About Us

Manavi is a New Jersey-based women's rights organization committed to end all forms of violence and exploitation against South Asian women living in the U.S.

Established in 1985, Manavi ("woman" in Sanskrit) was the first organization of its kind in the U.S. Manavi's programs involve direct service provision for women survivors of violence; grassroots organizing for social change within the South Asian community; and informing the practice of mainstream U.S. institutions and organizations to better serve South Asian women survivors. Through its work Manavi ensures that women of South Asian descent in the U.S can exercise their fundamental right to live a life of dignity that is safe and free from violence.

Manavi Philosophy- Our Guiding Principles and Strategies

The underlying principles that drive Manavi's work are:

• Central to our work is the woman facing abuse. The survivors of violence and abuse who receive Manavi's services are the nerve-centre of the organization. Through the past twenty years, Manavi's strategies and programs have been determined by the unmet needs of survivors and the organization has constantly adapted to the changing needs of survivors.
  
• Manavi recognizes that every woman could be in an abusive situation, and that any woman can well be the woman we work with. Therefore a fundamental principle of the organization is to encourage counsellors to challenge their own biases and be aware and introspective of dynamics in the counsellor-survivor relationship.
  
• Manavi is a secular organization. We provide services equitably to ALL women and DO NOT discriminate based on class, culture, nationality, religion, or sexuality.
  
• At Manavi, we take confidentiality extremely seriously. We respect the need/ preference of survivors who may not wish to disclose their identity. Maintaining the anonymity of the woman we work with, is fundamental to our work.

Our strategies are:

• Manavi's programs simultaneously address short-term service needs of survivors and long-term social change through community education, trainings and advocacy.
  
• Our programs at Manavi are designed to successfully rehabilitating the survivor in a sustainable manner, such that when she leaves the organization the survivor is a fully functioning, independent, healthy individual.