Parnika Rai & Shivangi Rai
It’s often said that a lot of problems hit the board at the very same hour, so while the world is battling with a tragic calamity, we are fighting a man-made menace of domestic violence which has shadowed pandemic as an epidemic. Albeit, home is equated with an earthly paradise encapsulating comfort and peace of life, the truth suffers the confrontation due to domestic violence in numerous instances.
Prior to articulately comprehending this topic, specific pertinent questions need to be carefully answered – “What exactly is Domestic Violence and what does it encompass?”, “What has been its trend in India?” “How is it related to the pandemic shadowing us?” Finally, “Does our constitution have provisions against domestic violence?”
In general parlance, domestic violence refers to violent or abusive acts committed by one household member against the other. Nonetheless, it is generally manifested in the form of spousal abuse. Therefore, spousal abuse and domestic violence are often used interchangeably. Son was hitting his old parents or in-laws abusing their daughter-in-law, son killing his parents, and vice-versa cases also fall under the purview of domestic violence. This essay covers spousal domestic violence as it vastly outnumbers the other cases.
Crime against women, specifically speaking of violence, has always been a peril to our country, and the rates of these crimes have increased insidiously owing to the upsurge of career-oriented women in the professional space. When the nation takes pride in achieving the millennium development goals, we should not forget that violence against women did not find a shield in those goals. However, this is just one facet of this multi-dimensional topic.
Although the issue has not been much under media coverage, the peril lingers as clearly enunciated from the fact that there were 3,38,059 cases under domestic violence against women in the year 2016. Delhi reported the highest number of cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh.
Being a practicing democracy, our constitution dutifully enshrines rights entailing gender equality. Yet, Gender inequality is both the cause and the consequence of Domestic violence against women. If we go by public perception, India ranks fourth-worst country for gender equality.
As the nation basks in the light of scientific, technological, and economic development, a copious amount of the population is writhed under the fear of domestic violence. This can be corroborated from certain facts,
According to the Crime in India Report, 2018 published by National Crime Research Bureau, a woman is subjected to domestic violence every 4.4 minutes. Not only this, but The National Family Health Survey also highlighted that thirty percent of women in India between the ages of 15-49 had experienced physical violence.
Although such data paints a disdainful picture, it does not capture domestic violence against women in its entirety. This is due to the prejudice and ever-prevalent stigma which does not allow women to stand up for themselves and voice their opinion against the unacceptable behavior they are subjected to.
At this juncture, it becomes pivotal to discuss the present abstruse predicament and its effect on the number of cases related to Domestic Violence. The National Commission for Women (NCW) noted a rise in the number of complaints against domestic violence cases to 587 and approximately 900 cases of other crimes against women. Where these numbers may not be exactly proportionate to the actual level of rising, they give us an idea of the severity and precariousness of this situation.
Furthermore, in a country like India, the majority of people toil very hard to earn their daily bread and have been subjected to fear of losing their employment post lockdown. The stress associated with this situation has led to an exponential rise in domestic violence. Socialdistancing and limited movements to prevent the infection have minimized daily outward exposure. People are encountering a house-arrest situation, which has aggrieved mankind and resulted in a sudden outburst of the rise in domestic violence.
From this perspective, it becomes imperative to scrutinize the legal framework to prevent domestic violence occurrence. Therefore, the following sections will address the legal framework and mechanisms for combating Domestic Violence.
PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 2005
The Act begins with the definition of Domestic Violence as any act, omission, or commission or conduct of the respondent, which includes the threat or actual abuse. The act is inclusive of sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, or economic harassment.
The definition of the aggrieved does not merely safeguard the rights of a legal wife but also includes the sexual partner irrespective of her position as a legal wife or against.
The definition of the respondent wreathes “any male, adult person, who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved.”
It has been rightly said that “End is the means by which we achieve it,” thus, to ensure that this act is properly enforced to achieve the necessary end, the act establishes certain positions of power to inculcate proper functioning.
CONCLUSION
As it’s said, “It is better late than never,” all is not gone. Every problem comes coupled with a solution, and a country like India, which has multiple resources and facilities, has a lot of scopes intertwined. If we choose to recognize Domestic Violence as a public health issue, integrate our response to it, the situation can ameliorate by and large. What also needs to be looked at is the time of togetherness that the lockdown facilitates. At this time, families can come together and come to a consensus. The copious amount of time can be used to restructure certain flawed concepts of the act giving it a wider context and removing the ambiguities.
