By Arpit Agrawal :
Domestic violence can be defined as a pattern of behaviour in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. It also refers to violent acts committed by a family or household members against another, such as child abuse or the mistreatment of one spouse. Domestic violence can refer to physical harm inflicted on a member of a household or family, by another member of the same household or family. The catch-all term domestic violence can generally apply to any partners – married or unmarried, straight or gay, living together, or simply dating. It includes physical aggression or assault (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects), or threats thereof; sexual abuse, emotional abuse, controlling or domineering; intimidation; stalking.
Domestic violence can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender. Abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviours that frighten, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure or wound someone. It can happen to couples who are married, living together or who are dating.
Domestic violence is a major public health problem in that it affects millions of people and often results in physical and emotional injuries and even deaths. Media reporting of celebrities’ domestic abuse victimization demonstrates that even the most accomplished individuals can be involved in this problem. The statistics about those who are affected by intimate partner violence are staggering; domestic abuse affects 3%-5% of current adult relationships in the United States, including more than 2 million women. Despite this issue disproportionately affecting women, the myth that violence against men does not occur is incorrect; 800,000 men are victims of intimate partner abuse. Nearly one-third of women can expect to be the victim of intimate partner violence sometime in their lifetime. About 25% of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals are victims of intimate partner abuse, just as often as are heterosexual women.
What are the effects of domestic abuse?
Domestic abuse has significant health and public health consequences. Between 25%-50% of homeless families have lost their homes as a result of intimate partner violence. Such victimization is also associated with nearly $6 billion in health care costs and lost work productivity per year. Domestic violence sufferers are at higher risk of facing discrimination in securing any form of insurance, including health, life, disability, and property insurances. Victims of domestic violence are more likely to experience trouble raising their children and suffer family disruption, as well. Although psychological abuse can be harder to define than overt physical abuse, it has been found to cause at least as much damage. Victims of intimate partner violence are vulnerable to developing depression, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders.
FORMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
PHYSICAl- Physical abuse is that involving contact intended to cause fear, pain, injury, other physical suffering or bodily harm. In the context of coercive control, physical abuse is to control the victim. The dynamics of physical abuse in a relationship are often complex. Physical violence can be the culmination of other abusive behavior, such as threats, intimidation, and restriction of victim self-determination through isolation, manipulation and other limitations of personal freedom. Denying medical care, sleep deprivation, and forced drug or alcohol use, are also forms of physical abuse. IT can also include inflicting physical injury onto other targets, such as children or pets, to cause emotional harm to the victim. Acid attacks are an extreme form of violence in which acid is thrown at the victims, usually their faces, resulting in extensive damage including long-term blindness and permanent scarring. These are commonly a form of revenge against a woman for rejecting a marriage proposal or sexual advance
SEXUAL – Sexual abuse, is defined by World Health Organization as any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion. It also includes obligatory inspections for virginity and female genital mutilation Aside from initiation of the sexual act through physical force, sexual abuse occurs if a person is verbally pressured into consenting, unable to understand the nature or condition of the act, unable to decline participation, or unable to communicate unwillingness to engage in the sexual act. This could be because of underage immaturity, illness, disability, or the influence of alcohol or other drugs, or intimidation or pressure.
EMOTIONAL- Emotional abuse (or psychological abuse) is a pattern of behavior that threatens, intimidates, dehumanizes or systematically undermines self-worth. According to the Istanbul Convention, psychological violence is “the intentional conduct of seriously impairing a person’s psychological integrity through coercion or threats”.
Emotional abuse includes minimizing, threats, isolation, public humiliation, unrelenting criticism, constant personal devaluation, coercive control, repeated stonewalling and gaslighting. Stalking is a common form of psychological intimidation and is most often perpetrated by former or current intimate partners. Victims tend to feel their partner has nearly total control over them, greatly affecting the power dynamic in a relationship, empowering the perpetrator, and disempowering the victim. Victims often suffer from depression, putting them at increased risk of eating disorders, suicide, and drug and alcohol abuse.
ECONOMIC- Economic abuse (or financial abuse) is a form of abuse when one intimate partner has control over the other partner’s access to economic resources. Marital assets are used as a means of control. Economic abuse may involve preventing a spouse from resource acquisition, limiting what the victim may use, or otherwise exploiting the economic resources of the victim. Economic abuse diminishes the victim’s capacity to support themselves, increasing dependence on the perpetrator, including reduced access to education, employment, career advancement, and assets acquirement. Forcing or pressuring a family member to sign documents, to sell things, or to change a will are forms of economic abuse.
A victim may be put on an allowance, allowing close monitoring of how much money is spent, preventing spending without the perpetrator’s consent, leading to the accumulation of debt or depletion of the victim’s savings.[
Laws Relating to Domestic Violence
Lack of adequate legislation which criminalizes domestic violence, or legislation that prohibits consensual behaviors, may hinder the progress regarding reducing the incidence of DV. Amnesty International’s Secretary-General has stated that: “It is unbelievable that in the twenty-first century some countries are condoning child marriage and marital rape while others are outlawing abortion, sex outside marriage and same-sex sexual activity – even punishable by death.” According to WHO, “one of the most common forms of violence against women is that performed by a husband or male partner.” The WHO notes that such violence is often ignored because often “legal systems and cultural norms do not treat as a crime, but rather as a ‘private’ family matter, or a normal part of life. The criminalization of adultery has been cited as inciting violence against women, as these prohibitions are often meant, in law or in practice, to control women’s and not men’s behavior; and are used to rationalize acts of violence against women. According to High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay: “Some have argued, and continue to argue, that family violence is placed outside the conceptual framework of international human rights. However, under international laws and standards, there is a clear State responsibility to uphold women’s rights and ensure freedom from discrimination, which includes the responsibility to prevent, protect and provide redress – regardless of sex, and regardless of a person’s status in the family.”
Reforming the legislation in order to ensure that domestic violence falls under the scope of the law is important. This may imply repealing existing laws that discriminate against women: according to the WHO, “when the law allows husbands to physically discipline wives, implementing a program to prevent intimate partner violence may have little impact”[. Marriage laws are also important, “They [women] should also be able to enter freely into a marriage or to leave it, to obtain financial credit, and to own and administer property.” Abolishing or restricting the offering and receiving of dowry and bride price and scrutinizing the impact of these transactions on the legislative decisions regarding DV is also important. UN Women has stated that the legislation should ensure that “a perpetrator of domestic violence, including marital rape, cannot use the fact that he paid bride price as a defense to a domestic violence charge”
Gender norms that promote the inferiority of women may lead to the abuse of women by intimate partners. The WHO writes that “Dismantling hierarchical constructions of masculinity and femininity predicated on the control of women, and eliminating the structural factors that support inequalities are likely to make a significant contribution to preventing intimate partner and sexual violence”.[397]
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “A key strategy in preventing domestic violence is the promotion of respectful, nonviolent relationships through individual, community, and societal level change. Early intervention programs, such as school-based programs to prevent dating violence are also effective. Children who grow up in violent homes may be led to believe that such behavior is a normal part of life, therefore it is important to challenge such attitudes when they are present among these children.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 has a target to end all forms of violence including domestic violence through global advocacy and demand for effective institutions. The joint UN-EU Spotlight initiative was launched in 2016 to advance this SDG objective worldwide with a focus on developing countries and regions. The Spotlight Initiative is embraced by all implementing partners as critical to economic and political progress in both the implementing and targeted societies.
- The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is a civil law that protects women in a household, from men in the household. This law not only protects women who are married to men but also protects women who are in live-in relationships, as well as family members including mothers, grandmothers, etc. Under this law, women can seek protection against domestic violence, financial compensation, the right to live in their shared household, and they can get maintenance from their abuser in case they are living apart. This law is to ensure that women do not get kicked out of their own homes and can sustain themselves if they have been abused. It is also meant for protecting women from their abusers – a Magistrate can pass a protection order under the Act to ensure the abuser doesn’t contact or get close to the survivor.
- The second law is the Dowry Prohibition Act. This is a criminal law that punishes the taking and giving of dowry. Under this law, if someone takes, gives, or even demands dowry, they can be imprisoned for 6 months or they can be fined up to Rs 5,000.
- The third law that exists to help women who are facing violence at home is Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty). This is a criminal law, which applies to husbands or relatives of husbands who are cruel to women. Cruelty refers to any conduct that drives a woman to suicide or causes grave injury to her life or health – including mental health – and also includes harassment in the name of dowry. If convicted, people can be sent to jail for up to 3 years under this law.
Domestic Violence and Covid
Recently, the UN Secretary-General appealed to governments to pay attention to and prevent a “horrifying global surge in domestic violence” over the last few weeks amid lockdown measures imposed by several countries to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fueled by mandatory stay-at-home rules, social distancing, economic uncertainties, and anxieties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Domestic Violence has increased globally.
In India, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has also flagged the issue of a spike in cases of domestic violence since the enforcement of the national lockdown.
§ Under Reporting of the Cases: The National Commission of Women has recorded 291 complaints of domestic violence in March 2020 and is now only receiving complaints via email. However, actual reported cases may be quite low.
o With curtailed mobility and a police force is engaged in ensuring that lockdown properly followed, women are losing even the avenues that could have saved them from abuse, and in extreme cases, death.
o Further, due to the prevalence of orthodox social norms and the stigma that is placed on survivors of domestic violence, such cases are being grossly under-reported.
o Women belonging to poor and vulnerable classes are not able to file any complaints.
§ Defunct NGOs: The counseling centers are supposed to reach out to the complaint about domestic violence. However, amid lockdown, the NGOs and volunteer organizations, that are usually the avenues for women to report such attacks are not working.
§ Undermining of Gender Equality: The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)- 5 that seeks to “eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women in the public and private spheres, and to undertake reforms to give them the same rights to economic resources and access to the property by 2030,” is being enormously compromised.
§ An added challenge has been the importance of intertwined negative psychosocial impact on the mental health of women.
o This further increases with job losses and other economic pressures on women.
Way Forward
As the steps to contain the transmission of the virus might require more stretches of isolation and confinement for the public, the government all around the globe needs to address the upsurge in domestic violence immediately. In this context:
§ It is critical that governments utilize a human rights and intersectional-based approach to ensure that everyone, including the most marginalized, has access to necessary information, support systems and resources during the current crisis.
§ The state governments need to declare helplines as “essential services” that should remain open during lockdowns.
§ Media can sensitize the public against gender-based violence, publicize resources and services available and encourage the equitable sharing of domestic tasks at home.
§ Increase resourcing for NGOs that respond to domestic violence and aid — including shelter, counseling, and legal aid — to survivors, and promote those that remain open.
§ Ensure women’s timely access to necessary and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services during the crisis, such as maternal health services, safe abortion, etc.
§ Finally, the perpetrators of domestic violence must be brought to trial and repeated offenders must be dealt with strictly as per the provisions of law.
What is the Domestic Violence Act?
The domestic violence act, officially known as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, was initiated by the Indian government in October of 2006. The Domestic Violence Act was originally passed by Parliament in August of 2005 and subsequently assented to by the President in September of the same year. In November of 2007, the Domestic Violence Act was ratified by four of the twenty-eight state governments in India.
What are other relevant features of the PWDVA?
1. Victim resources
Under the Act, victims should be provided with adequate medical facilities, counselling and shelter homes as well as legal aid when required.
2. Counselling: Section 14
Counseling, as directed by the magistrate, should be provided to both the parties involved or whichever party requires it, as ordered.
3. Protection Officers: Section 9
Under the Act, Protection Officers should be appointed by the government in every district, who preferably should be women, and should be qualified. The duties of the Protection Officer include filing a domestic incident report, providing shelter homes, medical facilities and legal aid for the victims, and ensuring that protection orders issued against the respondents are carried out.
4. Protection orders: Section 18
Protection orders for the victim’s safety can be issues against the respondent and include when he commits violence, aid or abets it, enters any place which the victim frequents or attempts to communicate with her, restricts any form of assets of the victim, or causes violence to people of interest to the victim.
5. Residence: Section 19
The magistrate may choose to restrict the respondent from the place of residence of both the parties if they feel that it is for the safety of the victim. Additionally, the respondent cannot evict the victim from the place of residence.
6. Monetary relief: Section 20
The respondent has to provide relief to the victim to compensate for loss, including loss of earnings, medical expenses, any expenses incurred due to loss of property by destruction, damage or removal, and maintenance of the victim and her children.
7. Custody of children: Section 21
Custody of children should be granted to the victim as required, with visiting rights to the respondent if necessary.
The definition of ‘domestic relationship’ is broad enough to cover all sorts of household arrangements; for example, live-in relationships when the couple is not married. The inclusion of this, as well as relationships that fall under categories of fraudulent or bigamous, was a pioneering step. Concerning live-in relationships itself, in a distinctive judgment passed in the case of Bharata Matha & Ors v. R. Vijaya Renganathan & Ors, it was decided that a child born out of a live-in relationship is entitled to property (the property owned by the parents, but not ancestral property). This means that a woman and her child in a live-in relationship cannot be threatened with economic abuse. Of course, although this has more relevance to property ownership and the Hindu Marriage Act, it is gratifying to know that children born out of relationships that are not akin to marriage can also have property rights.
Implementation hurdles
There seem to be problems with the actual implementation of the regulations. In many districts, instead of employing Protection Officers, existing government officials are given this responsibility as well; and are not equipped to deal with the same. Therefore they do not fulfill most of the duties specified in the Act, and because of this victims are not able to make full use of the law for their benefit. Similarly, concerning shelter homes, the Act specified that there should be as many as deemed enough. However, research into actual implementation has shown that many districts do not have even one shelter home.
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