Justice For Her: Sunita Toor on how she wants to be a voice for the invisible

Growing up in a predominantly Caucasian community in the United Kingdom, Professor of Criminology at Sheffield Hallam University, Sunita Toor says she often encountered racism and prejudice against Asians. Her parents, who came in from Punjab in the ’60s, owned a mini-market in the UK and also witnessed hate crimes on a daily basis. “I grew up in a white area where I was the only Asian at school,” Toor says adding, “During my childhood and teenage years I saw many injustices against Asian women and minority ethnic groups.” But what caught her attention was the lack of police intervention in these trying circumstances. “On a number of occasions the police didn’t attend to their [minority group] reports and they didn’t receive any support for their victimisation,” she laments.

As she went on to study social sciences at university level, Toor became involved in activism focusing on those who were most vulnerable in society. “I wanted to voice the invisible,” she says. In a move to put an end to gender-based violence, Toor started work on a campaign in 2016 titled Justice For Her. Funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, via the British High Commission in India, the two year project focused on improving access to justice for female victims of violence by focusing on police training. The training was concentrated in four Indian states of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. “Police officers are at the front line of the fight to combat gender-based violence. They should be the bastions of justice and first point of call for all victims,” Toor explains. The campaign was intended to change police mindsets, making them more proactive in prevention of gender-based violence and, “creating a new generation of police officers.” With four day sessions and three day workshops in various states, the campaign trained nearly 25-40 participants in each state. There are plans to start 51 more crisis centres in India, a message at the end of the video documentary states. However, Toor admits, “We met officers who were dispassionate and unmotivated, and who required their views to be challenged.” 

What’s next

At the Jaipur Literature Festival that commences on January 24, Toor will be part of the discussion on ‘The Shape of Justice - Identifying Gender Violence and Finding Solutions That Fit’. Elaborating on the problems of female ethnic minorities today, she says it’s a tough break for, “females entering the criminal justice system, which is a male dominated space.” Further she adds, “Asian females encounter an additional level of problems within their cultural community. Females as offenders are particularly penalised, but if they’re victimised as well, then their disadvantage and access to justice is further hindered.”

The work of Justice for Her continues today, which strives to make the police accountable for delivering justice. “We want the next generation of police officers to be trailblazers for change, who are empowered, equipped and committed to ensuring Justice For Her and maintaining the rule of law regarding gender,” Toor says. To change the landscape around gender-based violence the campaign has commissioned a spoken word poet to focus on the next generation of men saying “NO” to such behaviour and being respectful of women. Toor is now working on her next project that looks into female survivors of trafficking.