About Us
Vision
The criminal justice system in India while prosecuting the accused, forgets that the crime has ruined the life of the victim and she may need rehabilitation.
Social workers Jyoti and Pravin Khandpasole, while working for prisoner’s rights, realised the need of working for victim’s rights. Thus, in 2008, DISHA (Developing Intervention for Social Human Action) was formed with a focus on rights and holistic restoration of victims of violent crimes such as homicide, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
"The constitution and laws acknowledge the rights of the accused or the convict; but unfortunately, victim’s rights and need of restoration are ignored. We want to change this!"
Pravin Khandpasole,
Director
Equality in access to justice is the vision of DISHA which is linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 16) and the UN’s core principles on the rehabilitation of victims.
Certification
Disha is registered under the Society Act. All donations to Disha are exempt from tax as per the 80G registration.
Partners
The impact of Disha is made possible by the generous support from our partners and individual donors.
Advisory Board
Hon'ble Justice (Retired) A. H. Joshi
Lokayukta of Goa & Retd Judge High Court of Bombay
Shri. Krushna Prakash IPS
Special IG, VIP Security, Maharashtra State
Shri. Veeresh Prabhu IPS
Additional Commissioner Police (Crime), Police Commissionerate, Mumbai
Mrs. Tejaswini Khade
Sr Counsel, High Court Nagpur
Ms. Rukmini Dutta
Social Sector Consultant
Team
Pravin
Pravin is the Co-Founder of DISHA. He spent his first two years in rural development and then seven years in rehabilitation of life convicts in Amravati and Nagpur Central Jails. He completed his Masters in Social Work to do this job well. The plight of the victim in this case while working with the prisoners made him uneasy. Further, he worked for two years as a research officer at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences to understand social work and research activities in the criminal justice system. Pravin also has a degree in 'Development Management' from the reputed SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai.
Jyoti
Jyoti is the Co-Founder of DISHA. After a career start in Amravati and Nagpur Central Jails for rehabilitating life convicts, she joined the Tata Institute of Social Sciences as a research officer to understand social work and research activities in the criminal justice system. For the next ten years, she worked in Maharashtra for the rights and rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law. Jyoti is a TISS graduate in Social Work (Criminology), Master in Law (Criminal), and has studied ‘Development Management’ from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai.
Values
The values that drive DISHA and team towards an Equal and Just society for all with access to justice
- Non Partisan
- Respect
- Empathy
- Tenacious
- Transparency
- Integrity
- Accountability
- Excellence
We are often on the road conducting workshops, presenting our work at social impact conferences, etc.
Do write to us to know when we may be visiting your city!
DISHA at Mega Legal Services Camp creating legal awareness when Hon’ble Shri Justice Uday D. Lalit, Judge Supreme Court of India & Executive Chairman, National Legal Services Authority, New Delhi visited the booth, Beed Maharashtra