Over 3rd and 4th April, we spent two days with the CMHLP’s (Centre for Mental Health Law & Policy) Atmiyata project team with in-depth facilitation on Mental Health and Domestic Violence. Deepa Pawar, bringing in a strong Constitutional and anti-caste perspective, facilitated different sessions for perspective building and approach building.
The concept of Domestic Violence was unpacked in historical, legal, health, social, administrative, academic, sexual reproductive health and mental health contexts. Intersectionalities with gender, caste, sexuality, disability, ethnicity, religion, etc were explored – unpacking the different layers of DV as experienced by different women, girls, transpersons, children with increasing levels of vulnerability. The social and political aspects of DV were also explored where contribution of various spaces like education, media, Law & judiciary, intellectual and cultural spaces in building a culture accepting of DV was delved into.
Finally, the Brahmanical Patriarchal roots of DV and GBV were understood by reading excerpts from Manusmriti. Anubhuti is developing a historical understanding of the roots of Mental Injustice (mental oppression of today’s marginalized communities) through reading of this regressive lawbook Manusmriti.