NEW DELHI: #BearNoMore was the first of its kind online campaign launched by Love Matters India which aimed at raising awareness on ‘Intimate Partner Violence’ among young unmarried couples in India. The campaign created massive ripples recently as it won the ‘Social Media for Empowerment Award 2017’ in New Delhi on April 29, 2017 under the category of ‘Community Mobilization’.
The campaign focuses on verbal, emotional, psychological and financial violence that many young people find themselves in and it leads to self-doubt, loss of confidence, low self-esteem, which has further implications on their lives. The first phase of the campaign was launched in September 2015 both online and offline (film screening in villages of Rajasthan). In a period of 2 months, the campaign in partnership with Youth ki Awaaz reached out to around 2 million people.
#BearNoMore campaign stressed that violence isn’t just physical. Sometimes relationships can be abusive even when they aren’t physically violent. Control, jealousy, coercion and isolation are all signs of abuse. Through this campaign Love Matters helped young people identify intimate partner violence in their relationships.
Vithika Yadav, Country Head of Love Matters India says, “#BearNoMore as a campaign was a step to help young people in India recognize violence in their relationships and to make a point that violence is just not physical violence but verbal, emotional, financial and pyschological violence also accounts for violence in relationships. The idea was to create a safe space where young people felt comfortable reading information on intimate partner violence and also sharing their stories and find the support they needed.”
