
Final Evaluation: Begin Anew – Comprehensive support services to women burn survivors (India)

Location: India
Grantee: The International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care
Grant period: October 2019 - September 2022
Grant amount: USD 196,724
Authors/editors: Gomathy Balasubramanian
Publication year: 2023
The project “Begin Anew – Comprehensive support services to women burn survivors”, funded by the UN Trust Fund, was implemented by the International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC) from 2019 to 2022 in Tamil Nadu, India. PCVC creates and extends services for women burn victims and survivors of domestic and interpersonal violence, particularly women and queer persons. Its services include:
- Dhwani, a first responder call line that operates 24/7;
- Astitva, an emergency shelter for women who have experienced trauma such as deliberate burning and domestic violence; and
- psycho-social support, including long-term holistic care.
During the project, a psychosocial support team supported both the Dhwani hotline and Astitva shelter services to ensure clients could access PCVC’s various services.
The final evaluation found that the project successfully increased services to survivors of burns and domestic violence and multi-stakeholder service provision, and recommended that its exemplary work providing physical and psychosocial services for survivors should continue.
Main findings of the evaluation:
- The project increased services to survivors of burns and domestic violence, and the services were designed to be client-centred and comprehensive.
- The project increased services provided by multi-stakeholder service providers: Vidiyal for burn care survivors; the Dhwani hotline for domestic violence survivors (women and queer individuals); Astitva shelter services for survivors of burns and domestic violence; and outreach services for external partners, stakeholders and change-makers.
- The project navigated the challenges presented by COVID-19 effectively and with innovation by shifting its strategy, focusing on continuing service delivery through online awareness sessions and door-to-door food deliveries, and by engaging with civil society actors who could be accessed remotely.