According to Priya, the Lavender Foundation was created to tackle "the four evils in our society - bullying, racism, violence and harassment." The non-for-profit organisation endeavours to cater to the needs of migrants of all ages: they run targeted services like playgroups and cultural classes for children as well as social gatherings for the elderly who feel socially isolated.
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Priya says, "We provide emotional support to those facing bullying or harassment, and when required, we connect victims with legal services, and our volunteers can help out with court proceedings too. This is a completely voluntary service and we don't charge anything for it".
Priya adds, "Violence against men is most unrecognised and most unreported in our community. People feel ashamed to talk about it. I agree that women are victims of violence most often, but there are horrific cases of violence against men too. Their entire family is ruined because of it, and we must support them in every way that we can."
"Men don't ask for help easily and don't normally admit to being subjected to violence. Many go on to develop health problems and in extreme cases, they commit suicide," says Priya.'There are many established service to help female victims of violence, but hardly anything exists for men."
The Lavender Foundation is hoping to establish a shelter for men, who suddenly find themselves homeless due to a court order. "Our laws protect women, and rightly so. As a woman, I'm all for protecting women. But what about men? Sometimes during a contentious dispute, men can be served court orders to leave the family home, even before it can be established who is right and who is wrong. That is a very difficult situation for a man to handle, and he becomes homeless overnight." It is for this reason that they propose to open a shelter for men, to provide temporary support.
Priya Bedi at SBS Punjabi studios Source: SBS
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