SPEAK OUT, TAKE ACTION

THE mother of a woman driven by abuse to take her own life, wants more women to continue speaking out and more men to “take action”.

Daksha Dalal lost her daughter Meera, pictured, in 2016. She had been mentally abused by her ex-partner.

“Men have listened to the many accounts of abuse that have come about after Sarah Everard’s death, and it is time that they take action,” Daksha said.

She has co-written a book on the subject with Saurav Dutt, which looks at the “nuances and complexities” of experiences within different cultural backgrounds.

“After Meera died, and I understood the full extent of what she was dealing with, it made me realise how serious these issues were, the different forms they could take and how completely damaging it is to a person’s life, regardless of age, background, personality or profession,” Daksha said.

“(Women) have to stand on each other’s shoulders and amplify each other’s voices until patriarchal voices and systems understand this is their time to be heard and to be taken seriously.

Despite a “lack of male voices” on the issue, Daksha said she has noticed a younger generation of men speaking out and hopes it will encourage others.

But five years on, Daksha still believes the abuse leading to suicide, is “not widely acknowledged” and that the law does not “proactively” deal with mental assault faced by women.

“That’s what society has to understand, abuse is a multi-pronged attack on a woman’s independence and agency.

“Police aren’t being sharp enough to deal with the warning signs, to understand communities, and why a woman would be so fearful and reluctant to speak up.

“I hope Saurav Dutt and I are successful in lifting the veil from the face of our communities, where these topics are sometimes shrugged off or filed away due to their sensitivity.”