An Ealing author has released a novel exploring the issues of domestic violence and abuse towards women and LGBT discrimination in Asian cultures.

Saurav Dutt interviewed survivors and their families who were impacted by abuse and discrimination, and these personal stories are at the heart of The Butterfly Room as the author seeks to "shed some light on these cultural taboos".

Proceeds from the sale of The Butterfly Room will benefit a number of charities that offer assistance to survivors and victims of homophobia, LGBT discrimination, and domestic violence and abuse, including Refuge, Southall Black Sisters, Women’s Aid, Stonewall UK, and Amnesty International.

Writer: Saurav Dutt

Mr Dutt said: “In light of the explosive ‘India’s Daughter’ documentary, it is more relevant than ever to explore certain trenchant and deeply rooted cultural taboos within Indian and Asian societies.

“The issues of women’s rights, domestic violence, and abuse, as well as homophobia and LGBTI discrimination are not isolated to South Asia or India, and that is why I wanted to explore them in this book.

“I feel it is important to give back and help raise awareness of these vital, concurrent issues, and to work in hand with charities to do so.

"The title of the book is an allegory for butterflies which are encased as part of a butterfly collection and it is a metaphor for humans being in a similar situation within their family or society. While they (the butterflies) remain beautiful to look at for spectators their beauty is more or less 'trapped' within the encasement."

Mr Dutt also credits the Joyful Heart Foundation’s ‘No More’ campaign as a source of inspiration for the novel.

The novel is now available for sale on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, and Waterstones.