Discover Safety

Our Background

How We Got Here

By creating a mandate that requires doctors to ask their female patients privately whether or not they are being abused or know anyone being abused who needs help, SafeSteps aims to create a safer environment for women in Kerala, India.

In many instances, women subject to sexual violence in India are reluctant to reach out to local police due to the wide distrust and tarnished public image of the Indian police force. Due to the stigma created by previous actions of police offices, women keep their concerns to themselves and fear seeking help. Additionally, many young girls in India grow up learning that sexual abuse from a partner is not irregular. As young girls grow up with skewed understandings of what is ‘okay’ and what is not, more sexual abuse cases go unreported.

As a part of the Girl Scout 2025 Gold Award, Safe Steps worked to create a mandate where doctors in Kerala are required to ask their female patients privately whether or not they are being abused at home, and if the patient indicates that they are in need of help, the hospital is required to contact the Pink Police who will then provide the woman with the shelter, resources, or assistance she needs.

Safe Step’s Story

As a girl, ever since I can remember, I’ve heard “Don’t walk alone at night. Make sure you're in a big group.” But I’ve always wondered, why don’t my male peers hear similar warnings? Sexual abuse is an issue that primarily affects women and results in both physical and mental consequences for the victim. One in four women around the world are affected by sexual abuse, and around 70% of those cases go completely unreported. Many women around the world suffer from sexual abuse, and this number is extremely high in the place that I call my second home: Kerala, India. Often, women in India who face sexual abuse feel afraid to speak up against their perpetrator due to fears of backlash or due to a lack of trust in the police department to successfully take care of the situation. Many police officers in India, specifically Kerala, fall victim to bribes by sexual offenders to keep the situation “silent.” Many times wives even fall victim to abuse by their husband and feel afraid to report it to police because they feel uncertain that the police will take proper measures to prevent the abuse from happening again.

Our Mission

Here For You

Here, at SafeSteps, our mission is to empower women all over the globe to break the silence around sexual abuse. Driven by the belief that no woman should ever go through her struggles alone, we have one goal: create pathways where women of different backgrounds are able to express their feelings and always have help available at their fingertips. Through a simple but powerful mandate, we ensure that every woman visiting a doctor is asked—privately and without judgment—whether she is facing abuse or knows someone who is. This small step opens the door to life-changing resources and support, including safe shelter, counseling, and legal aid, provided by the Pink Police. Together, we are taking meaningful steps toward a future where no woman feels invisible.

Acknowledgements

Thank you!!!

SafeSteps would not have been possible absent the amazing supporters who dedicated their time, effort, and resources to making our hopes a reality. We would like to express our gratitude to Shibin John Parackal for allowing SafeSteps to implement our mandate into their hospital. Anoop Achuthan , thank you for being an amazing project coordinator, overlooking ever step in the process, and ensuring the success of the initiative. Thank you Inspector Kerala Police, Ajayan O. A , for working with the police and helping with the logistics of the project. Finally, thank you Shibin John Parackal for helping us partner with Bethlehm Abhaya Bhavan non-profit, who has willingly offered us supplies and shelter for women.