Join us on the eve of International Women’s Day for a lecture that challenges one of the most persistent, and harmful, questions asked of survivors of intimate partner violence.
About the Lecture
“Why did she not leave?”
It is a question asked casually, repeatedly, and often with judgment. But it is the wrong question.
According to the World Health Organization, nearly 30% of women in India between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced intimate partner violence. This includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse by a current or former partner. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) cuts across class, caste, religion, and region, making it not an exception, but a structurally embedded reality.
Blending psychological insight with empirical research, the session explores how abuse operates not just through violence, but through intimacy, control, shame, and manipulation. It examines how coercive relationships produce emotional entanglements that are psychologically layered and socially reinforced.
The lecture seeks to spark critical public dialogue while also speaking to the private, hidden spaces where such violence often remains unnamed.
About the Speaker
Itisha Nagar is a trauma-focused psychologist, mental health researcher, educator, and four-time TEDx speaker. She served as Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Delhi for over a decade, mentoring thousands of students to think critically and sensitively about mental health and social justice.
Her work spans psychological counselling, research, and training workshops on mental health, gender, trauma, feminism, and neurodiversity. Dr. Nagar has been recognised with the Phenomenal SHE Award (100 Most Influential Women in India, 2025) by the Indian National Bar Association and the Best Use of Traditional Classroom for Mental Health Literacy Award by Bharat Dialogues.
Through teaching, public speaking, and social media engagement, she works to make psychological knowledge accessible, nuanced, and deeply human, with the larger goal of building a more compassionate, self-aware, and just society.
About unLecture
unLecture brings experts out of classrooms and into cafés, bars and neighbourhood spaces across Delhi. Created by three friends from St. Stephen’s, Delhi who wanted learning to feel warm, social and alive. unLecture turns an otherwise ordinary evening into a conversation you may think about long after it ends.
About Veera Foundation
Veera Foundation is a non-profit initiative exploring what masculinity can be when the old scripts are set aside. It works with individuals to nurture emotional intelligence, compassion, and allyship—guiding them toward more open, grounded, and connected versions of themselves. It is a space dedicated to discovering a new language for boys, men, and those beside them.
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