DOMESTIC VOILENCE:- Agony On Women Authored By – Vanshita Jaiswal
DOMESTIC VOILENCE:-
Agony On Women
Authored By – Vanshita Jaiswal
3rd
Year, BALLB
Renaissance Law College, Indore.
Mob No: - 9516706666
Abstract
Domestic violence is one of the most
common crimes against women which are inextricably linked to the perpetuation
of patriarchy. Domestic violence refers to violence against women not only in
matrimonial homes but also in live-in-relationship. Domestic violence is
recognized as the significant barrier in the path of women empowerment and also
skews the democratic set up of the polity. India has specifically legislated
Domestic Violence Act in 2005 to reduce the violence against women but the same
has bore mixed result as of now. The paper examines the domestic violence in
multi-dimensional perspective.
Keywords: cognizable crimes, domestic violence,
human rights, NCRB, patriarchy
INTRODUCTION
Over the last
decade, violence against women in developing countries has emerged as a growing
concern among researchers and policymakers interested in women’s health and
empowerment. In developing countries, women are vulnerable to many forms of
violence, and domestic violence represents the most common form.[1]The
World Health Organization defines domestic violence as “the range of sexually,
psychologically and physically coercive acts used against adult and adolescent
women by current or former male intimate partners.”[2]
In a review of population based studies, Krug et al. found that 10% to 69% of
women reported that they had experienced physical violence from a male partner.[3]
There is growing recognition of the possible linkages between domestic violence
and a range of adverse physical, mental, and reproductive health outcomes. Decade has identified a number of individual-
and household-level risk factors for domestic violence.[4]
Higher socioeconomic status levels and higher levels of education among women
have generally been found to be protective factors against women’s risk of
domestic violence. Several studies have shown that demographic factors such as
age, number of Studies shows that male children, and extended family residence
are inversely associated with risk of domestic violence. In addition, studies
from India have shown lower dowry levels to be associated with significantly
higher subsequent risks of violence. The possible link between women’s status
and empowerment and domestic violence has also received considerable attention,
with several studies revealing that increased status—as reflected by women’s
control over resources or membership in group-based savings and credit
programs—is associated with significantly lower rates of domestic violence.
Other studies, however, have shown that increased women’s empowerment may
actually exacerbate the risk of violence, at least in the short run. One of the
most systematic findings from previous studies relates to the intergenerational
transmission of violence, with the witnessing of violence between parents as a
child emerging as a strong predictor of subsequent domestic violence. The
prominent role of alcohol as well has been highlighted in several studies, the
results of which have shown that alcohol consumption played a significant
precipitating role in incidents of violence.
An estimated 736 million women become victims of intimate
partner violence (IPV), or non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once
in their life.[5] The
international community has long acknowledged the severity of the problem. In
1995, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action called for the
elimination of violence against women.[6] A
decade later, in 2015, the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development which included a global target to eliminate “all forms of violence
against women and girls in public and private spheres.”[7] In
2016, the World Health Assembly Resolution 69.5 called for a global plan of
action to strengthen the role of the health system within a national
multisector response to address interpersonal violence, particularly against
women and young girls.[8] Despite
all these mandates, however, 49 countries have yet to adopt a formal policy on
domestic violence.[9]
This violence—which has serious short- and long-term
consequences on women’s health and well-being[10]disproportionately
affects women in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Women aged 15-49 years
living in the least developed countries have a 37-percent lifetime prevalence
of domestic violence.[11] Among
younger women (15-24), the risk is even higher, with one of every four women
who have ever been in a relationship facing some form of violence.
Indeed, domestic violence is
an all-pervasive public-health concern that women face in various forms across
different parts of the world.
Section 498 of the Indian Penal Code, which pertains to cruelty to
women, states that domestic violence punishment in India includes imprisonment
of up to three years. So, perpetrators of domestic violence can face jail time
in India. [12]
What is domestic violence?
Domestic violence is not
restricted to physical force, but also includes sexual assaults and frightening
threats that often amount to a pattern of coercive control. It is violence
committed by an intimate, that is, a current or former husband or wife, partner
or girl/boyfriend. Some definitions of domestic violence include acts from any
member of the family, but the definition follows ‘Any violence between current
and former partners in an intimate relationship, wherever and whenever the
violence occurs. The violence may include physical, sexual, emotional and
financial abuse. Domestic violence affects people of all socioeconomic
backgrounds and education levels. Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence,
regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, faith or class. Victims of
domestic abuse may also include a child or other relative, or any other
household member. Domestic abuse can be mental, physical, economic or sexual in
nature. Incidents are rarely isolated, and usually escalate in frequency and
severity. Domestic abuse may culminate in serious physical injury or death.[13]
Forms of violence
“Besides using abusive
language, my husband hits me with whatever he can lay his hands on. When he is
really mad, he flings a stick or whatever is in his hand freely towards me. He
does not kick or pull my hair or bang against the wall. But hitting me in the
back or slapping is what he does most of the times. In a fit of rage, he even
asks me to leave home and go to my parents’ house. But how can I go? I have
children and this is my home.”
In this study, reported violence takes many
forms. The most frequently reported types of violence against a woman include
abusive language (80 percent), beatings (63 percent), forcing her back to her
parental home (52 percent), and threats to throw her out (51 percent). Other
types of abuse include refusing to give money to manage the household,
protracted criticism, and getting angry with the children. Two-thirds of the
women who were abused reported physical violence. Of the women who reported
physical violence, the most frequent forms are slaps (100 percent), having
objects thrown at them (63 percent), and beatings with a stick (58 percent).
Approximately ten percent of the women who were physically abused indicated
they required medical attention after getting beaten, yet only 38 percent of
these sought treatment. Despite the fact that there were few inquiries
specifically on the subject of sexual abuse, 20 percent of women reporting
physical violence described violence of a sexual nature. Women in the survey
who reported violence experienced an average of three different forms of abuse.
In addition, 45 percent of the women reported that their husbands used abusive
language in the presence of their children, and 63 percent said that this occurred
in front of their parents as well. Many women grew to tolerate abusive language
in the presence of their in-laws, but felt physical beatings in
Violence in live-in-relationship
Whether a
“live-in relationship” would amount to a “relationship like marriage” falling
within the definition of “domestic relationship” under Section 2(f) of the
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005?
Whether the
disruption of such a relationship by failure to maintain a woman involved in
such a relationship amounts to “domestic violence” within the meaning of
Section 3 of the Act?[14]
Case-
Indra
Sarma vs. V.K.V.Sarma on 26 November, 2013
Judgment of the case
The Supreme Court, while affirming
the High Court’s order, created an exception to the general rule. The Supreme
Court clarified that a woman who begins to live with a man who is already
married to someone else, without knowing that he is married, will still be
considered to be in a “domestic relationship” under the Protection of Women
from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; thus, the man’s failure to maintain her will
amount to “domestic violence” within the meaning of the Act and she will be
eligible to claim reliefs such as maintenance and compensation.[15]
Some guidelines (not exhaustive) were
laid down to determine whether a live-in relationship falls within the
category: –
·
Duration
of period of relationship
·
Shared
household- Defined in Section 2(s) of the DV Act
·
Having/planning
children- A very strong indicator
·
Pooling
of Resources and Financial Arrangements Supporting each other, or any one of
them
·
Sexual
relationship- Not just for pleasure but for an emotional and intimate
relationship
·
Socialization
in public - Holding out to the public and socializing with friends and
families.
·
Intention
and conduct of the parties- Common intention of the parties as to what their
relationship is to be
·
Domestic
arrangements entrusting the responsibility- Women to run home and do household
chores
Since the appellant was aware that
the respondent was a married person having two children even before the
commencement of the relationship hence the status of the appellant is that of a
concubine or mistress and cannot fall under Section 2(f) of Act of 2005 and
cannot become within “domestic relationship” and therefore not entitled for any
relief on the grounds of domestic violence.
D.Velusamy vs. D.Patchaiammal 2010 (4) RCR (Crl) 746
(SC)
“Relationship in nature of Marriage”
Relationship in the nature of
marriage defined and distinguished from live in relationship[16].
Further held only women in relationship in nature of marriage entitled to
reliefs under DV Act.
Dimple Jatin Khanna @ Dimple ... vs Anita Advani and Anr on 9
April, 2015[17]
Where petitioner enters into
relationship with a man who is already married which fact was in the knowledge
of petitioner, cannot be held that the relationship was in the nature of
marriage. Such petitioner not entitled to reliefs under DV Act.
Victims of domestic violence
Women form the
largest group of victims. However children and elderly people can also be
victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence occurs at all levels in society
and in all population groups.
Abuse is usually deliberate, but not always. For
example, sometimes people can no longer cope with caring for relatives. The
situation can then escalate and result in abuse.[18]
Domestic violence can happen in any relationship,
regardless of ethnic group, income level, religion, education or sexual
orientation. Abuse may occur between a married people, or between an unmarried
people living together or in a dating relationship. It happens in heterosexual,
gay and lesbian relationships.[19]
However, researchers
have found that some people are more likely to become the victims of domestic
violence. A likely victim:
- Has poor self-image.
- Puts up with abusive behavior.
- Is economically and emotionally
dependent on the abuser
- Is uncertain of his or her own
needs.
- Has unrealistic belief that he
or she can change the abuser.
- Feels powerless to stop
violence.
- Believes that jealousy is proof
of love.
While abuse can happen to anyone,
women are by far the most frequent victims and men are the most frequent
abusers. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 95 percent of the
assaults on partners or spouses are committed by men against women.
Incident of Domestic Violence in India
National Commission for
Women is the statutory body generally concerned with advising the government on
all policy matters affecting women. It was established in 1992 under the
provisions of the Indian Constitution as defined in the 1990 National
Commission for Women Act.
Amid a raging pandemic,
the number of women reaching out to the National Commission for Women to report
violence and harassment within their homes has shown a significant rise in 2021
when compared [21]
To 2020. In the second
year of the pandemic, the commission received 30,865 complaints of which 72.5%
(22,379) fall in three categories - to secure their right to live with dignity,
protection from domestic violence and matters of harassment of married women
including for dowry.[22]
The
"right to live with dignity" category includes complaints that
involve harassment other than domestic violence. The complaints category was
defined this way in 2019 by NCW as more and more women had started approaching the
commission alleging harassment at the hands of parents, husbands and in-laws
trying to curtail their freedom to take decisions, stopping them from working,
and situations that infringed their privacy. This data story gives
comprehensive data on the nature of complaints received by NCW during the
lockdown. [23]
Stopping Violence[24]
Domestic violence occurs
most often among women. To stem the tide of abuse, the National Coalition
against Domestic Violence (NCADV) suggests pushing for policy changes and updates.
They include:
·
Contacting
local Congressional representatives and advocating for updates to the federal
definition of domestic violence to include dating abuse and stalking.
·
Supporting
laws and programs that create educational and counseling programs to better
identify and prevent domestic violence.
·
Increasing
funds for programs related to the Violence against Women Act (VAWA).
The
NCADV also offers a kind of streamlined Civics 101 course. The course
educates people on how to promote antiviolence legislation, gives information
about people and organizations to contact, and provides more information.[25]
Preventions measure
In an
effort to prevent violence against women altogether, a different kind and
quality of preventive community-oriented response occurs in some settings that
seek not just to address individual cases, but to transform social relations at
a more systemic level. Although this type of organized response was found to be
much less common, there was evidence of this important work throughout the
region. State-sponsored public awareness campaigns about dowry, domestic
violence, legal rights, and gender justice are taking place at locations in
several rural and urban areas. Concentrated outreach efforts, public rallies,
legal and health literacy camps, programs directed to young women, and
networking between local groups are also being initiated by non-governmental
organizations in several locations[26].
The formation of women’s self-help collectives in targeted rural communities is
also a significant initiative being undertaken by some state and
non-governmental organizations who intend this to be both a preventive measure
and a reactive response to individual victims of domestic violence. Similarly,
holistic efforts to foster widespread community development, and attempts to
politically empower certain traditionally marginalized social groups such as
dalits, tribal, slum dwellers, rural workers, poor women, sex workers, or women
prisoners are examples of this more comprehensive response to violence against
women taking place in India.[27]
Remedy
As a remedial measure, the Parliament
of India has passed legislation called, “The Protection of Women from Domestic
Violence Act, 2005.” Under this Act, several provisions have been made to
protect the women from domestic violence. Now every women who have been
deprived of their right to life by the act of husband or relatives of the
husband, can file a case to the protection officer, police officer or
magistrate in the form of ‘Domestic Incident Report’ and a complaint can also
be filed by the relative of the victim and it is considered as a prima facie
evidence of the offence. Under this Act, the protection officer is empowered to
pass certain orders like protection of the women and order of monetary relief
to the victim etc.
Path Ahead
According to 2000 study by the
National Law School of India University, it was observed that there were an
extremely low number of convictions in a large sample of domestic violence
cases in various Indian courts. The study cites the need for more systematic
and thorough record keeping throughout all levels of the Indian court system,
as well as the imperative need for more clarity in current legislation that
provides a very unclear definition of what domestic violence even is. This
allows for cultural biases, social (patriarchal) structures, institutional
structures and gender disparities to cloud the nature of many of these cases,
and is a major reason why the vast majority of husbands charged with any form
of domestic abuse tend to be acquitted[28].
In view of above said facts, the
solution of domestic violence lie, firstly in understanding of mutual and human
relation which we inherits from our culture and in particular, respect towards
human values and the women in more practical way and secondly, the Indian
Parliament must come out with a more stringent laws to protect the rights of
women who are victims of violence of any kind occurring within the family, so
that it would work as preventive measure to eradicate the crime.
It would not out of place to mention
here that an awareness program for protection of women should be launched by
the Government because domestic violence in one or another way, affects the
national productivity and lesson to protect and respect the women should be
given from basic education level as men and women both participate equally in
national growth. Finally, last but not least, prosecution shortcoming in
handling of domestic violence case must be addressed and conviction rate should
be increased in cases like domestic violence to create fear in the mind of
violator or abuser.
Case analysis
Pragya Tyagi vs. Kamlesh Devi, 2022
Court analysis
Domestic
violence victims can enforce her right to reside in ‘Shared Household’ Even if
she has not actually lived there.
Supreme
Court
It is held that there should be a subsisting domestic relationship between the aggrieved person and the person against whom the relief is claimed vis-à-vis allegation of domestic violence. However, it is not necessary that the time of filing of an application by an aggrieved person, the domestic relationship should be subsisting. In other words, even if an aggrieved person is not in a domestic relationship with the respondent in a shared household at the time of filing of an application under Section 12 of Domestic Violence Act but has at any point of time lived so or had the right to live and has been subjected to domestic violence or is later subjected to domestic violence on account of the domestic relationship, is entitled to file an application under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act.
Hiralal P. Harsora and Ors. V. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora and
Ors.[29]
The judgment given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court was, that it
set aside the impugned judgment given by The Bombay High Court and the
declaration was made that the words “adult male” given in the definition of
“Respondent” in the Section 2(q) of the Act
shall be struck down and would be deleted from henceforth. The Ratio behind the
same was that the words were in violation of Article 14 of “The Constitution of
India, 1949”. It was also made clear that the Section 2(q) of “The Protection
of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005” shall not be rendered invalid, and
only the said words i.e. “Adult male” are being struck down, the rest of the
sub section remains as it is and is valid.[30]
S.R Batra & Another vs. Smt
Taruna Batra 2006 [31]
The claim for
alternative accommodation can be only made against husband and not against in
law or other relatives.
Supreme Court held that
the wife is only entitled to claim a right to residence in a shared household,
and a ‘shared household’ would only mean the house belonging to or taken on
rent by the husband or the house which belongs to the joint family of which the
husband is a member. The property in question in the present case neither
belongs to the husband nor member. It is the exclusive property of appellant
No. 2, mother of the husband. Hence, it cannot be called ‘share household’.
Early Prevention is Key
According to
the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, early prevention lowers the
likelihood dating violence.
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention developed the Dating Matters program, which describes the
characteristics of healthy and unhealthy teen relationships, shares statistics
and examples of dating violence as well as red flags, and shows how to foster
good connections and private way teens date
And experience relationships differ
from adults. More teens experience abuse via or over social media, typically
over posts and passwords.
Abusers resort to messenger and
locator apps to monitor their partners’ whereabouts. Because some people —
especially young people — practically live online, it’s all the harder to avoid
an abusive partner if they constantly message or post about the victim.
Addressing why some kids stay in bad
relationships is worth noting too. Some rationalize bad behaviors as signs of
love; others stick around because their partner boosts their social status.
Signs of abuse include:
·
Isolation
·
Unexplained or unusual injuries
·
A lack of interest in once-enjoyed activities
·
Excuses for a partner’s bad behavior
Conclusion
Domestic
violence has far-reaching implications on the physical, mental, and
psychological wellbeing of victims. Therefore, eradicating it from society is
of utmost importance. As mentioned earlier, addressing the issue requires an
in-depth evaluation of the role played by social factors such as gender, gender
roles, and hierarchy in society. The most efficacious solution to end domestic
violence is to expose the perpetrators to the mental and physical pain that
their victims encounter. Thus, traumatic experience simulation is a method that
should be implemented in order to contribute in domestic violence awareness and
significantly decrease the number of its victims through active and fruitful
work with abusers. Traumatic
experience simulation will be an effective method because of its strengths that
include repetitive practice, ability to provide feedback, and the ability to present
different life scenarios that possess valuable lessons. The main goal of the
method is to change the attitudes of the abusers toward their partners as well
as develop a new understanding of domestic violence with regard to its negative
effects on victims, families, and the society. Domestic violence should not
become more common, and it is the duty of every person in the society to make
the efforts in order to prevent its spread. Its effects on families and the
society are severe and, therefore, eradicating it is necessary. I strongly
believe that this method will show positive results once it is tested
thoroughly.
“You
are not what were done to you. Your
identity is not found in the hurt or harm that someone else caused. At
your core there is a pure and powerful light which they could not put out.”
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VIOLENCE IN INDIA
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[16]
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[17]
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[18] https://www.naaree.com/domestic-violence-helplines-india/
[19] National statistics of domestic
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[20]
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[21] Covid-19 and
Domestic Violence: an Indirect Path to Social and Economic Crisis Amalesh
ASharma1
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[24] G.S Score
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