ElsaMarie D’Silva of Mumbai began her career as a flight attendant, eventually rising to become vice president of network planning for one of India’s largest airlines. Learning about the fatal 2012 gang rape of a young woman in Delhi, an unusually heinous crime that led to public outrage, led D’Silva to make a dramatic career switch.
D’Silva is the founder and CEO of the
Red Dot Foundation, which works with nongovernmental organizations in India, Nepal, and Kenya to address street harassment and violence against women. In addition to community workshops, the foundation empowers women to document catcalling, groping, and other incidents through an online crowdmapping platform called
Safecity. D’Silva was also a
Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
Q: Why did you choose to work in this area?
A: Sexual violence is a global pandemic. One in three women experiences it at least once, yet 80 percent of us choose not to make an official complaint. In India, there’s a rape every 20 minutes. We have very strong legislation, but what is legislation if you’re not going to use it? There’s still fear of the police, of bringing shame to oneself and one’s family.
Q: What did you learn from your time as a Rotary Peace Fellow?
A: I learned that the work we are doing that we used to call “pre-emptive” is actually peacebuilding. We’re trying to help people understand gender stereotypes that reinforce toxic masculinity on a daily basis, give them a safe space to discuss this and understand each other’s point of view, and help them navigate these complex issues and be agents of change.
https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-peace-fellow-fights-street-harassment-and-violence
