The Self-Defense Research Project

This project is a part of my Master's thesis, which is titled “Violence and Strategies of Empowerment from the Women's Perspectives: Women’s Self-Defense Strategies in India.” The study examines women’s experiences and perspectives on everyday violence, as well as the methods of resistance and empowerment they use to navigate it.

In order to learn and understand how violence interrupts and forms women's everyday lives and how different self-defense strategies are developed in response, your contribution would be invaluable for this research. Participants should be based in India and be over 18 years old.

Participation is entirely voluntary: you can decline to answer any question or withdraw at any time. If you don't feel comfortable in uploading your story here, you can always reach out to me at viktorija.kasirskaja@fsf.stud.vu.lt. I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.

All information you share will be treated with care and used solely for research purposes.

i agree to Participate

Share your story

Think about a situation where you had experienced any kind of violence and what was your response to it, what kind of self-defense tool or strategy did you use.
You can share as much or as little as you want, you can use your real name or a pseudonym, all information you share will be anonymous. Since this research is dedicated for women in India only, please share your city or region, whatever makes you more safe.

As these experiences are not easily articulated, you can use a body map exercise which might help answering the research question. You can find instructions for body mapping below, it is completely optional.

use body map

Body mapping exercise (optional)

Body mapping is a technique designed to facilitate describing bodily experiences which are not easily articulated. This exercise can be used in various workshops or interviews for educational and research purposes. This board is designed to help facilitate this exercises online and using digital tools. You can use this template or just use pen and paper while using the prompts. You can choose to take a print screen or a photo of your body map and send it to me, but that is completely optional.
SEND DOCUMENT
DOWNLOAD MAP