who we are
About the Program

Gender Justice Labs (GJL) is a systems-driven initiative designed to address gender-based violence (GBV), mental health, and access to justice through a community-led and institutionally integrated approach.

The program has been implemented in two districts of Madhya Pradesh - Mandla and Damoh, regions where women and girls, particularly in tribal and rural communities, face significant barriers in accessing legal, emotional, and institutional support systems.

While multiple mechanisms such as One Stop Centres, police systems (Urja Desks), SHGs, and Panchayati Raj Institutions exist, they are often underutilized due to:

• Lack of awareness
• Social stigma
• Limited accessibility
• Weak coordination between departments
Gender Justice Labs addresses this gap by building localized, accessible hubs (“Labs”) that integrate healing, legal literacy, digital tools, and leadership development, making support systems more visible, usable, and community-owned.
Our Approach

Gender Justice Labs is designed as a holistic, multi-layered intervention, working simultaneously at:

  • • Individual level (healing, awareness, resilience)
  • • Community level (norm change, peer support, leadership)
  • • System level (institutional convergence, accountability, access to justice)

The approach combines:

1. Community-Based Gender Justice Labs

Two fully functional Labs (one in each district) act as safe, accessible hubs for:

  • • Healing and psychosocial support
  • • Legal information and referrals
  • • Digital access and information systems
  • • Training and community engagement

These Labs are designed as replicable models, embedded within district ecosystems.

2. Capacity Building and Training
Over 1,200+ individuals, including:
are trained on:
  • • Women and survivors
  • • Youth and students
  • • Elected Women Representatives (EWRs)
  • • Frontline workers and community stakeholders
  • • Gender-based violence prevention and response
  • • Gender-based violence prevention and response
  • • Mental health and emotional well-being
  • • Digital literacy and access to services

These trainings are participatory, context-specific, and grounded in lived realities.

3. Healing and Psychosocial Support

The program facilitates trauma-informed healing circles for 250 women, using arts-based methods to support:

  • • Emotional expression and processing
  • • Collective healing and peer support
  • • Reduction in distress and isolation

These circles are complemented by legal support and referral pathways, ensuring women can access both emotional and institutional support systems.

4. Legal Literacy and Access to Justice

Legal awareness is integrated through simple, accessible formats, covering:

  • • Domestic Violence laws (PWDVA)
  • • Child protection (POCSO)
  • • Dowry and marriage-related laws
  • • Cyber safety and online harassment

Participants are linked with One Stop Centres (OSC), Police, and Legal Services Authorities (DLSA), enabling real pathways to justice.

5. Digital Innovation and IVR Systems
To bridge access gaps, the program introduces IVR-based crisis response systems in both districts.These systems:
  • • Allow women to seek help without needing smartphones
  • • Provide information on services and referrals
  • • Enable confidential reporting and support/li>

Alongside this, digital literacy sessions build women’s confidence in accessing helplines, portals, and safety tools.

6. Community Accountability and Safety

Gender Justice Labs actively engages communities in creating safer environments through:

Safety Audits
  • • Conducted by youth, women, and stakeholders
  • • Identify unsafe spaces and risk factors
  • • Lead to community action plans
Safety Charters
  • • Developed and adopted by Panchayats
  • • Integrated into local development plans (GPDPs/VRPs)
District Dialogues
  • • Platforms for community voices
  • • Engagement with government stakeholders
  • • Presentation of findings and commitments

These processes strengthen local accountability and ownership of safety.

7. Youth Leadership and Campaigns
Young people play a critical role in shifting norms through:
  • • Street plays
  • • Murals and visual storytelling
  • • Digital campaigns and reels
These campaigns reach 2,000+ community members, challenging harmful norms around violence, mental health, and gender roles.
8. Peer Champions and Sustainability
The program identifies and trains community champions (youth, women, stakeholders) who:
  • • Facilitate peer support
  • • Continue awareness and healing work
  • • Strengthen local response systems
This ensures that the impact of Gender Justice Labs continues beyond the project lifecycle.
Implementation Across Two Districts

Gender Justice Labs has been implemented in:

Mandla District
  • • Focus on tribal communities
  • • Strengthening access to justice in geographically dispersed areas
  • • Building awareness and institutional linkages
Damoh District
  • • Focus on rural and semi-urban communities
  • • Addressing GBV, digital safety, and mental health gaps
  • • Strengthening community and youth engagement

The dual-district implementation enables contextual adaptation while building a scalable model for replication across other districts.

Impact

Gender Justice Labs is designed to create measurable, multi-level impact, including:

  • • Improved emotional well-being, with women reporting reduced distress.
  • • Shift in gender attitudes, with increased support for equality and reduced tolerance for violence
  • • Increased help-seeking behaviour, with more women accessing legal and support systems
  • • Enhanced digital confidence, enabling access to services and information
  • • Stronger community accountability, with safety charters and local action plans in place
Our Vision

Gender Justice Labs envisions communities where:

By combining healing, systems strengthening, and community leadership, GJL is building a scalable model of gender justice that can transform districts into safer, more equitable spaces for all.

Here’s a strong, polished addition you can plug directly into your Gender Justice Labs page—this includes:

  1. A powerful positioning line (CSR/global funder ready)
  2. A dedicated “About the Funders” section (clean, credible, and aligned with global language)
  3. Slightly elevated tone to match Vital Voices + Estée Lauder level storytelling

About the Funders

Gender Justice Labs is supported by the Vital Voices Global Partnership and the Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund (ELELF) under the Beautiful Forces Grant Program. This partnership positions the initiative within a global ecosystem of women-led change, while strengthening its ability to deliver deep, community-rooted impact in India.

Vital Voices Global Partnership

Vital Voices Global Partnership is a leading international organization that invests in women leaders driving social, political, and economic transformation across more than 185 countries.

With over two decades of experience, Vital Voices provides:

  • • Leadership development and fellowships
  • • Mentorship and global networking opportunities
  • • Strategic support for scaling impact-driven initiatives

Through programs like the Vital Voices Global Fellowship (VVGF), the organization equips leaders with the tools, visibility, and connections needed to accelerate systemic change.

The Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund (ELELF)

The Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund, in collaboration with Vital Voices, launched the “Beautiful Forces” Grant Program to support women leaders who are creating transformative change in their communities.

The initiative is grounded in the belief that:

When women lead with empathy, courage, and collaboration, they become powerful forces for social transformation.

Through this support, Gender Justice Labs is able to expand its reach, deepen its interventions, and build scalable models of gender justice and safety.

Leadership Recognition

Srishti Pragat, Founder of Sky Social, is a Vital Voices Fellow and a recipient of the Estée Lauder Companies’ Beautiful Forces Grant.

Her work has been recognized for:

• Advancing gender justice and women’s safety

• Building trauma-informed, survivor-centered models

• Integrating mental health, legal empowerment, and technology

This recognition brings:

• Global mentorship and strategic guidance

• Increased visibility for grassroots innovations

• Opportunities to scale Gender Justice Labs as a replicable model across regions

Positioned at the intersection of local realities and global feminist leadership, Gender Justice Labs represents a model that is both deeply contextual and globally relevant.
Backed by global leadership platforms and rooted in community realities, Gender Justice Labs is building a future where gender justice is not just an idea, but a lived, accessible reality for every woman.