Domestic Violence: Crime and its Legal Recourse for the Victims

 

Author: Anand Shaw

Introduction

Domestic Violence the phrase means any damages or hurt upon someone by physical force occurring within the boundaries of house. The behavior to hurt somebody covers physical, verbal, sexual, mental and psychological attacks that adults use against their family members.

“It was just a slap!”, “This happens in every house”, “She must have done something to provoke him”, these are few phrases that people use to justify domestic violence against women.

In fact the ancient Indian text Manusmriti equated women with animals and sanctioned beating them when they made a mistake or acted without their husband’s permission. “Bharya putrasca dasasca pre yo bhratra ca saudara; Praptaparadhasta ya syu rajjva ve udalena va” “The wife, the son, the slave, the servant and the uterine brother shall be beaten with a rope or a split bamboo, when they have committed a fault.”

Similarly in medieval Europe husbands had the right to ‘chastice’ or physically discipline their wives, servants, and apprentices. In fact till the late 20th century, most legal systems didn’t recognize domestic violence as a crime. Courts saw it as a family problem which should be resolved privately. Most police departments took no action to safeguard victims from domestic abuse. Even in 1967, a global police chief training manual recommended that "arrests for domestic abuse should only be made as a 'last resort'."

This changed only with the U.S. feminist movement in the late 60s and 70s, which focused on the criminalization of domestic violence, and popularized the slogan, ‘we will not be beaten’. The independent women's movement in India during same period helped in bringing attention to the issue of violence against women, particularly dowry-related murders and sexual assault. The Indian Penal Code was amended in 1983, to make cruelty by a women’s husband or in-laws a punishable offence. However, this restricted the definition of domestic violence to acts of "severe cruelty," which defined such acts as that could "gravely injure" or inspire a woman to commit suicide. Then in 2005, landmark legislation finally extended the definition of domestic violence to include “verbal, emotional, economic, and sexual abuse”. Even after such progressive changes in the law domestic violence remains highly prevalent. In fact, research shows that 42% of men and 52% of women believe it is reasonable for a man to beat his wife. Domestic violence has the highest repeat rate out of all the crimes in the world.

Present Scenario of Domestic Violence

Around the world, six women are murdered by men every hour, the majority of them are members of their own families or relationships. The United Nation has stated that COVID-19 is overshadowing the issue. Subsequently as per the Global Gender Gap Report 2020 of World Economic Forum, anywhere from one-fifth to almost fifty percent of women worldwide experience physical or sexual abuse at the hands of their male partners. 50,000 women are murdered annually by persons they know and ought to be able to trust.

Within a fortnight of lockdown declared in India, the National Commission of Women (NCW) reported a 100% rise in complaints of domestic violence cases. The national lockdown has reported more than 50% rise in domestic violence as per a report prepared by NALSA. Underreporting of Domestic violence cases, about 86% women who experienced violence never sought help, and 77% of the victims did not even mention the incident(s) to anyone. As per National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16), 33% of married women in the age group of 15-49 experienced physical, sexual, or emotional spousal violence. Among those who sought help, 65% reported to the natal family and only 3% reported to the police.

Organizations working for Domestic Violence Victims

All those seeking assistance against abuse and violence can count on the help of the Aks Foundation. They have a three-pronged approach where the 24x7 Crisis Lines ensures that there is always someone available to listen, irrespective of the time of day. The counsellors arrange call-backs with legal experts, for victims of violence and abuse who are looking for legal help and/or more information on the laws in India. Moreover, in order to raise awareness of gender, gender sensitization, and gender-based violence, the Community Education Programme was created.

Remedial Measures

• Seeking support and help from NGOs like Aks Foundation will guide the victim in legal recourse. The victims can contact on the following helpline numbers: 
• Police – 100
• Women’s helpline number – 181 or 1091(Police assistance for Emergency)
• Domestic violence helpline number by the National Commission For Women – +91 7217735372
• Aks Foundation 24/7 Crisis line no. – +91 8793088814
• The emergency number for transgender and men who have sex with men (MSM) community – 1800-2000-113

Laws regarding Domestic Violence

In India Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act, 2005 was enacted to protect women from Domestic Violence. It prohibits a wide range of Physical, Sexual, Emotional & Economical abuse against women and all these are broadly defined under the Act; Section 498A of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) is a Criminal Law, which applies to husbands or family members of husband who are merciless to women. Under Section 498A of the IPC, harassment for Dowry by the family members of the husband or by husband is recognized as a Crime; Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 is a criminal law that makes offering and receiving dowry illegal. The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 outlaws the practice of dowry in its entirety. This law states that anyone who offers, accepts, or even demands dowry faces a six-month imprisonment or a fine of up to 5,000 rupees. 

Globally, the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women; the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights recognize violence against women as a human rights violation and called for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on violence against women in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action; the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action outlines concrete measures that governments should do to stop and address violence against women and girls. The 2011 Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic abuse became the second legally obligatory regional instrument on violence against women and girls, making it one of the 12 areas for urgent action.

Conclusion

Therefore Domestic Violence is rarely a stray or one-off incident. It begins from a systemic problem with power dynamics within families. Girls are socialized into believing that keeping their husbands and in-laws is an essential part of their marriage, while for men, marriage is often framed as bringing someone into the family, whose primary role is to take care of them. Men’s domination post marriage over their wives is socially sanctioned. In fact research shows that not taking permission from the husband before performing a simple task, like going out or talking on the phone, is one of the most common reasons men give for inflicting domestic violence. And in seemingly non-harmful ways, these power relations are maintained. By prohibiting his wife from forming a support network, phrases like "it's a private problem" or "it's between husband and wife" are used to further reinforce a man's control over his wife. It’s little surprise that 75% of women (National Family Health Survey, 2005) who are subjected to domestic violence don’t seek help. Judges and law enforcement officers, who operate with same social lens, often sympathize with men in interpretation of law. Subsequently the fight against domestic violence is not just about questioning the physical act of violence; it is about dismantling this structural disempowerment women face within their marriages and families. Through art and activist movements online and offline, protestors are raising questions about male entitlement in households, about women being raised as ‘meek compromisers’, about violence being hushed up within four walls, about women having the right to live dignified lives within and outside their homes, because even if it is ‘just a slap’, it is simply unacceptable.