Recent suicide by a TV serial artist in Chennai. Need to address sexual violence in Filim Industry

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum members

Greetings from SFDRT!

April 21st witnessed the death of a 21 year old vaishnavi a recent TV serial

artist who is currently very busy with her number of serials. This is the third

such death of TV artists in the last 6 months, which probably Chennai has

witnessed.

The reasons apprehended for the death of Vaishnavi were the following two

reasons that happened to be flashed in the papers and magazines:

1. She was in love with yet another TV artist Dev, who was married actually and

that was hidden from Vaishnavi;

2. The lover along with his companions had and forced vaishnavi into group sex

where in she feared the consequences. The incident happened while they were at

Mahabalipuram out to sought out their issues, where in vaishnavis lover Dev,

threatened the latter that he will die by consuming poison ebcause of her.

Vaishnavi was caught in the dual and due to her consumption of excess alcohol at

the moment, she had to succumb to the event of group sex.

The above incident clearly brings out the following issues:

- Young women within the film industry are silently suffering the menace of sex

and sexuality culminating with HIV/AIDS;

- The meanace of sexual trafficking within the industry looks like is quite

eligible & prominent;

- It is still a mans world - the fact of women's liberation is questionable?

- this is one such place of work or group where in women migrate to dream that

they are going to catch the sky using galmour, and therefore are trafficked,

violence and exploitation happens within and against them and finally end up

with the issue of HIV/AIDS not knowing how to manage the situation.

Compounding to the recent event once again I think NACO should take up this

issue of the work with the film industry and HIV with AIDS as a special and

comprehensive effort because it not only has a hidden factor of sex involved,

whether it is with consent or not, what happens if not, whether the women

working within are meant to sell sex

only through galmour as a fixation, can this be compounded with the ill effects

of HIV/AIDS and is suicide the only effect and option that the young women may

have? If so how many more will we have to witness such incidents? I think this

is the only group who still fears sex and the menace of HIV/AIDS and thereby end

thier lives.

We have also put up the case history in all the unions through one of our

innovative event of having to maintain " display boards " at all such unions

numbering to 24 of them, within the film industry and are inviting their

comments to take this issue further.

We will also keep you informed of how SFDRT will take its turn in looking at a

holistic effort towards the prevention of HIV/AIDS within the film industry.

Comments are welcome!

In solidarity

Shyamala Ashok

SFDRT -

Chennai

e-mail: aabinand@...