harmful gender norms contribute to gender-based violence due to alcoholism and early marriage of girls.” Even though Toshila wanted to help women in her village, she did not know how.

Frontline workers felt ill-equipped to deal with those facing GBV due to lack of knowledge about preventive measures and actions they could take.

A Gender-Responsive Training Initiative to Prevent GBV

MOMENTUM Safe Surgery in Family Planning and Obstetrics, through its Gender-integrated Response to Emerging COVID-19 Priorities in India Project, is training frontline workers (FLWs) on GBV prevention and response strategies. Frontline workers felt ill-equipped to deal with those facing GBV due to lack of knowledge about preventive measures and actions they could take.

Participatory Training Builds Capacity to Support Survivors

In five different participatory and activity-based sessions, the MOMENTUM training covered gender-based violence as a concept, its forms and prevalence, the cycle of violence, and identifying victims and perpetrators of violence. At the end of the training, FLWs understood how and when to refer those affected for support and care to the One-Stop-Centres.

One-Stop-Centres are institutions set up by state governments that support women affected by violence, in private and public spaces, and within the family, community, and in the workplace. Women facing physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, and economic abuse—irrespective of age, class, caste, education status, marital status, race, and culture are given support and redress.

Aggrieved women facing any kind of violence due to attempted sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, trafficking, honor-related crimes, acid attacks, or witch-hunting are provided with specialized services.

Community Mobilization and Gender Equality Interventions

The training equips frontline workers to discuss the implications of gender-based violence during their community meetings. They are also provided with three interventions to prevent GBV. These include: identifying and working with youth champions in selected villages; engaging with men and boys; and engaging with community-based women’s groups and community institutions. All of these groups will receive training on gender and their roles and responsibilities within the community to prevent gender-based violence.

One Worker’s Impact: From Awareness to Community Action

Post-training, Toshila said she felt more capable and was able to empathize more with GBV incidents. She began using different village-level forums like self-help group (SHGs) meetings, village health and sanitation days, and Anganwadi Centres to spread awareness among community members, so that they help themselves and can stand up for each other in such situations.

Scaling Impact: Expanding Gender-Based Violence Prevention in India

By June 2022, MOMENTUM had trained 931 FLWs out of 17,245 FLWs in 54 blocks of four districts.

This story was originally published on the USAID MOMENTUM website under the title “Frontline Workers in Jharkhand, India Tackle Gender-Based Violence After Training.” It reflects work supported by a USAID-funded project designed to strengthen surgical safety in maternal health and voluntary family planning. The project was terminated early in 2025 as part of the global dismantling of USAID-funded health initiatives.