Chhanv Foundation

Chhanv Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to fighting against acid attacks on women. In 2013, it started the Stop Acid Attacks (SAA) campaign. Through the campaign, Chhanv has been able to create a network of more than 300 cases of acid attacks and bring them together on its social web project Paltan (www.paltan.in). It was a PIL filed in the Supreme Court in 2006 by one of the Chhanv founders that resulted in groundbreaking central directives – to treat acid as poison, private hospitals to provide free treatment, including specialized surgeries, to acid attack victims and regulation of acid sale under the stringent Poisons Act, 1919.

The organisation’s work against acid violence has earned reputation and recognition and the SAA campaign has been awarded the Indian of the Year award in two consecutive years – 2013 and 2014 – by CNN and NDTV. Laxmi, one of the founder-directors of Chhanv Foundation, and the person responsible for moving the PIL in the Supreme Court in 2006, has been felicitated as an International Woman of Courage by the US First Lady Michelle Obama.

SAA has created a huge impact through online campaigns. It is the biggest Cause page on Facebook in India with around 7 Lakh supporters.

The organisation has also raised more than Rs 5 million solely through crowd funding using its social media content. At present, the organisation has a one of its kind cafe, Sheroes Hangout, in Agra, run by survivors of acid violence.

It is using two WhatsApp groups – SAA and Sheroes Hangout – to get instant support from volunteers across the globe. Through its Paltan website it has also attracted more than 5,000 active volunteers worldwide.