A programme dedicated to social, economic and political empowerment for women and girls in rural spaces.
Around 700,000 women work in the tea estates of Assam and West Bengal, India. But many often experience domestic violence and harassment in the workplace, home, and community spaces.
The Women’s Safety Accelerator Fund was initiated by Unilever and IDH to advance the ‘Global Women’s Safety Framework in Rural Spaces’ by UN Women.
This aims to ensure that all women and girls are socially, economically, and politically empowered in rural spaces free from sexual harassment and other forms of violence.
Project overview
Focusing on creating workplaces, homes and communities free from sexual harassment and violence towards women and girls in rural tea estates.
Project partners
IDH, ETP core funding, Unilever, Tesco, Twinings and Co. Ltd., Taylors of Harrogate, and Tazo
The Fund started implementation in the tea sector in Assam and West Bengal, India.
Its focus has been on promoting tangible and continuous improvements for women workers in the tea industry through:
Retaining and attracting women workers.
Women are an integral part of India’s tea workforce, and their safety is the Fund’s primary concern.
The Fund is providing resources, tools, technical assistance, and specialised services for tea producers to strengthen prevention and responses to gender based violence, and create safe and empowering workplaces for women.
The Fund is also working to collaborate with a wide range of industry stakeholders, emphasising that when businesses demonstrate a firm commitment to ending gender based violence, the tea sector will thrive as a result.
The initiative made significant progress in 2023:
Engaged more than 100 government officials and service providers to address GBV in tea estates.
