THE ISSUES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND GOVERNMENTAL MANIFESTATIONS

A Report

FOR

PEOPLES UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES

COMPILATION BYPragalbha Priyakar

PREFACE This report per se, is a product of our extensive study and research on the matters of Women Rights and the Indian Social Context. The study took its present form when its processing commenced during our internship in Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), National Office situated in Delhi. Due to the ongoing efforts by the governmental agencies in India to uplift and empower women across the territory, the topic of this project bears a close association with what is not socially much explicit and apparent. The initiative was facilitated by Mr. Mahi Pal Singh, Secretary, PUCL; who through his focused concern for the social cause motivated us towards the same.

OVERVIEW Frailty, thy name is woman. It is highly diabolical that such a description of the plight of women by William Shakespeare still finds its relevance and utility. Although the global scenario witnessed a sudden awakening of consciousness in regards to the issues of women rights and their social aspirations, but in spite of the innumerable concerted efforts of the professionals and others striving hard to root out this social evil and establish a society with stern foundations of equality, the response has never exemplifies their success. This project titled The Issues of Domestic Violence and Governmental Manifestation thus, delves on the concerns of the womenfolk which remain far beyond the notice of banal mass surrounding the victim. Stretching on a similar note, the issues of violence against women have appeared to be a global concern. India, with its tag of A Developing Nation; thus accompanies a plethora of other nations which are striving hard to root out this social evil from within their society. This section shall focus on the endeavours commenced so as to provide the feminine, a sense of equality, inclusiveness and dignity in varied socio-political constructs. It has been observed on a greater scale that the evil of Domestic violence in India, bypasses cultural, social, educational and ethnic parameters. This evil of Domestic violence has perturbed almost all the nations across the world to an extent that many countries now have included a chapter on Domestic Violence in their annual demographic survey book. i The UN report on violence against women perceives the issues of violence against women in a much holistic light. It specifies that violence against women is inextricably linked to male power, privilege and control. According to the document, culture and tradition which often are reflected in national laws, only help to perpetuate the idea of male dominance.ii The UN agencies are of the opinion that an essential step in combating violence against women is to take away any excuse. According to their conceptions, no coercive use of power can be considered legitimate under any circumstances.iii Although the deliberations on a global level do reflect the plight of women across the globe but the situation remains out of our imagination as far as the Islamic communities are concerned. The social status of women in the said parlance has deteriorated to a level that
Page | 2

domestic violence no longer remains a matter of concern for the social activists or philanthropists.iv It has been accepted as a social action and is now internalised in the system. In the Indian scenario, relationship between a man and his wife continue to be sacred one and are usually covered with secrecy, excluding the possibility of any authoritative intervention in violent cases, being a husband and wife private relationship issue. In addition to this, women of a family, whether it be the mother or wife, is considered to carry the dignity of the family. This fact worsens the problem much more and suppresses the consciousness of women to a great intensity, so much so that, they in many a case, despite their well-off social and economic status find themselves unable to voice against the atrocities inflicted on them. On the international level, however, the issue of violence against women is quite recent. It must be taken into consideration that with the forces of modernisation and liberalisation, the threat to a woman from her family relations goes down to a great extent. Thus, most of the international conventions, taking care of this crucial fact often dont fathom domestic violence as an issue which needs immediate readdressal. But for the societies such as those in India and other South-Asian nations, women being primarily limited to their household chores, stand at the most vulnerable positions in regards to the infliction of domestic violence. The issue of violence against women first came into public attention in the Womens Conference, 1985 in Nairobi, although it was mentioned in both earlier Womens Conferences in Mexico, 1975 and in Copenhagen, 1980. The United Nation framework for model legislation on domestic violence states that All acts of gender-based physical and psychological abuse by a family member against women in the family, ranging from simple assault to aggravated physical battery, kidnapping, threats, intimidation, coercion, stalking, humiliating through verbal means, forcible unlawful entry, arson, destruction of property, sexual violence, marital rape, dowry or related violence, female genital mutilation, violence related to exploitation through prostitution, violence against household workers and attempts to commit such acts shall be termed Domestic Violence.

Page | 3

ANALYSIS OF THE CONCERNED LEGISLATION As a concerted effort in this regard, the Government of India in order to combat the social evil of domestic violence passed The Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act, 2005 which came into force on October 27, 2006, with the hope that this piece of legislation would take women a step nearer to empowerment. This act saw its first implementation in Andhra Pradesh and thus the state became as one of the crucial proponents of the women movements in India. The All India Democratic Womens Association at the time of the passing of the act expressed that this act will greatly increase battered womens access to legal protection and relief from violence within the home v and it was The National Commission for Women which welcomed the step by claiming it an urgent necessityvi. Even though, the Act has some teeth and provides that the men booked under the law would face a minimum imprisonment of one year or a fine of Rs. 20000/-, another outstanding feature of the Act was that it also aims to provide protection to those women also who are in a Live-in-Relationship. From its very inception, attempts were made by the legislators to make the law victim friendly. Thus, the clause of filing a complaint on behalf of the sufferer by even the relatives, friends or NGOs was taken into consideration. In addition to this, Sections 18 to 23 of the Act provide a large number of avenues for an abused woman to get relief. She can get, through the courts, protection orders, residence orders, monetary relief, order for custody of her children, compensation order and interim orders. It also provides a sentence to be passed within 90 days of the first hearing.vii The act, unlike Section 498A of Indian Penal Code, protects women in any relation living together in a shared household and is related by consanguinity, marriage or adoption.viii The act encompasses all relations including even Joint Family Membersix. It also aims to protect women in relationships similar to or in the nature of marriage and not only marriage alone. Thus, it even provides protection to other womenx. The act also covers domestic help too. The act defines domestic violence as any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent that: a. Harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; or

Page | 4

b. Harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or c. Has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or d. Otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.xi
This definition has attracted many a criticisms from various social agencies and individuals. It is claimed that the definition leaves too much to the mercy of the judge and too little to the rights of the person aggrieved and it does not use the language of rights and uses instead the outdated concept of conduct making the life of an aggrieved person miserable.xii

Some are of the opinion that the act fails to define domestic violence and washes itself off the responsibility of defining it and leaves it to judges to decide. In this way, this definition will defeat the very purpose of the law and will render it meaningless for women, if not make their position worse. The word from the other side is that the act is gender biased, that husband committing battery might be an alien concept, but it is not non-existent. This act is only directed at tackling the violence perpetrated by a man towards a woman and not vice versa. There should be mentioned a word, which can cover the act which is done by both males and females.xiii
However, in the opinion of Lawyers and women, relief under this law has not been swift. Ideally, justice should be delivered to the victim within three months but in many places, including the role model state Andhra Pradesh, cases drag on for more than six months, commented Mr. Ramesh Gupta, a criminal lawyer practising in the Supreme Court. Through Mr. Gupta, it came to our notice that the Delhi government has appointed 17 protection officers in all the districts of the state under the domestic violence law. But, the number remains thin as far as the frequency of such cases in Delhi is concerned.

Mrs. Shruti Arora (name changed), an MNC executive who filed a domestic violence case against her husband almost a year ago, exclaimed to us during our field research, that the rule promising relief within three months is far from reality. My husband's lawyer makes one or the other excuse at every hearing and this thing has been on for almost a year. I just don't understand why the timeframe of three months was framed by our legislators when our courts don't abide by it, Mrs. Arora told us. Women are not being safeguarded with this act. Any woman who is a victim of domestic violence has to face lengthy court cases, hence exorbitant lawyers' fee. It's all about money and power in this country. You can buy anyone.
Page | 5

This was the exclamation made by Ms. Sonu, a single mother now, working at Hindustan Power Systems in Noida. According to Mr. Karan Thapar; as expressed in his Sunday Sentiments column for the Hindustan Times, hailed that the intention was noble but the devil lies in the details of the act.xiv It should be noted that Section 3(c) of the act defines aggrieved person as any person who is or has been in domestic relationship, thus includes wives, ex-wives, live-in partners and even former girlfriends and also any person related to her. According to the provisions of the act all the above women have a right to reside in the house of the accused. The contention raised by Mr. Thapar is that such a provision of the act may give rise to impractical circumstances within the family- living with your wife, ex-wife/wives, former girlfriends and their relatives, all at the same time. Another contention raised was that under the act anyone can report the case of domestic violence with the police, even your wifes paramour. Mr. Indra Jai Singh, a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court and a vocal supporter of the bill, believes that there is still a long way to go and the following still needs to be done.xv Firstly, the government should provide shelter to abused women. Secondly, the medical practitioners should be intimated to attend to women who approach with the complaint of violence without insisting on filing a police complaint. And thirdly, to provide legal aid to the abused women and publicise the provisions of the act through the media since awareness is quintessential and complementary to the implementation.

REACTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS The data estimate at Sakhi Foundation, an NGO with its branch offices in northern India, that works to end domestic violence, indicates registration of 1517 cases of domestic violence in last seven years. This figure does not seem alarming as majority of the cases of domestic violence go unreported and the figures bear an indication that the violence runs much deeper, deeper than our convictions.

Page | 6

Mrs. Archana Pandey, Counsellor at Sakhi Kendra said, Almost 70-80% of the cases that we deal with on daily basis involve domestic violence including physical and sexual violence. We try to counsel both the parties or present their case before the court. Analysing further the opinion of the counsellors and the data presented, it could be well deciphered that: Economic dependence on the husband is the major reason which deters the victims from raising their voice against the atrocities faced by them. Social pressure also acts as a resistive force towards the same. A majority of women are unaware that atrocities committed by in-laws also come under domestic violence. In most of the cases, Police tries to reach an amicable settlement without any formal proceedings. In a case from Shahdara, the in-laws of a girl named Pooja were coercing their daughter-in-law to leave the house after the death of her husband. After a marathon effort, they agreed to give her a roofless house. The police allegedly forced her to end the matter there itself. Similar to this, we came across a study during our visit to the New Delhi Office at Bhagwan Das Road of the All India Womens Conference where we were briefed by Mrs. Bina Jain, President, AIWC. She caught our attention towards this analysis which was conducted by AIWC early this year to determine the prevalence of domestic violence with women attending to an antenatal clinic in a Delhi hospital; to investigate any associated risk factors; main perpetrators; forms and severity of violence. An anonymous validated questionnaire was used. A total of 26.9% of women reported physical abuse. Emotional and sexual abuse was reported by 29% and 6.2%, respectively. It was found out that the prevalence of domestic violence was similar in women from different religions or age groups although, the prevalence was higher in the poor, less educated and in women who had witnessed abuse before. It was the husband who was the main perpetrator (47.4%); and the other family members were responsible in 31% of the cases. The majority of women (69%) reported to have no control over their lives and didnt contribute to the family decisions.

Page | 7

In similar regards, Mr. Santosh Kumar, a social activist told us, Police can play a significant role in providing relief to the victims in cases of domestic violence whether it is inflicted by the husband or his relatives. As we headed towards the institution of Police which carries a not-so-dignified image in the eyes of the common mass as far as seeking a remedy against domestic violence is concerned, we came across the following observations which were duly recorded in the Mahila Thana: Only 15 cases of domestic violence were reported in the year 2011. In 2012, seven cases have been reported so far. In cases of domestic violence, the accused is required to pay a fine of Rs.20000/- or face imprisonment or both. Ms. Asma Majid, the Station Officer at Mahila Thana stated that lack of education is one of the prime reasons behind the rising incidents of violence against women. She further added that a majority of women are unaware that they can seek help from the Womens Cell and Mahila Thana. However, Mr. B. K. Gupta, Commissioner of Police, Delhi circle in his very brief discussion with us, appealed that the victims should not hesitate in approaching the policing agencies. He stressed on the fact that the Police will provide legal protection and help to such women. Aspiring to seek for the perspective of Judiciary, we were facilitated by the Assistant Registrar of the Karkarduma District Court who mentioned that there has been a steep increase in the number of cases on domestic violence every year; be it wife-beating or abuse of the girl child. Since the introduction of the Act in 2006 that was hailed as path breaking, he claims that Women are increasingly resorting to legal action against domestic violence with over 25 cases being filed in district courts every day. On an average, around 840 cases a month have been filed this year in all the district courts, as compared to the figure of 535 cases in 2009, according to court employees. Delhi houses 12 family courts which are concerned with this matter. These family courts are spread across in the five district courts in the city located in Tees Hazari, Patiala House, Dwarka, Karkarduma and Rohini. In Metropolitan Magistrate Geetanjali Goels court in Patiala House, which looks after the New Delhi District area, the cases under the domestic violence act filed per month
Page | 8

comes to two or three. The Jurisdiction of her court includes Parliament Street, Tilak Marg, Connaught Place, Barakhamba and Mandir Marg. We don't get many such cases from here partly because this area is more commercial, said the receptionist at Mahila Help Desk in Barakhamba Police Station who did not wish to be named. Tenzing Choesang, a member of the Women's Rights Initiative of Lawyers Collective is of the opinion that The awareness of the legal mechanisms dealing with the issue of domestic violence is not just among women. Even, Police and NGOs are also helping in spreading information about it. He exclaimed that not only the educated but also the illiterate are taking recourse to it with the help of NGOs and police.xvi The harassment of women ranging from physical beatings, emotional torture, mental abuse, sexual abuse, threat of violence, denial of basic necessity such as food and maintenance or where there are children and there is an additional blackmail that custody of the children will be denied to her if she does not fall in line, in all such cases every kind of help and support should be provided to the victimised woman by the community and the other social agencies. It is thus very clear that any law on domestic violence must address all these problems and very fundamentally, must protect the right of the women to reside in the shared household. It was now the suitable time for us to look for what opinion do the academicians and others associated with the field harbour. Thus, in a conversation with Prof. Martin E. Price; commonly called as The Father of Restorative Justice, was on his brief visit to Delhi. Through him, it came to our notice that even the methods of dialogues, conferencing and mediation which are a component of the restorative justice paradigm, fail to address the nuances of the offence of domestic violence and therefore, stand impotent to impart the infinitive benefit which they do so while dealing with other categories of crimes. In accord with what Prof. Price said; Prof. Rita Ray, former Head of the P.G. Department of Sociology at Utkal University, on a telephonic discussion with us took a similar approach. She expressed that there is a need of transmutation of the mode in which individuals are socialised in our society in their childhood. She was of the opinion that the roots of such social values which aim to look down upon the women pervades us deeply and it often becomes difficult for even very wise of us to undress the robe with which we are brought up. Soon after we received a holistic picture of the issue before us, we made a visit to the Delhi office of the triad, i.e. The National Commission for Women, The National Crime
Page | 9

Reports Bureau and The Crime against Womens Cell. The analysis made of the data so availed, is recorded as follows. The figures obtained from The National Commission for Women with its office located at Deen Dayal Upadhya Marg in New Delhi indicate that the frequency of cases on domestic violence is on a continuous rise. There were in toto, 1100 cases which were registered as to regards the issues of domestic violence in the period 200910 which has went up to 1185 in a years time as per the reports published on 20th May, 2011. The data puts Uttar Pradesh on the top with a registration of roundabout 600 cases annually whereas Delhi stands second with 150 cases. The estimates also bring to the forefront the nuances of the implementation of this law. According to the Commission, till date, only 17 out of 28 states have made budgetary allocations for implementation of the Act. However, the study said, there is no systematic manner based on which the allocations are made, and added that much is left to the discretion of the individual state. The Delhi office of Women Power Connect, a reputed NGO reports that 50703 cases were registered under torture alone in 2003. Similarly, as per the figures gathered from the Family Counselling Cell run by Bharat Seva Sadan located on the Ramkrishna Marg, New Delhi; the following recordings were sketched regarding the frequency of cases approaching the centre from varied income-level households.

ANNUAL INCOME LEVEL Below 1 Lakhs 1 to 5 Lakhs Above 5 Lakhs

NO. OF CASES 29 22 01

The counsellor at the centre, Mr. Tiwari stated that it is important to focus on the point that the roots of domestic violence in the Indian family structure have grown so deep that it has become a part and parcel of the female psyche and most females accept it in the natural pattern of life. Therefore, it is beyond reasonable doubt that there is a need that before we prepare women at large to take advantage of the instruments of Indian legal system, we have to denaturalise the women about their traditional status and role in the family. The above mentioned fact also remains as one of the firm factors which prevents the women to raise

Page | 10

their voice against their male counterparts and the disparity in the manifested and reported instances of domestic violence. Even the data reports obtained through the Public Information Officer at the National Crimes Report Bureau indicates similar trends. It illustrates that nearly 1.5 Lakhs crimes against women are registered annually out of which approximately 50000 are related to domestic violence. It is believed that close to 5 Crore women suffer from violence in their homes; however only 0.1% are courageous enough to report.xvii A mere 2 out of 100 accused are convicted under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. About 80% of the natal families try to reconcile the matter with the husband and his family; the rest are asked to put up with the situation.xviii A visit to the Crime against Womens Cell, working under Delhi Police reveals their endeavours through which they strive hard to pacify the victims with a suitable remedy. The following table presents a decade-long tabulation of data on the registration and redressal of the cases on domestic violence duly recorded by the Cell located in Nanakpura, New Delhi.

S. No.

Year

Cases Pending for Investigation in the Year Initially

Fresh Cases for Investigation in the Year

Cases Disposed Off

Cases Left Over

Cases where Punishment Imparted

Cases where Accused Absolved

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

150 155 147 154 143 131 126 133

19 16 27 16 07 08 20 11

14 24 20 27 17 13 13 19

155 147 154 143 131 126 133 125

02 05 09 09 02 07 02 07

12 19 11 18 15 06 11 12

Page | 11

9 10 11

2008 2009 2010

125 113 104

07 03 03

19 12 08

113 104 99

05 04 03

14 08 05

It was reported that in 2004, the cell received 7987 dowry related complaints; out of which police counselled 1853 families to settle for a compromise. In addition to this, the figures gathered put forth that nearly 1200 cases were registered against the husband and relatives and as many as 5000 complaints were reported where the victim failed to pursue the case. As per the estimations of the officials working in the cell, 5 women are abused every hour by their husbands or in-laws and they put the number to 132 for each single day. A random and abstract survey can make a major revelation as to the regards, the prevalence of the social evil of domestic violence in our present social setup. One done by Mr. Y. P. Chibbar in accordance with his close association with the cause of human rights throughout his life, indicates that 90% of the answers of his female colleagues, neighbours, and students to the question of, whether they had come across cases of physical, verbal, or emotional violence in the family or had experienced it themselves were in imperative. The study indicated that many women are not conscious that they are being subjugated or being denied equality. Most of them responded more against the female members of the family than their husbands and brothers.xix Inspired by this approach, a survey was conducted by us on the similar lines on people from all classes, age groups and gender in and around various areas of Delhi. This was basically done by furnishing a questionnaire round. The following are the conclusions which came clear after a brief analysis of the available data. Amongst the total samples, about 74% of the uneducated people interviewed did witness domestic violence in their households; either happening on themselves or on the female members of their family. 90% of the total children who participated in the survey reported that in their households, they never witnessed a case of domestic violence being manifested. Astonishingly, all the male members interviewed had some sort of awareness regarding the Act and its procedures but as high as 66% of the women still call for a need to be sensitized about the same.

Page | 12

 Two out of every five victims of domestic violence interviewed, opined that the fact that Police officials can easily be bribed resists them from approaching it for a suitable remedy. They added that this has nullified their faith in the Police of the State. 78% of the women who were financially dependent on their husbands, claimed frequent instances of domestic violence happening in their households. Out of these, 42% reported the cases of being thrashed by their in-laws and other relatives of their husbands. It also came to our attention that the Delhi Police on 29th August, 2005 started an intervention program called PARIVARTAN against rape and domestic violence by deploying Women Police Constables (WPCs) in the field in partnership with parents, teachers, psychologists, sociologists, lawyers, students, Youth Area Security Committee members, Not-for-Profit Organisation and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in a well planned manner. After a lot of consultation with the professionals from both the agency and community, it was decided to change the method of operation, gender of field staff, mindset of Police Force, place of reporting by victim, modes of communication with the community, style of functioning, etc. of Policing and hence the name PARIVARTAN. Even though the initiative with its primary intent is commendable, but the inability of the administration to create awareness amongst the general populace makes the entire endeavour a flop show. Although this issue has been deliberated for long whether law should succeed a change or should prove to be as one of its principle cause, but the latter seems to have a beneficial and concerned approach to the issue. Consciousness of rights should per se be asserted first in a socio-political construct, much before a law or a policy comes into existence so that the concerned law or policy proves to be meaningful in the associated context. CONCLUSION After this exhaustive study, it was concluded by us that although the Prevention of Women from Domestic Violence Act does intend to cater to empower the women and uplift their status, but the mode of implementation and execution of the act makes it quite difficult for a helpless and victimised woman to obtain a suitable and speedy remedy. It is also quite clear that the success of any legislation so as to tackle the social evil of domestic violence must depend on the factors mentioned below: An explicit declaration of basic intent of the legislation as in the object of preventing domestic violence.
Page | 13

Reconstructing domestic violence as a violation of the human rights of the women and thus a need to be free from the evil.

A holistic and comprehensive definition of domestic violence and shared household, which is capable to capture a wider section of the womenfolk in a way that their rights can be protected within a household.

The remedy provided by the varied instruments of socio-political governance structures available to victims.

Proper monitoring of the functioning of the legislation and a sense of clarity and simplicity in court proceedings.

Facilitating a coordinated response to domestic violence by identifying and commending the role of other agencies such as NGOs, the medical professionals, shelter homes and the police in assisting the prevention of domestic violence.

The words Domestic Violence to be defined in accordance with the U.N. framework for model legislation on domestic violence, which stands to be all comprehensive in the present day scenario.

Protection officers, as appointed under the Act to be done so through an open process of inviting applications from all qualified persons through advertisements in a transparent manner.

Page | 14

APPENDIX THE QUESTIONNAIRE I. Background Information: Name Age Native Place Marital Status Educational attainment Employment No. Of members in the family

II.

Violence (if any): The time when the first instance took place Nature of Violence Frequency Who is held responsible for the violence? [Cause, in case of males]

III.

Legal Awareness: Ever reported to Police in case of domestic violence or witnessed anybody reporting (in case if the subject is a male). Knowledge of the existence of legal remedies against domestic violence. Consciousness of the existence of The Prevention of Women from Domestic Violence Act.

Marlyn Tadros, Rightless Women, Heartless Men, 1998, p.3. U.N. Report on Violence against Women, 1995. iii Ibid. iv Mahmoud-al-Marghi, Different Women, Rose-al-Yusuf, 1997. v Correspondent Report, The Hindu, 25th June, 2005. vi Ibid. vii Monalisa Minz, Recent Laws that Contributed in the Field of Human Rights, 2010. viii Correspondent Report, The Times of India, 24 th June, 2005. ix Correspondent Report, The Hindu, 24th June, 2005. x Correspondent Report, The Indian Express, 8th September, 2005. xi Section 3, The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. xii Delhi Commission for Women, Annual Report, 2010-11. xiii Ibid. xiv Comment: The Editorial Section, Hindustan Times, 11th September, 2005.
ii

Page | 15

xv

Correspondent Report, The Indian Express, 8th September, 2005. Legal India, Delhi Courts- Rise of Domestic Violence Cases, 19th August, 2010. xvii The Hindu, 31st August, 2005, New Delhi, p.8. xviii National Crime Report Bureau, Annual Report, 2006, p.2. xix Y. P. Chibbar, Domestic Violence against Women, 2009, p.1.
xvi

Page | 16