Vijayawada : Principal Secretary Kaki Sunita participated as the chief guest at the 19th annual state conference of Dalit Sthree Sakthi (DSS) with the theme ‘Violence on Dalit, Adivasi Women’ here on Wednesday. She released the 19th annual report of the DSS.
Speaking on the occasion, Sunita expressed concern over the increase in the number of atrocities against Dalit women as per the National Crime Records Bureau. She said that only two per cent of the accused are getting convicted as against the 23 per cent of sexual assaults against women. She lauded the efforts of DSS in tackling the issue of violence against Dalit and Adivasi women. She expressed concern over the cutting in the SC, ST sub-plan funds though the population of Dalits is increasing.
National convener of DSS Geddam Jhansi elaborated on the programmes undertaken by the DSS for the Dalit and Adivasi women and girls.
Prof Saraswati Iyer of Acharya Nagarjuna University addressing the gathering said that the violence against women would lead to various consequences including psychological and physical which lead to health problems. Most of the victims are Dalit boys and women in this issue. Senior journalists Viswanath Reddy and Shyam Sundar, GGH medical officer Dr Swarajya Lakshmi, psychologist Sravani Krishna Kumari, former professor of Law of Acharya Nagarjuna University Dr Radhika, DSS national coordinator Satyakama Jabali, State coordinator Bandaru Raju, Satyanarayanamma, and women from various regions also participated.
