An opportunity for Lavanya

Lavanya is 17 years old and lives in Nala Sopara, a town in the Mumbai metropolitan city. Her mother died when she was born, while her older brother was adopted by an her uncle who lived in Goa, she stayed with her father, who remarried ten years later.

At first, it was great to have a mother figure, but after a few months his attitude towards her began to change. Her father used to sell acohol and he and his new partner started drinking too much developing an addiction. After drinking, her stepmother used to abuse her and mistreated her. She forced her to sell drinks and wash glasses. A few years later she forbade her to go to school and in addition to working, he would take care of the house and her two-year-old sister.

Lavanya was very, very overwhelmed by all the work she had to do and also because she wanted to study. She had grown older and did not want to waste her life, she explained her situation to her neighbor, whom she had always known. The woman decided to take matters into her own hands and that was when the case came to our team to combat domestic and sexist violence.

At the end of May we went to meet the girl. In just a few minutes she told us that she would not want to live in that house any longer, and also told us that she wanted to study and have a future. They were taking advantage of her in every possible way and she couldn’t take it anymore. We explained that with the law in hand, she could report the situation. But she didn’t want to, she just wanted to run away from that situation. Since that day we have been looking for accommodation in a shelter homes for her and we have finally found it. Finding the place was not easy and convincing her father to let her go, but as we said, we have achieved it. She will be in a center and will be able to resume her studies and carry out different activities.

We wish you the best of luck in this new stage, which you deserve so much!