MAM
Sakshi, (regd NGO) Creates Awareness on Child Sexual Abuse Launches #MakeHomeASafeSpace Campaign During COVID-19
India is a country where 1 out of 2 children have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18, most often by family members or people closely known to them. In the wake of coronavirus pandemic, when every individual is required to stay at home, it becomes important to make home a safe place for the children. Sakshi – a rights based NGO, working towards preventing child sexual abuse, has launched a digital campaign #MakeHomeASafeSpace, communicating the importance of an accountable adult community, which is alert, informed and vigilant to secure their homes against potential abuse of children.
#MakeHomeASafeSpace is a part of #StopChildSexualAbuse initiative by The Rakshin Project of Sakshi, in partnership with the Directorate of NSS, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The Rakshin Project, a Youth-Led Movement, Pan-India, aims to address the Denial, Silence, Stigma, and Shame associated with gender violence with a focus on preventing child sexual abuse, by exercising the Constitutional Right to Equality guaranteed to every citizen of India.
#MakeHomeASafeSpace, a video and visual campaign, rolled out across all social media platforms, addresses the spike in child sexual abuse cases and the demand for child pornography during COVID-19 lockdown and offers a solution through Each Teach Two action line of The Rakshin Project.
According to reliable reportage (https://www.childlineindia.org/uploads/files/childline-sees-a-50-percent-increase-in-the-calls-amidst-covid-19-outbreak.pdf) quoting ChildLine India (Ministry of Women and Child Development), within a period of 11 days of lockdown, over 3 lakh cases and 92000 SOS calls have been reported. In anticipation of such a breakdown, and in response to the changing environment requiring social distancing, Sakshi had adapted its offline education programme to an online model, for prevention of child sexual abuse and had begun to reach out to its students’ constituency through webinars in multiple states, and multiple cities.
#MakeHomeASafeSpace also talks about Sakshi’s fundraising initiative with Ketto, a crowdfunding platform.
Talking about the campaign, Smita Bharti, Executive Director, Sakshi, says “The idea of reaching out to youth between 18 to 22 years is really simple. Each student we are reaching and educating to be a preventer has a family. Each of these students is tasked with a simple action. Each teach Two. One older and one younger family member. If families acquire a comfort around the language to prevent child sexual abuse, and can have a conversation on what to watch out for, and how to call out the behaviour, without succumbing to the barriers of denial, silence, shame and stigma, half the battle is won, and in turn we have a young generation taking charge of creating a constitutionally enabled secure home space, free of child sexual abuse.”
The fund raised through the social media awareness campaigns will be used for reaching out to, and educating students across the country, on how to become preventers of child sexual abuse. The funds will also be used for offering therapy and legal support to survivors.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
