Guwahati, Aug. 26: Adding voice to the statewide outcry against sexual harassment and violence following the Barnali Deb rape and murder, the North East Network, a women’s organisation, has decided to launch a poster campaign in the state from Wednesday.

The inaugural function of the “poster campaign on violence against women” will be held at the conference room of the deputy commissioner’s court here at 10.30 am. Kamrup deputy commissioner A.K. Absar Hazarika is expected to be the chief guest.

“It is heartening to note that the entire civil society has condemned the gruesome rape and murder of Barnali Deb. We have decided to strengthen the ongoing protests against the incident as well as condemn other such ghastly incidents of violence by starting this poster campaign,” said Amrita Goswami, spokesperson for the network.

The aim of the campaign is to influence the people and generate discussions and debates on the macro issue of “growing” violence against women in the Northeast.

Even after the Barnali case, several cases of rape of minor girls have come to light in Assam and Meghalaya.

At a recent citizens’ meet held in Guwahati, intellectuals had alleged that despite public condemnation of the Barnali incident, at least seven such crimes had taken place in the state.

According to Goswami, the organisation has in the process of its work found that violence against women and children is widely prevalent in Assam and other parts of the region, though in most cases legal action is never initiated.

“In cases where the legal option is adopted, even after a long battle very few see light of justice,” the spokesperson added.

Fearing that a similar fate might befall the Barnali case, the Nirjatan Birodhi Aikya Manch — a platform of 70 organisations that was created to protest the crime — has been demanding the constitution of a special bench for speedy trial of the foursome who gangraped and murdered the eight-year-old child in the premises of a reputed travel agency in the city on the night of July 13.

The North East Network, which was set up in 1994, aims to make the people aware of the social injustices against women with the use of street plays, poster campaigns and collective action, Goswami said.