Welcome to the Solidarity Circle’s Wiki

The Kerala #MeToo movement reveals an urgent need for accessible, trauma-informed resources in both English and Malayalam that center survivors' experiences and empower communities to understand, support, and prevent gender-based violence. The following wiki is designed as a gentle, progressive framework that allows survivors and their supporters to:

This structure draws from trauma-informed care principles and survivor-centered approaches to create a compassionate, non-linear resource library. The Internet and social media remain market driven and chaotic as ever. For survivors seeking an understanding of their experience of violence and exploitation, there are few platforms that offer access to resources in a simple, accessible way.

This curated resource platform is a foundation to build individual awareness on safety, consent and recovery. This is NOT a one stop solution, but a step towards bridging the gaps between survivors and systems.

Content Advisory: Readers should be aware that this guide addresses difficult subject matter, including violence and rape. We encourage you to take breaks or skip sections as needed for your mental health.

HOW TO USE THIS WIKI

This wiki creates a compassionate, comprehensive, and culturally grounded library that respects the complexity of survivors' journeys while empowering communities to create lasting change. It is designed to grow organically through collaborative contributions, remaining responsive to the evolving needs of survivors and their allies in Kerala and beyond. The architecture moves from validation and grounding (Sections I-II), through practical tools for safety and healing (Section III), to community support and collective action (Sections IV-V), while addressing specific contexts and ongoing learning (Sections VI-VIII). This progression honors both individual healing and structural transformation, recognizing that personal and political liberation are deeply intertwined.

To contribute, feedback or get in touch with us write a mail to solidarityshelf[at]proton[dot]me

SECTION I: GROUNDING & RECOGNITION

This section will be updated shortly

SECTION II: UNDERSTANDING POWER & CONTEXT

SECTION II: UNDERSTANDING POWER & CONTEXT

2.1 Power, Patriarchy & Workplace Dynamics

Primary references - Understanding Patriarchy and Gendered Hierarchies

Leela Dube conceptualizes patriarchy as a multi-layered social system and removes it from the usual understanding of male dominance alone. Dube argues that patriarchal structures function in tandem with structures of household, workplace, kinship, community and governance. This helps us understand that patriarchy is closely embedded with cultural institutions and social norms. The resources made available below deal with patriarchal structures in different yet very similar workplace/cultural/social settings. Here we are attempting to understand how oppression employed by patriarchal settings tends to transform itself depending on the institutional dynamic. 

Important Resources

 

SECTION II: UNDERSTANDING POWER & CONTEXT

2.2 Consent, Boundaries & Bodily Autonomy

Here we try and understand Consent from a far more nuanced perspective rather than reducing it to functions of vocabulary and speech. There are several judgements and social movements that invoke this way of reading consent. Consent transforms in various forms in the personal, public and professional space. The conclusion to this discourse should be that bodily autonomy is the primary facet from which one needs to approach the concept of consent.  

 

 

 

 

SECTION II: UNDERSTANDING POWER & CONTEXT

2.3 Why Systems Fail Survivors

Contrary to several landmark judicial pronouncements in the Indian context on rape and sexual assault, post Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, legal practitioners representing survivors have consistently argued that any act involving bodily invasion for the sexual gratification of the perpetrator must be recognised as rape. However, this interpretation has frequently been either rejected or diluted by Indian courts, often being treated as a matter of legal contention rather than a settled principle.

Two high-profile cases, the rape of a nun by Bishop Franco Mulakkal and the conspiracy involving the kidnapping and sexual assault of a prominent Indian actress, illustrate instances where the legal system has failed not only the survivors but also the broader jurisprudential understanding of sexual violence in the country. Such judicial outcomes risk establishing problematic precedents, potentially discouraging future survivors from seeking justice and undermining the progressive intent of sexual assault laws.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION III: PATHWAYS TO SAFETY & HEALING

SECTION III: PATHWAYS TO SAFETY & HEALING

3.1 Safety & Crisis Response

  1. Creating a safe space: Mental health professionals provide a secure and confidential environment where survivors can openly express their feelings and emotions. They offer empathy, understanding and validation, allowing survivors to feel heard and supported during their healing journey.
  2. Providing psychological treatment: Mental health professionals utilise various evidence-based therapeutic approaches to address the psychological effects of trauma. Techniques such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) and trauma-focused treatment can help survivors reframe negative thoughts, process traumatic memories and develop coping strategies.
  3. Facilitating emotional healing: Survivors of sexual assault often grapple with intense emotions such as anger, fear, sadness and guilt. Mental health professionals can help survivors navigate these emotions, develop self-compassion and work toward emotional healing and resilience.
  4. Addressing PTSD symptoms: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common consequence of sexual assault. Mental health professionals can help survivors identify triggers, manage symptoms and work through traumatic memories to reduce the impact of PTSD on their lives.
  5. Empowering survivors: Mental health professionals aim to empower survivors by helping them regain control over their lives. They work with survivors to set realistic goals, rebuild self-esteem and develop healthy coping mechanisms to foster a stronger sense of self-worth and autonomy.
  6. Connecting with resources and support networks: Mental health professionals can also connect survivors with additional resources and support networks. For example, they may recommend support groups, legal assistance or medical care to ensure a comprehensive approach to healing.

Creating support systems for Sexual Assault survivors should also include methodologies to accommodate social and cultural markers that demarcate trauma in a particular social setting. 

 

SECTION III: PATHWAYS TO SAFETY & HEALING

3.2 Understanding Your Options

Survivor Interviews and Testimonies


 

SECTION III: PATHWAYS TO SAFETY & HEALING

3.3 Healing Justice & Self-Care

Brief explainer on non medical/non legal healing practices

Somatic or body-based healing, creative expression, and spiritual, religious, and cultural healing practices foreground forms of recovery from sexual violence that move beyond narrowly clinical, psychological, or juridical frameworks. They recognise trauma as embodied, social, and culturally embedded, often exceeding what can be processed through speech or formal therapy alone. Practices that engage the body, including movement, exercise, breath-work, and sensory grounding, support survivors in restoring bodily autonomy, regulation, and a sense of safety after profound violation, this also involves the will of the survivor or the close ones to the survivor and a support system. 

Creative modes such as writing, visual art, music, performance, and storytelling offer non-linear ways of processing trauma. They allow survivors to externalise pain, work through fragmented memory, and reclaim authorship over their experiences without pressure to conform to dominant narratives of victimhood or recovery. Spiritual and religious forms of healing, including faith-based rituals, prayer, collective worship, and support from religious communities, offer moral guidance, hope, and a sense of communal belonging. Within this, liberation theology and justice-oriented spiritual traditions can be especially significant, reframing survival not as private suffering but as part of broader struggles against structural violence, patriarchy, and impunity.

Healing through community conversations, shared testimony, and awareness-building initiatives further situates recovery within collective processes. Dialogues, support circles, and public engagement challenge silence and stigma while enabling survivors to be heard on their own terms. Together, these embodied, creative, spiritual, and community-based approaches centre dignity, agency, and relational care. They function alongside legal and therapeutic interventions, expanding the possibilities of healing in ways that are culturally resonant, politically conscious, and grounded in collective solidarity. These practices are mostly considered in addition to the legal processes of creating accountability or for survivors who make the choice not to complain or come out about the abuse. 

Resources

 

SECTION III: PATHWAYS TO SAFETY & HEALING

3.4 Rebuilding & Reconnection

SECTION IV: FOR COMMUNITIES & ALLIES

SECTION IV: FOR COMMUNITIES & ALLIES

4.1 How to Support a Survivor

SECTION IV: FOR COMMUNITIES & ALLIES

4.2 Organisational Accountability

Vishakha Guidelines https://cag.gov.in/uploads/cms_pages_files/Vishkha-Guidelines-against-Sexual-Harassment-in-Workplace-061de8308de91c7-65164897.pdf

Cinema Code on Conduct for Malayalam Industry by WCC https://wccollective.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024_WCC_RECOS_CCC.pdf

The Global Code of Conduct for Gathering and Using Information about Systematic and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (the “Murad Code”) https://www.muradcode.com/murad-code 

Sexual Harassment in Academia - The Raya Sarkar Debate https://scroll.in/article/856589/universities-respond-to-raya-sarkars-list-of-alleged-sexual-predators-mostly-silence-some-denials

Avital Ronnel Case - What Happens to #MeToo When a Feminist Is the Accused https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/nyregion/sexual-harassment-nyu-female-professor.html

When 'Feminists' Tolerate Sexual Harassment in Academia
https://thewire.in/education/feminism-me-too-avital-ronell-nyu-academia-sexual-harassment

 

SECTION IV: FOR COMMUNITIES & ALLIES

4.3 Bystander Intervention & Prevention

Brief explainer https://rainn.org/show-up-speak-out-step-in/stop-sexual-violence-step-in-with-care/

Short Video Explainer for College/University Students https://www.instagram.com/reels/DOGwqxIjjs7/

10 Core Concepts For Child Sexual Abuse Prevention By WCASA https://www.wcasa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/CS_A2A_10-Core-Concepts_1474.pdf

Sexual Assault Medical Care and Services Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYQqtmkfFDE

Surviving Sexual Assault In India: The public health crisis no one is talking about (Short Documentary) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28JJqfLhggs

Mental Health impacts on the survivors, perpetrators, witnesses of Domestic Violence and Abuse (Presentation and Discussion)

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D84WjZ1ubSk

Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOvTGkRbJCY

SECTION IV: FOR COMMUNITIES & ALLIES

4.4 For Families & Close Relationships

Imaara Survivors Toolkit
https://www.imaara.in/we-empower-resources? 

Kerala Government KAVAL PLUS COMMUNITY BASED REHABILITATION OF SURVIVORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
https://wcd.kerala.gov.in/DOCUMENTS/Publication/Reports/29196.pdf 

Responding to Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Against Women: WHO Clinical and Policy Guidelines
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK174250/  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK174251/

Interview of Child Sexual Abuse Survivor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4ie1bYa_qM 

For Survivor and Family Oriented Support Kerala Women and Child Development Department RECOGNISED INSTITUTIONS
Address and Contact https://wcd.kerala.gov.in/institutions_funded.php 

A Guide for Friends and Family of Sexual Violence Survivors by Pennsylvania Coalition of Advanced Respect https://www.pcar.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdfs/friends_and_family_guide_final.pdf 

SECTION V: COLLECTIVE ACTION & SYSTEMIC CHANGE

SECTION V: COLLECTIVE ACTION & SYSTEMIC CHANGE

5.1 From Personal to Political

‘Paramilitary forces dance after killing Adivasis’: Soni Sori

The Story of Soni Sori https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/case-history-soni-sori

Caravan Article https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/soni-sori-attack 

Frontline Interview https://frontline.thehindu.com/social-issues/social-justice/interview-with-tribal-rights-activist-soni-sori-corporate-greed/article69332872.ece 

Interview with Adivasi rights activist CK Janu (in Malayalam) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thN3ejtLTSk 

Accessible Resources on Feminist Movement in Kerala

Brief paper - https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2090&context=jiws 

Feminist Archives by J Devika  https://swatantryavaadini.in/ 

Wire Report https://thewire.in/women/discovering-the-first-generation-of-feminists-in-kerala 

Landmark Movements by Women in Kerala https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2025/Mar/18/herstory-civics-a-look-at-some-landmark-movements-led-by-women-in-kerala 

On ASHA Workers strike and Women’s wellbeing in Kerala https://thepolisproject.com/read/whats-at-the-root-of-asha-workers-protests-in-kerala/ 

Special Video Report on Suryanelli Rape Case (in Malayalam) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gyEBFqX1WY 

 

SECTION V: COLLECTIVE ACTION & SYSTEMIC CHANGE

5.2 Legal Literacy & Advocacy


Social Action for Women? Public Interest Litigation in India’s Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of India has said that public interest litigation (PIL) is an effective tool for protecting the rights of the disadvantaged, especially women. However, is this really the case? This Law, Social Justice and Global Development article looks at the issues surrounding the practice of PIL in India and its impact on women’s rights, especially in the areas of rape, sexual harassment and prostitution. https://gsdrc.org/document-library/social-action-for-women-public-interest-litigation-in-indias-supreme-court/ 

Understanding Domestic Violence https://www.advdharmendraassociates.in/post/understanding-domestic-violence-and-your-legal-rights-in-india  Domestic violence is not limited to physical abuse. It can also take the form of:

A Critique of the Legal reading of Rape and Abuse https://ijlmh.com/paper/issues-with-rape-law-in-india/ 

SECTION V: COLLECTIVE ACTION & SYSTEMIC CHANGE

5.3 Media, Storytelling & Counter-Narratives

UNESCO Guidelines for reporting Sexual Violence https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381836 

#GBVinMedia https://feminisminindia.com/campaigns/the-gbvinmedia-campaign-media-reportage-of-gender-based-violence/  

Here's how to depict gender violence sensitively https://www.newslaundry.com/2020/02/23/heres-how-to-depict-gender-violence-sensitively-indian-media-take-a-cue

Using social media for policy change and activism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDyQJAKrM8Y 

 

SECTION V: COLLECTIVE ACTION & SYSTEMIC CHANGE

5.4 Imagining Justice: Alternatives & Futures

Abolition and Restorative Justice reading List
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1b0QvbQ9bCddf_bSqW_xOot8joVlbmWye?usp=share_link 

Restorative Justice case study in the UK
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10282580.2024.2330375#abstract 

Exploring restorative justice in cases of sexual violence 
https://academic.oup.com/book/44856/chapter/385056266 

SECTION VI: INTERSECTIONS


SECTION VI: INTERSECTIONS

6.1 For Specific Industries

Informal sector work

How the POSH Act and Women’s safety measures fail in the informal sector. The POSH Act’s resources for informal sector workers — the majority of employed women — have not been implemented, per Human Rights Watch.

Swaddle https://www.theswaddle.com/indias-sexual-harassment-law-fails-94-of-working-women-report

BehanBox https://behanbox.com/2022/10/03/indias-workplace-harassment-law-has-failed-informal-marginalised-workers/

 

Film and Entertainment industry

Most resources for industries mentioned were added in previous sections on different stories

The Hollywood Reporter Harassment in Hollywood: 5 Female Industry Forces Brainstorm How to “Change the Culture https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/what-hollywood-needs-do-combat-culture-sexual-harassment-1053463/

Ronan Farrow Harvey Weinstein Article https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-stories

 

SECTION VI: INTERSECTIONS

6.2 Intersectional Experiences

Survivors’ access to justice is shaped by intersecting social locations such as caste, religion, gender identity, disability, migration status, and class. These intersections often result in partial, delayed, or discriminatory treatment within the criminal justice system, even when laws appear formally neutral. Caste-based sexual violence functions as a tool of social control. Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi women face systemic disbelief, police refusal to register FIRs, pressure to compromise, and intimidation by dominant-caste perpetrators. Judicial processes often depoliticise caste, treating violence as “individual crime” rather than recognising it as structural atrocity, despite protections under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. These survivors experience compound marginalisation: gendered violence layered with caste exclusion. Courts may dilute charges, delay trials, or grant bail easily to perpetrators. Language barriers, geographic remoteness, and lack of legal aid further obstruct meaningful participation in judicial proceedings.

For Muslim women, sexual violence is often embedded in communalised environments, including riots, targeted harassment, and moral policing. Judicial responses frequently display bias through heightened scrutiny of survivors’ character, silence around communal motives, and reluctance to recognise sexual violence as part of collective or pogrom-like harm. The sexual violence against Muslim women in communal riots are frequently documented by alternative media.

Transgender and gender non-conforming persons face legal invisibility and procedural exclusion. Police and courts may misgender survivors, refuse to file complaints, or deny applicability of sexual offence laws. The judiciary often lacks frameworks to recognise sexual violence beyond cisgender, heteronormative assumptions. The Trans Bill reduces punishment for sexual offenders of trans persons and has been facing serious protests and backlash from the community.

Class shapes access to justice through the ability to secure legal representation, attend repeated hearings, and withstand prolonged trials. Survivors from economically precarious backgrounds are more likely to face case withdrawal, forced settlements, or exhaustion-driven silence, while perpetrators with resources exploit delay as a strategy. Migrant workers, refugees, and internally displaced persons often lack documentation, stable residence, or local networks. These factors contribute to non-registration of cases, jurisdictional confusion, and heightened vulnerability to coercion, especially when perpetrators are employers, landlords, or state actors.

Survivors with physical, intellectual, or psychosocial disabilities encounter ableist barriers such as assumptions of incapacity, credibility deficits, and inaccessible court procedures. Consent is frequently misunderstood or denied altogether, leading to under-reporting and judicial dismissal.

The Story of Bilkis Bano

India's New Criminal Law Offers Little Protection Against Sexual Assault To Men & Trans Men https://article-14.com/post/india-s-new-criminal-law-offers-little-protection-against-sexual-assault-to-men-trans-men--66d525fcde7a1 

Power and Abuse in the Trans Community https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/26318318241306267 

Sexual Assault Against Transgender: The Definitional Void And The Absurdity Of Indian Penal Provisions https://www.livelaw.in/lawschool/articles/sexual-assault-against-transgenders-and-indian-criminal-laws-285326 

SECTION VI: INTERSECTIONS

6.3 For Children & Youth

POSCO Act https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/2079/1/AA2012-32.pdf 
Explainer https://complykaro.com/a-guide-to-the-pocso-act-legal-provisions-child-safety/ 

UC Davis Toolkit for Parents on Consent and Child Sensitive care https://care.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk2951/files/inline-files/ParentConsentToolkit%20%281%29.pdf 

Teaching Kids consent https://childrescuecoalition.org/educations/growing-kids-and-boundaries-teaching-consent-by-age-and-stage/ 

Video Animations 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AArIv-tvxWE 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBvD3sACS4o 

SECTION VI: INTERSECTIONS

6.4 Male Survivors & Masculinity

Men and Sexual Violence, a reading list from different contexts (more resources added in previous sections on abuse faced by men, male survivor testimony videos, positive training)

MeToo Wave Aziz Ansari Debate https://mashable.com/article/aziz-ansari-me-too-social-media

MeToo: The Difficult Truths About Gay Men And Sexual Assault https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sexual-assault-gay-men_n_59e4badfe4b04d1d51834114

The social psychological predictors of men’s backlash responses to the #MeToo movement. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13684302231210492 

Men now avoid women at work – another sign we're being punished for #MeToo https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/aug/29/men-women-workplace-study-harassment-harvard-metoo

Gay Men and Loneliness https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/gay-loneliness/

Why hasn’t the gay community had a #MeToo moment? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/07/gay-community-metoo-moment-conversation-consent-sexual-assault

 

SECTION VII: KERALA-SPECIFIC RESOURCES & CONTEXT

SECTION VII: KERALA-SPECIFIC RESOURCES & CONTEXT

7.1 Understanding Kerala's Context

Nationalism and Dalit Identity in Kerala Literature by Pratheepan Pambarikunnu https://www.studocu.com/in/document/university-of-kerala/ma-english-language-and-literature/pradeepan-pampirikunnu-557-nationalism-and-dalit-identity-in-kerala-literature/131492029 

Marginalised In A Model Of Development: Dalit Critique Of The Kerala Development Experience (PhD Thesis) http://etd.lib.jnu.ac.in/TH17395.pdf 

Mruduladevi Sasidharan പ്രളയാനന്തര കേരളം ഒരു ദളിത് സ്ത്രീപക്ഷ വായന (Post-Flood Kerala: A Dalit Feminist Reading) Video Lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVurOYzeLhc 

Sanal Mohan interview with Dalit Camera: Kerala Modernity subtracts Dalits from it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeWhBN8EaJA 

Johar Rohith Vemula (A Song Series by Dalit Camera) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BwnSWpXMKE 

Shit, Caste, and the Divine: What's Your Ism? Reflections - Raees Muhammad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOnvzkxw74w&list=PL-ffc00Qz6QbloZ3sX80x2rz3VufLupUw&index=8 

Dalit movement in Kerala after the Una incident https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R07aPe1nj0 

ANNA DHRM Party Secretary Interview on Varkala Murder case https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45lKCXGQncA 

SECTION VII: KERALA-SPECIFIC RESOURCES & CONTEXT

7.2 Malayalam Language Resources

To be updated

SECTION VII: KERALA-SPECIFIC RESOURCES & CONTEXT

7.3 Local Support Networks & Services

Kerala Registered Feminist NGOs http://keralawomenscommission.gov.in/index.php/content/index/registered-ngos

Kerala State Women Development Corporation Official Website https://kswdc.org/

 

HELPLINES To be updated

SECTION VII: KERALA-SPECIFIC RESOURCES & CONTEXT

7.4 Cultural & Creative Expressions

10 Movies About Sexual Assault Survivors and the #MeToo Movement https://dlawgroup.com/10-movies-about-sexual-assault-abuse/

To be updated

SECTION VIII: FOR ONGOING LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT

SECTION VIII: FOR ONGOING LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT

8.1 Foundational Concepts & Theory

SECTION VIII: FOR ONGOING LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT

8.2 Research & Evidence Content

To be updated

SECTION VIII: FOR ONGOING LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT

8.3 Training & Capacity Building

To be updated

SECTION VIII: FOR ONGOING LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT

8.4 Community Hub & Contribution

To be updated

SECTION IX: RESOURCES

SECTION IX: RESOURCES

Quick Reference Guides

To be updated

SECTION IX: RESOURCES

Glossary (English-Malayalam)

To be updated

SECTION IX: RESOURCES

Bibliography & Further Resources

To be updated

SECTION IX: RESOURCES

Templates & Tools

To be updated