TC Bureau New Delhi: To commemorate International Women’s Day, Uber has brought its global “Driving Change” campaign to India and announced a partnership with Breakthrough, a non-profit organization which works to reduce violence against women and girls in India. As part of the collaboration, Breakthrough is launching a campaign, #IgnoreNoMore, which encourages bystander intervention and supports collective action to end gender-based violence in public spaces.
Sohini Bhattacharya, President & CEO, Breakthrough said, “Breakthrough is dedicated to creating an environment in which violence and discrimination aganist women becomes unacceptable. #IgnoreNoMore is designed to drive awareness, inspire action and encourage more Indians to say “no more” to gender-based violence and bystander apathy. The campaign will push people to understand their own role as changemakers for building safer public spaces. We are pleased that Uber is committed to becoming an industry leader on this issue.”
Crimes against women and girls, especially in public spaces, have seen a steady rise in recent years. According to the National Crime Record Bureau report of 2018 (NCRB), nearly 3.78 lakh cases of crime against women were reported across the country. The #IgnoreNoMorecampaign aims to raise awareness on how bystanders can become agents of change rather than just spectators. The approach will empower bystanders to recognize unhealthy and problematic behaviours and intervene before abuse or assault takes place.
“Sexual assault and gender-based violence don’t belong anywhere in our communities. Helping keep people safe is a huge responsibility and one we do not take lightly. As members of the communities we serve, we want to work with others to be part of the solution.” said PavanVaish, Head of Central Operations, India, Uber. “We’re committing major funding for awareness and prevention programs with members of courageous, thought-leading organizations like Breakthrough and we will continue to seek advice from them on how we can do more to prevent violence and to help keep women safe.”
About Uber: Uber’s mission is to create opportunities through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 15 billion trips later, we’re building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.
About Breakthrough:Breakthrough, an organization seeking to make violence and discrimination against women and girls unacceptable. We use the power of arts, media, pop culture and community mobilization to inspire people to take bold action to build a world in which all people live with dignity, equality and justice. We create ground-breaking multimedia campaigns that bring human rights issues into the mainstream and make them relevant and urgent to individuals and communities worldwide. These, along with our in-depth training with young people, government officials and community groups, have ignited a new Breakthrough Generation of leaders sparking change in the world around them.
