INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR CRIME PREVENTION

AND VICTIM CARE {PCVC}

 

 

 

The International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC) is a registered tax-exempt pubic charitable trust catering to victims of crime, especially victims of family violence. In the year 2001, responding to the urgent needs of a victim of child abuse, parental and intimate partner abuse the organization was formed. The founders of the organization are three women, from the fields of criminology, criminal justice sciences and psychology.

 

Over the past three years, PCVC has been dealing with many victims of severe family violence. Our experience is that many of the victims seek our help when their situation is totally out of control. Under such an emergency, the victim needs a place to stay; treatment for physical injuries, if any; counseling for emotional abuse and to maintain focus; psychiatric treatment for any mental abuse; support to regain economic stability; the education of her children; protection from the abuser; awareness on her rights; legal aid and much more. Help also needs to be extended to the children who come from such homes experiencing family violence, and where there is possibility of neglect and abuse.

 

With this goal the organization has strived to heal, empower and advocate for women and their families, especially victims of family violence and those seeking economic self-sufficiency due to violence. Since most of our victims are mothers from the middle economic status, it is extremely difficult to rehabilitate them by placing them in the existing shelters for women in distress. Further, the importance of confidentiality and secrecy to safeguard such families from the batterer is a major hurdle when housing them in other existing homes.

 

Therefore, PCVC started its own Interim Shelter (Astitva) at an undisclosed location (to protect the confidentiality of the victims), in order to assist these victims with meeting of their basic necessities such as food, clothing and housing; educational sponsorships; support groups; counseling or medical assistance; secure transportation for children to school/college, assistance with job placements/training, vocational rehabilitation, etc. The foundation of Astitva, and the relationship between the survivors and our staff will be the crucial key to the success of this program. Once the survivors are accustomed to Astitva, our staff will guide them through a process of empowerment to reach their self-designed goals for living healthy, productive lives -- free of violence. At Astitva, survivors have their own space to heal emotionally and physically; to enhance their self-esteem; to move from insecurity to confidence; and to learn to make empowered decisions.

 

"There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other"

 

At Astitva, we believe in making dreams come true. Whatever the dream of the survivor, we support them and assist them in achieving their goals.

 

 

 

OUR ACTIVITIES:

 

  1. A three-month project for the Tamilnadu Government on Analyzing crime statistics for the year 2000.
  2. Project on Crime in Tamil Nadu - 2000Ó for the Tamil Nadu Police.
  3. Multimedia presentation on PCVC and its activities at the Rotary club, Shakti's function.
  4. A support group meeting on Aftershock of the US trauma: Helping families cope held to help families and other sympathizers understand the trauma that such a tragedy can bring about and help them cope with the situation.
  5. Multimedia presentation on Mental Health and Human Rights at The Banyan (an institute for mentally ill destitute women), as part of the World Mental Health day program.
  6. Multimedia presentation on Ending Violence against Women at the Sixth District Conference of Zonta International that focused on Eradication of Violence against Women in the regions of India, Srilanka and Bangladesh through legislation, advocacy and actionÓ.
  7. A 50 weeks sensitization program (On Effective Handling of Victims) for all the women police of Tamilnadu spanning a total population of approximately 4800 women police of Tamilnadu.
  8. Conducted a 2-day Workshop on Designing a Research Project specifically for students and researchers in the field of social sciences.
  9. Executing agency for the Inspector General of PoliceÕs (V&AC) QueenÕs Award Project on Web based training for Women police on Dispute Resolution (2002-2003).
  10. Started AstitvaÓ, a shelter home for distressed women and children, where focus is on total empowerment of the individual, as the first phase of a three-phase project called New BeginningsÓ.
  11. Started Insights Ð A PCVC End Abuse Campaign as part of our crime prevention programs. The purpose of Insights is to create new perspectives on important social issues and build an engaged, involved, active, and excited audience for challenging films. The issues will include but will not be limited to domestic violence, trauma, rape, gender roles and gender rights, alcoholism, sexuality issues, child abuse, and trafficking. Insights also organizes and facilitates post-screening discussions and/or workshops with the directors of the films and experts in the field. These screenings and discussions are designed to challenge myths and silences around these topics in our community while increasing awareness about the needs of survivors. Insights was officially launched on 7th March 2003 with the screening of 'A Woman's Place' in collaboration with the Office of Public Affairs, American Consulate, Chennai. We had the Producer/Director of the movie, Ms. Paromita Vohra from Mumbai as the Special Guest who also moderated the post screening discussion.
  12. Have been operating two Crisis Lines (56105595 / 56105596) 24 hours a day for more than 15 months and offering assistance on an average to around 10-15 new cases of violence every month.

 

 

We at PCVC receive no funding from state or non-governmental sources. Instead, we are supported by research and other training projects undertaken by the organization and the occasional individual donations. We have recently created a fund called the PCVC Crime Victims Support Fund to support our direct services to victims of family violence in rebuilding their lives and empowering them to achieve economic and emotional stability and independence.

 

 

CONTACT PERSONS :   Dr. Prasanna / Ms. Hema

Address - # 19, Mooker Nallamuthu Street, Chennai Ð 600 001.

Phones: Office Ð 25279085, 52053280; Fax : 25230951

Mobiles: 98410-61184, 56105595

Email: pcvc@vsnl.net, pcvc2000@yahoo.com