Change mindset to stop violence against women: Anurag Thakur

 Thakur, who is Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur and also the president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), told IBNS, “Violence against women is not just plaguing India but the entire world including developed countries like USA, as well as developing countries in Africa alike. The Honour Our Women (H.O.W.) initiative launched last year in December stems from my firm belief that we cannot solve this problem just by law, but have to change the mind sets of people at large."

"I am encouraged to see that the latest research in globally reputed journals like Lancet now reinforce the same belief – that changes in attitudes and behaviours can help prevent violence even before it starts, and that it is possible to achieve such behavioural changes within less than a generation," he said.

"Another dimension specific to countries like India is of awareness – in the past one year, our on-ground analysis shows that a sizeable section of women is not even aware of the difference between an FIR and a complaint, or how to file one. Even as we see a sudden spurt in mobile apps for women’s safety and set up fast-track courts, we cannot ignore the fact the a third of such cases occur at home. Only by changing our perspective and learning to honour our women will we be able to address this challenge effectively.”