
India
ISSUE: GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
CHANGE MODEL
Role Model: WGLG India’s flagship initiative “The Hero Academy” engages young men in the mission to make communi-
ties and homes safer for women and girls across India. Using a film-based gender sensitization curriculum, the Academy
promotes gender equality among young men and mobilizes them to champion girls’ and women’s rights.
KEY OBJECTIVES
- Foster positive role model relationships for boys and young men
- Engage men and boys as champions for gender equality
- Create safer homes and public spaces for women and girls
OUTCOMES
100+ community-designed gender solutions, including:
- A girls-only school bus in Pune to prevent sexual harassment, which was forcing girls to skip classes
- A drug awareness campaign in a Bombay slum, to prevent gender-based violence characteristic of male addicts
- A change in the perception of violence against women, with substantially more viewers sharing the belief that it is never justified
- A girls-only play area in a village in Beed, enabling girls formerly confined to the house to engage in physical activity
PARTNERS
- CARE India
- Centre for Health and Social Justice (CHSJ)
- International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
- Magic Bus
363
Number of screenings6,450
People Reached235
Community facilitators trained