I am Toshi Sakharkar and live in a slum in Jogi Nagar, Nagpur district, in Maharashtra. I have studied only till class four. I have spent the last three years working as a barefoot counselor dealing with cases relating to violence against women. As a member of Mahila Vikas Parishad, a regional network and people’s organisation working on women’s issues, I have helped in setting up a family counseling centre in the community. We have had to handle many cases of violence against women. I would like to recount one to show how severe the abuse it. A 28-year-old widow named Savita Kale, living with her parents in Kelzar village after her husband died of cancer, was gang raped by some youth in the village. A male relative, too, was part of this group. She approached us for help. I took her to a doctor for examination and found that she was seven months pregnant. We accommodated her in a short stay home till she gave birth. Meanwhile, we tried to get youth arrested. It was not easy. We began exerting pressure on the police. Finally, we managed to capture the boys ourselves and handed them to the police. We also followed the case through the court trials. The boys were sentenced to three years imprisonment. The Mahila Vikas Parishad is appealing for a more stringent punishment. I have also helped Savita get a job as a telephone operator in an STD booth