This is Kolkata Sanved’s 2019/20 annual report on the work they do in the field of Dance Movement Therapy for trauma healing and empowerment of marginalised populations.

Kolkata Sanved is a women-led pioneer in the field of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) for trauma healing and empowerment of marginalised populations. They use DMT as a tool for promoting holistic well-being and to enhance quality of life for survivors of sex-trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence.

The annual report describes their many projects including: outreach work in healing, recovery and empowerment for children in need of care and protection, and people living with mental illness; trauma recovery project done through the ‘restoring smiles through dance’ curriculum; empowerment workshops; sexual and reproductive health and rights awareness workshops; and DMT for boys living in childcare institutions.

The report also includes results from a pilot study measuring efficacy of DMT on boys at Child Care institutions in West Bengal. A total of 45 boys were part of the research which included 12 DT sessions over a period of 3 months. The research used mixed methods to collect data and found 16% of the children experienced reduced feelings of anger, participants found the sessions helped them to cope with their situation better and keep a sense of balance, and 14% saw an improvement in their self-confidence.

Kolkata Sanved. (2020). Walking the Path of Dreams. Kolkata: Kolkata Sanved.