DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN INDIA AND THE LEGAL PROVISIONS

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:-

When a person abuses another person to gain control or authority over the other person by means of abusive behavior/manner or way is called domestic violence. Domestic violence takes place between close relationship and within the family. Domestic violence includes any kind of violence suffered by a person from a biological relative.

Domestic violence is neither a onetime violence nor does it happens automatically. It is a ongoing process, It does not happens with women only but almost everyone who is suffering from VIOLENCE whether it is a child, elder ,or husband.

It takes place to infiltrate fear or dominance over other, the abusive partner or individual adopts this behavior because of the following reasons:-

·       It happens because of anger issues

·       To use their power on a weak person,

·       The habit to dominate other,

·       The person find it thrilling,

·       To prove that they are superior,

·       Some find pleasure in it.

·       In most of the cases economic circumstances is the reason of violence.

·       Extra marital affair,

·       Alcoholism,

·       Violent childhood is also one of the reasons for domestic violence.

Hence, there is no logical reason to it. It is all about control and dominance over other person. The process of domestic violence harms the person in many ways, the victim’s confidence decreases, it hampers their self-respect and mentally it also breaks the person.

Domestic violence commonly known as family violence, relationship violence, intimate partner violence and child abuse.

TYPES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:-

·       PHYSICAL ABUSE

·       SOCIAL ABUSE

·       MENTAL ABUSE

·       SEXUAL ABUSE

·       ECONOMIC ABUSE

·       VERBAL ABUSE

1.    PHYSICAL ABUSE: - Physical abuse is any kind of abuse which shows aggressive behavior of a person through which a victim suffers injury, suffocation, trapped etc. It includes hitting, beating, slapping, kicking, punching, choking, pulling hair, threatening to harm child or close relatives, damaging the door or household furniture, or keeping the person hostage etc.

2.    SOCIAL ABUSE: - Social abuse means to insult a person socially by way of degrading their self-esteem, by using degrading words or telling them that they are not capable of anything

3.    MENTAL ABUSE: - It is a subtle form of abuse in this form of abuse victim suffers mental torture and sometimes this result suicide.

4.    SEXUAL ABUSE: -Sexual abuse means using of sex in an exploitative form. It includes both oral and physical behavior

5.    ECONOMIC ABUSE: - Economic abuse means to control the victim financially so they are not able to maintain their self and depend solely on the mercy of abuser

6.    VERBAL ABUSE: - Verbal abuse means using of foul languages or threatens the victim to hurt him/her or to kill their child, parents, and pets or damage their property

CAUSES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:-

Domestic violence is not a new problem in our society, it is the most common problem which takes place in almost every house no matter whether they are educated or not ,rich or poor.

Almost everyone is suffering from violence but mostly women are the sufferers, one of the reasons for violence is the orthodox and idiotic mindset of the society that women are physically and emotionally weaker than males.

The causes of domestic violence are many some of them are as follows:-

·       Anger issues

·       Dominating power

·       Intoxication

·       Mental issues

·       Disturbed childhood

·       Dowry demand

·       Stress issue

EFFECTS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:-

Domestic violence is not good for anyone who is suffering from it whether it is a male, female, children or elders.

It Affects them severely and mostly damages the health condition both physically and psychologically.

·       The victim becomes quiet and unsocial

·       If they are working member then they lose the efficiency to do work.

·       They isolate themselves.

·       Suffer from depression, lack of sleep and dehydration

·       They lose their appetite and their body becomes weak.

·       In some cases children become violent because of the situations taking place in their home.

It destroys the happiness of people and they become distant in some of the situations when it becomes unbearable, people often try to kill themselves and commit suicide.

DYNAMICS:-

According to UNICEF’s global report card on adolescents 2012, 53% of girls and 57% of boys in India think a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wide.

LEGAL EFFORTS:-

The Indian Parliament passed a new law with the goal of more effectively protecting women from sexual violence in India. It came in the form of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act in 2003, which further amends the INDIAN PENAL CODE 1860, the CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE of 1973, the INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT 1872, and the protection of children from sexual offences Act, 2012.

LAWS RELATED TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN INDIA:

·       The Indian Penal Code Amendment in 1983: A special section, numbered 498A, that officially made domestic violence a criminal offence was added to the Indian Penal Code in 1983. The section of the law specifically covers cruelty towards married women by their husbands or their husband’s families

·       The 2005 Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act: It gives a specific definition of Domestic Violence actual or threats of physical, mental, emotional, sexual or verbal abuse as well as harassment regarding dowry or property. It gives a women’s right to reside in their “matrimonial household”, she cannot be evicted from her the house as she rightfully share it with her husband. Violators of this law will either be mandate to compensate the women financially, or will be served a restraining order to keep them away from the complainant.

·       The Indian Penal Code 1860: there are several sections mentioned in the code to protect women from violence such as Section 364 INDIAN PENAL CODE Outraging Modesty of Women, Section 304 INDIAN PENAL CODE Dowry Death, Section 313 causing miscarriage without women’s consent, etc.

LEGAL MEASURES FOR THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN UNDER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT 2005:

·       Section 4 (1) states that any person who has reason to believe that an act of domestic violence has been, or is being, or is likely to be committed, may give information about it to the concerned protection officer.

·       Section 5 states duties of police officers, service providers and magistrate.

·       Section 6 provides shelter homes to the aggrieved person on request made by the protection officer or a service provider.

·       Section 12 states the procedure for obtaining relief from the magistrate.

·       Section 17 gives the right to women to reside in a shared household, whether or not she has any right, title or beneficial interest in the same.

·       Section 18 states about the protection order given to the aggrieved person by the magistrate.

·       Section 19 states about the residence orders given to the aggrieved person by the order of magistrate, 19(3) the magistrate directs the respondent to execute a bond if require, with or without sureties, for preventing the commission of domestic violence.

·       Section 20 directs the respondent to pay monetary relief to the aggrieved person and any child of the aggrieved person as a result of the domestic violence.

·       Section 21 allows temporary custody of a child to the aggrieved person.

·       Section 22 orders the respondent to pay compensation to the aggrieved person for the injuries, including mental torture and emotional distress caused by him by the acts of domestic violence on an application made by the aggrieved person.

·       Section 31 states penalty for breach of protection order by respondent , if the respondent breaches a protection order or an interim protection order he shall be punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees, or with both.

·       Section 33 penalizes the protection officer if he fails to discharge his duties as directed by the magistrate in the protection order without reasonable cause.

In general notion people believe that women are the only victims of domestic violence and men are the abuser, which is a myth.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST MEN:

Women are not the only victim of domestic violence males also suffer from it but it becomes difficult to identify that men is a victim and not an abuser. As our mind is set that it is a male dominating society and they are the abuser women are the weaker section of the society and they are the victims only.

There are lots of provisions and acts in India that are made to protect women and now many of the women take advantage of it. Men also go through mental cruelty as well as physical cruelty but either they are ashamed to share about the violence they are facing or feared that nobody will trust them and instead people are going to make fun of them. It is not easy for men to come in front and tell people about the violence they are facing because of their respective partners and if someone makes a courageous move and files a complaint against the abuser then the investigating officer either will not believe it or will neglect the situation.

India is a patriarchal society and it is a common belief that men are the abuser and they suppress the women to maintain their control over her but it is not the only truth. If we look at the opposite side of the coin then we can see that men are also the victims of violence and it is really difficult for them to come in front and tell people that they are facing such violence.

Men can be victims why it is difficult for us to accept the fact, we always talk about equality of rights but are we really equal, why we are blind when the matter comes to see that men also needs help and legal justice.

Violence becomes a common thing people who possess dominating nature just suppress the weaker partner it may be men or women. It is high time to stop gender bias and take a step to cease the violence act no matter who is the victim.

CASE LAWS:-

RAZIA BEGUM vs. STATE, NCT OF DELHI AND ORS.

Delhi High Court

Protection of women from domestic violence act, 2005- section 2(q), 2(f) - ‘respondent’- every relative of husband cannot be made as respondent- in order to fix liability upon a respondent, he must be a person who is or has been in domestic relationship with aggrieved person.

KRISHAN KUMAR AND ORS, Vs. NAVNEET AND Others.

Punjab and Haryana High Court:-

Right to reside- Section 2(s) of protection of women from domestic violence act- house being exclusively belonging to father-in-law, it could not be called as a shared household within ambit of section 2(s) of the act.

SHABNAM PARVEEN VS, STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND OTHERS.

Calcutta High Court:-

Interim maintenance- widow daughter-in-law not entitled to and maintenance from her father-in-law.

CONCLUSION:-

Domestic violence is not a small problem it is a big issue to think. Monetary problems, alcoholism, illiteracy, extramarital affairs, bad childhood and dowry are the major reasons of domestic violence.

The victims most commonly face physical violence by their partners; there is an urgent need of more and more domestic violence counseling centers throughout the country.

History is evidence that no legislation has succeeded in totally eliminating crime from the globe.

Though not all people are victims to domestic violence but there are people who are suffering from violence. There are many laws to help people but it is only possible when people are aware of their rights and duties.

The legal system is lacking where it comes to protect men from domestic violence, they are the victims too, and we should look into the broader perspective and start accepting that women are no weaker and only sufferers in some cases men also face violence and they also need legal help as well as psychological help.