Textile Industry Coalition

Spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Women Empowerment, and the Department of Handlooms, Handicrafts, Textiles & Khadi, Government of Tamil Nadu, the Textile Industry Coalition (TiC) is a ground-breaking multi-stakeholder initiative committed to achieving zero tolerance for sexual harassment and violence against women and girls (VAWG). The initiative is convened by UN Women, with support from the European Union, and global apparel brands such as H&M and Target, and implemented on the ground by Sakshi.

TiC currently aims to cover:

• 13 factories and 28 linked communities

• Over 16,000 factory workers

• More than 2,00,000 community members across six key textile districts in Tamil Nadu — Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Karur, Namakkal, and Dindigul.

Vision and Objectives

TiC seeks to empower women and girls by ensuring their right to live free from violence—at home, in public spaces, at work, and online through:

• Transforming policy ecosystems by strengthening public and corporate frameworks for gender-responsive implementation of laws like the PoSH Act.

• Building institutional capacity across government, industry, and labor ecosystems to ensure systemic enforcement and accountability.

• Shifting societal norms through arts-based behavior change communication and engaging men, boys, and communities in disrupting cycles of VAWG.

Expected Impact

• Strengthened industry-wide accountability for gender equality.

• Measurable shifts in social norms and workplace culture.

• Improved access to safety mechanisms and redressal systems for women and girls.

• Sustained inter-departmental convergence to enhance service delivery.

TiC exemplifies how collaborative, systemic, and localized interventions can create long-lasting safety and equity for women in one of India’s most significant employment sectors.