Domestic violence in India is endemic and widespread predominantly against women.

[1] Around 70% of women in India are victims of domestic violence, according to enu!a "#owd#ury $unior minister for women and c#ild development.[%] &ational "rime ecords 'ureau reveal t#at a crime against a woman is committed every t#ree minutes, a woman is raped every %( minutes, a dowry deat# occurs every 77 minutes, and one case of cruelty committed )y eit#er t#e #us)and or relative of t#e victim occurs every nine minutes.[*] +#is all occurs despite t#e fact t#at women in India are legally protected from domestic a)use under t#e ,rotection of -omen from Domestic .iolence Act.[*] Domestic .iolence can )e descri)ed as w#en one adult in a relations#ip misuses power to control anot#er. It is t#e esta)lis#ment of control and fear in a relations#ip t#roug# violence and ot#er forms of a)use. +#e violence may involve p#ysical a)use, se/ual assault and t#reats. 0ometimes it1s more su)tle, li!e ma!ing someone feel wort#less, not letting t#em #ave any money, or not allowing t#em to leave t#e #ome. 0ocial isolation and emotional a)use can #ave long2lasting effects as well as p#ysical violence. "#ildren in #omes w#ere t#ere is domestic violence are also a)used or neglected. Alt#oug# t#e woman is usually t#e primary target, violence is sometimes directed toward c#ildren, and sometimes toward family mem)ers and friends. Forms of Domestic Violence Domestic violence can ta!e many forms and variations and can #appen once in a w#ile or all at t#e same time. Domestic violence can )e ,syc#ological A)use, 0ocial A)use, 3inancial A)use, ,#ysical Assault or 0e/ual Assault. .iolence can )e criminal and includes p#ysical assault or in$ury 4#itting, )eating, s#oving, etc.5, se/ual a)use 4 forced se/ual activity5, or stal!ing.

Common Forms of violence against Indian women 3emale foeticide 4selective a)ortion )ased on t#e fetus gender or se/ selection of c#ild5, Domestic violence, Dowry deat# or #arassment , 6ental and p#ysical torture, 0e/ual traffic!ing, and ,u)lic #umiliation Emotional, Physical & sexual Atyachaar ,ersistent denial of food, Insisting on perverse se/ual conduct, "onstantly loc!ing a woman out of t#e #ouse, Denying t#e woman access to c#ildren, t#ere)y causing mental torture, ,#ysical violence, +aunting, demorali7ing and putting down t#e woman wit# t#e intention of causing mental torture, "onfining t#e woman at #ome and not allowing #er normal social intercourse, Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com

A)using c#ildren in t#eir mot#er8s presence wit# t#e intention of causing #er ment mental torture, Denying t#e paternity of t#e c#ildren wit# t#e intention of inflicting mental pain upon t#e mot#er, and t#reatening divorce unless dowry is given

+#e legislations related to domestic violence 9 THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 2OO5 The Dowry Prohibition A t, !"#! $2% o& !"#!' $A(en)e) in !"%#' The F*(i+y Co,rt- A t, !"%.

Intro), tion Bride tortured to death for dowry, School going kid succumbs to his injuries after beaten by father, A se enty year old man killed o er !ro!erty dis!ute, "arassment of men in #handigarh$ Wh*t )o yo, thin/0 All these and what not, turn to any news!a!er at random and you would find the re!orts of such kind of iolence all o er the country. %hese are all what we come to know through different forms of media. %here are more such cases which go unre!orted e ery d day. ay. &n fact, include the cases which we our self indulge in, or the ones which we witness in the neighbourhood but are hesitant in taking e en a single ste! to reduce their occurrences. &n our society, iolence is bursting. &t is !resent almost e erywhere and nowhere is this eru!tion more intense than right behind the doors of our homes. Behind closed doors of homes all across our country, !eo!le are being tortured, beaten and killed. &t is ha!!ening in rural areas, towns, cities and in metro!olitans as well. l. &t is crossing all social classes, genders, racial lines and age grou!s. &t is becoming a legacy being !assed on from one generation to another. %he term used to describe this e'!loding !roblem of iolence within our homes is (omestic )iolence. %his iolence is towards someone who we are in a relationshi! with, be it a wife, husband, son, daughter, mother, father, grand!arent or any other family member. &t can be a male*s or a female*s atrocities towards another male or a female. Anyone can be a icti ictim m and a ictimi,er. %his iolence has a tendency to e'!lode in arious forms such as !hysical, se'ual or emotional. Since times immemorial, domestic iolence has been an intrinsic !art of the society we are li ing in. %he contributing factors could be the desire to gain control o er another family member, the desire to e'!loit someone for !ersonal benefits, the flare to be in a commanding !osition all the time showcasing one*s su!remacy so on and so forth. +n arious occasions, !sychological !roblems and social so influence also add to the ehemence. %he !resent essay deals with the arious forms of domestic iolence Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com

!re alent in &ndia. %heir causes of occurrence in households ha e been analy,ed categorically. %he ariation in the intensity of the forms with change in the geogra!hical location and culture has also been addressed. %he aftereffects of different kinds of domestic iolence and the !ossible remedies ha e been highlighted. -inally, a conclusion has been drawn after the com!lete analysis of the to!ic with the ju'ta!osition of facts and figures at hand. Di&&erent For(- o& Do(e-ti Vio+en e in In)i* *n) their C*,-eDo(e-ti Vio+en e A1*in-t Wo(en %his form of domestic iolence is most common of all. +ne of the reasons for it being so !re alent is the orthodo' and idiotic mindset of the society that women are !hysically and emotionally weaker than the males. %hough women today ha e !ro ed themsel es in almost e ery field of life affirming that they are no less than men, the re!orts of iolence against them are much larger in number than against men. %he !ossible reasons are many and are di ersified o er the length and breadth of the country. According to .nited /ation 0o!ulation -und 1e!ort, around two2third of married &ndian women are ictims of domestic iolence and as many as 34 !er cent of married women in &ndia between the age of 56 and 78 are ictims of beating, ra!e or forced se'. &n &ndia, more than 66 !ercent of the women suffer from domestic iolence, es!ecially in the states of Bihar, ..0., M.0. and other northern states. %he most common causes for women stalking and battering include dissatisfaction with the dowry and e'!loiting women for more of it, arguing with the !artner, refusing to ha e se' with him, neglecting children, going out of home without telling the !artner, not cooking !ro!erly or on time, indulging in e'tra marital affairs, not looking after in2laws etc. &n some cases infertility in females also leads to their assault by the family members. %he greed for dowry, desire for a male child and alcoholism of the s!ouse are major factors of domestic iolence against women in rural areas. %here ha e been gruesome re!orts of young bride being burnt ali e or subjected to continuous harassment for not bringing home the amount of demanded dowry. 9omen in &ndia also admit to hitting or beating because of their sus!icion about the husband*s se'ual in ol ement with other women. %he %andoor Murder #ase of /aina Sahni in /ew (elhi in the year 5886 is one such dreadful incident of a woman being killed and then burnt in a %andoor by his husband. %his incidence was an outcome of sus!icion of e'tra marital affairs of /aina Sahni which led to marital discord and domestic iolence against her. &n urban areas there are many more factors which lead to differences in the beginning and later take the sha!e of domestic iolence. %hese include : more income of a working woman than her !artner, her absence in the house till late night, abusing and neglecting in2laws, being more forward socially etc. 9orking women are ;uite often subjected to assaults and coercion se' by em!loyees of the organi,ation. At times, it could be oluntary for a better !ay and designation in the office. Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com

)iolence against young widows has also been on a rise in &ndia. Most often they are cursed for their husband*s death and are de!ri ed of !ro!er food and clothing. %hey are not allowed or encouraged for remarriage in most of the homes, es!ecially in rural areas. %here ha e been cases of molestation and ra!e attem!ts of women by other family members in nuclear families or someone in the neighbourhood. At times, women are e en se'ually coerced by their !artner themsel es against their will. %hey are brutally beaten and tortured for not concei ing a male child. &ncidents like, ri!!ing off a woman*s womb for killing the female foetus when she disagrees for abortion ha e also come to light es!ecially in rural areas. -emale foeticide and female infanticide continue to be a rising concern. Also as e'!ressed by 1ebecca <. Burns in the following lines, 9hen & am asked why a woman doesn*t lea e abuser & say= 9omen stay because the fear of lea ing is greater than the fear of staying. %hey will lea e when the fear of staying is greater than the fear of lea ing. A common &ndian house wife has a tendency to bear the harassment she is subjected to by her husband and the family. +ne reason could be to !re ent the children from undergoing the hardshi!s if she se!arates from the s!ouse. Also the traditional and orthodo' mindset makes them bear the sufferings without any !rotest. +ther forms of !hysical abuse against women include sla!!ing, !unching, grabbing, burdening them with drudgery, !ublic humiliation and the neglect of their health !roblems. Some of the other forms of !sychological torment against them could be curtailment of their rights to self2e'!ression and curbing the freedom to associate with the natal family and friends. Do(e-ti Vio+en e A1*in-t Men %here is no ;uestion that domestic iolence directed against women is a serious and bigger !roblem, but domestic iolence against men is also increasing gradually in &ndia. %he su!remacy of men in the society makes one belie e that they are not ulnerable to domestic iolence. Battering of men by their s!ouse and family members has become a concerned issue and is another form of domestic iolence under !ur iew of judiciary. &n &ndia, com!ared to iolence against women, iolence against men is less fre;uent but it has already taken a deadly sha!e in many of the western countries by now. Males ha e re!orted incidences of assault against them like !ushing, sho ing, sla!!ing, grabbing, hitting which are intended to harm them and also take their li es on many occasions. 1ecently, hundreds of husbands gathered in #handigarh and Shimla to oice their o!inion for men*s rights and !rotection against domestic iolence subjected to them by their wi es and other family members. &t reflects the need for a s!ecial law for curbing domestic iolence against men in !resent times. &f we contem!late o er the reasons behind this form of domestic iolence we would find some of the !ossible causes such as not abiding by the instructions of the wi es*, inade;uate earning of men, infidelity towards wi es, not hel!ing the !artner in household acti ities, not taking a !ro!er care of children, abusing the s!ouse*s family, infertility of men, s!ying the acti ities of !artner, doubting the Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com

!artner all the time and not trusting her, re olt by the wife when asked to look after in2laws etc. +n many occasions the s!at between men and women becomes !ublic thereby influencing the society around es!ecially in the illages. &n urban areas such forms of iolence may go unre!orted because of greater !ri acy. Also the families find their re!utation at stake in urban areas. Do(e-ti Vio+en e A1*in-t Chi+)ren2Teen#hildren and teenagers in our society are not s!ared from the e il of domestic iolence. &n fact, this form of iolence is second in terms of number of re!orted cases after the > iolence against women*. %here is a lot of ariation in the form of its occurrence in urban and rural areas and in u!!er?middle class and lower class families in &ndia. &n urban regions, it is more !ri ate and concealed within the four walls of homes. %he !ossible reasons could be disobeying !arental ad ises and orders, !oor !erformance in academics or not being at !ar with other children in neighbourhood, debating with !arents and other family members etc. &n addition to this, factors like not being socially intelligent or as acti e as the !arents e'!ect them to be, abusing the !arents or s!eaking ill about other family members, not returning home on time are some other factors. &n rural areas the reasons could be harassment for child labour, !hysical abuse or harm for not following family traditions, forcing them to stay at home and not allowing them to go to school etc. (omestic iolence against girls is in fact more se ere at homes. As the common mob mentality of &ndia !refers to ha e at least one male child after marriage, the girls in most of the occasions are cursed and assaulted for ha ing taken birth in the home. %his kind abuse is !re alent both in cities and illages but is more common in latter case. %hen there are cases of !aedo!hilia causing se'ual harassment of children in homes by family member themsel es. &n fact the number of ra!e cases of !re2matured girls has been rising since last few years. A sur ey of teens and college students found that ra!e accounted for @3 !ercent of se'ual assaults in girls. A!art from se'ual abuse and ra!e, !ushing, sla!!ing, !unching, stalking and emotional abuse are other forms of domestic iolence against children. Adding to the abo e mentioned causes, there are also instances of abuse against children who are !hysically and?or mentally challenged. &nstead of !ro iding them !ro!er health care and treating them !olitely, these children are beaten and harassed for not coo!erating and attending to what family members ask them to do. %hey are e en emotionally abused by cursing them ha ing been in such retarded or handica!!ed state. &n fact in !oor families, there ha e been re!orts of selling body organs of the retarded children for getting money in return. &t reflects the height of cruelness and iolence against innocent children. Do(e-ti Vio+en e A1*in-t O+)%his form of domestic iolence refers to the iolence which old !eo!le at home are subjected to by their children and other family members. %his category of domestic iolence largely goes under2re!orted in Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com

&ndia. &t is because of the de!endency of olds on their children and ha ing a fear of not being looked after or e en ousted if the iolence is re ealed in !ublic. %he main causes of iolence against aged !eo!le are : children being hesitant in bearing the e'!enses of the old !arents, emotionally ictimising the olds and beating them to death to get rid of them. +n arious occasions, they are beaten for doing something against the desire of family members. +ne of the ery common reasons includes torture for !ro!erty grabbing. A !erturbing trend is the ulnerability of ageing women to domestic iolence in arious forms. Ai en e'isting structures of gender discrimination, old women are !rone to a greater risk than men of becoming ictims of material e'!loitation, financial de!ri ation, !ro!erty grabbing, abandonment, erbal humiliation, emotional and !sychological torment. 9hen they fall seriously ill, it is more likely that it is the elderly women in the family who will be denied !ro!er health care. %here is also a wides!read understanding that the neglect, de!ri ation and marginalisation of older women are the normal conse;uences of ageing. &n fact the !light of young widows in homes as discussed abo e now becomes more serious as a result of the ageing of those women. %hey are cut off from the society they are li ing in, ignored, abused, cursed, and considered as bad omens. %he atrocities of sons, daughter2in2 laws, daughters and husbands could be another cause of domestic iolence s!ecifically against older women. %hey are restrained from cooking, housekee!ing, or !artici!ating in acti ities outside the home. 9hile it is difficult to accurately measure the e'tent of the !roblem on a national scale, gi en the fact that most families deny that such abuse but we do know that the number of old !eo!le in our midst is growing. A current estimate !uts the @42!lus !o!ulation at around 84 million in &ndia and is !rojected to ha e a !o!ulation of 57B million older !eo!le by B4B4. Ai en this demogra!hic reality an im!ortant concern is the kind of action the country can take at the indi idual and societal le el to alle iate abuse and neglect of elderly class. Other For(- o& Do(e-ti Vio+en e in In)i* %here are some more !ossible forms of domestic iolence !re alent in &ndia other than the ones listed abo e. +n a serious note, family wars or clan wars are deadly forms of domestic iolence across the country. %he reason of such ty!e of iolence include dis!ute o er !ro!erty, !hysically or emotionally abusing any member of other family or clan, any religious cause or conflict arising during a religious ceremony, jealousy because of !rogress and financial status of other family, inter2caste marriage etc. %his form of iolence is common in many states like "aryana, 0unjab, Andhra 0radesh etc. +ne of the other forms of domestic iolence is ill2treatment of ser ants and maids in households. &n many of the affluent homes, ser ants are de!ri ed of their salary and basic necessities. %hey are harassed and beaten and to work without e en taking ade;uate rest. Similarly maids are molested by males in the family. Atrocities against small children working as ser ants are common and increasing. Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com

%o some e'tent media is also res!onsible for contributing to all the abo e forms of iolence. %he e'aggerated news co erage of re!orts of domestic iolence, the daily soa!s screening the torture of a daughter2in2law at the hands of family members, the films !ortraying an element of iolence against !eo!le of all age grou!s etc. are some of the menaces which media is causing. &t is influencing the mindset of the iewers strongly. %he !roblem arises when instead of taking a lesson from those news cli!!ings, films, and tele ision shows, !eo!le start enacting the same in their homes. #om!arati ely, the isual media is far more influencing than the !rint and electronic media in these cases. &lliteracy and mob mentality of majority of &ndians misguides them in all these cases. Con-e3,en e- o& Do(e-ti Vio+en e %here are aried conse;uences of domestic iolence de!ending on the ictim, the age grou!, the intensity of the iolence and fre;uency of the torment they are subjected to. Ci ing under a constant fear, threat and humiliation are some of the feelings de elo!ed in the minds of the ictims as a conse;uence of an atrocious iolence. %he conse;uences of the domestic iolence in detail can be broadly categorised under : the Dffect on the ictim himself?herself and the family , Dffect on the society and the Dffect on nation*s growth and !roducti ity. %he >Dffect on the ictim* has been further subcategori,ed for women, men, children and olds. E&&e t on the 4i ti( *n) the &*(i+y #onse;uences of )iolence Against 9omen Battered women ha e tendency to remain ;uiet, agonised and emotionally disturbed after the occurrence of the torment. A !sychological set back and trauma because of domestic iolence affects women*s !roducti ity in all forms of life. %he suicide case of such ictimised women is also a deadly conse;uence and the number of such cases is increasing. A working &ndian woman may dro! out from work !lace because of the ill2treatment at home or office, she may lose her inefficiency in work. "er health may deteriorate if she is not well !hysically and mentally. Some women lea e their home immediately after first few atrocious attacks and try to become self2de!endent. %heir sur i al becomes difficult and !ainful when they ha e to work hard for earning two meals a day. Many such women come under rescue of women welfare organi,ations like 9omen 9elfare Association of &ndia E99A&F, Affus 9oman 9elfare Association EA99AF and 9oman*s Dmanci!ation and (e elo!ment %rust E9D(%F. Some of them who lea e their homes are forcefully in ol ed in women trafficking and !ornogra!hy. %his results in ac;uiring a higher risk of becoming a drug addict and suffering from "&)?A&(S. Some of course do it by their choice. +ne of the se ere effects of domestic iolence against women is its effect on her children. &t is nature*s !henomenon that a child generally has a greater attachment towards the mother for she is the one who gi es birth. As long as the iolence subjected to the mother is hidden from the child, he?she may beha e Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com

normally at home. %he day when mother*s grief and suffering is re ealed, a child may become u!set about the ha!!ening dee!ly. #hildren may not e en com!rehend the se erity of the !roblem. %hey may turn silent, reser ed and e'!ress solace to the mother. 9hen the iolence against women is o!enly done in front of them since their childhood, it may ha e a dee!er and gruesome im!act in their mindset. %hey get used to such ha!!enings at home, and ha e a tendency to reci!rocate the same in their li es. &t*s common in es!ecially in rural homes in &ndia which are ictimised by the e il of domestic iolence. &n cases of &ntimate 0artner )iolence E&0)F, iolence against women leads them to maintain a distance from their !artner. %heir se'ual life is affected ad ersely. Many of them file for di orce and seek se!aration which again affects the life of children. Some continue to be e'!loited in lack of !ro!er awareness of human rights and laws of the constitution. Con-e3,en e- o& Vio+en e A1*in-t Men %he conse;uences against iolence against men in &ndia, is largely emotional and !sychological in nature. %he !hysical harassment resulting from domestic iolence, also affects their li es and

!roducti ity but it is still more inclined towards the emotional !roblems which men face in &ndia. &t is largely because many such cases go unre!orted, as com!ared to cases of !hysical assault of women. An emotionally harassed and de!ressed man may lose interest in the occu!ation he is associated with. &f he is the only bread2earning !erson in the family, the family may find it difficult to sur i e. %here has been a s!ate of farmers* suicide in recent years in Garnataka. Se eral farmers ha e committed suicide not only because of indebtedness but also because of discord in family and de!ression resulting out of it. According to statistics of Sa e &ndia -amily -oundation Ean /A+F, around 5.B lac harassed husbands ha e committed suicide in the country in the last four years. #onse;uences of )iolence Against #hildren?%eens %he conse;uences in case of children are far more drastic and its effect is long li ed. #hildren are sensiti e to issues related to iolence of any kind as they are not mature enough to com!rehend them. &n their growing years they try to imitate things which they see ha!!ening around them. &n the !rocess of following their !arent*s ad ice or instructions they become firm in their o!inion and a!!roach towards life. /ow if the a!!roach of !arents itself is negati e, children are bound to get influenced by it. %hey may ado!t the negati e traits of the ill they see around them or de elo! a hostile a!!roach in life because of the ill2treatment they are subjected to. &f a child is beaten badly for under !erforming in school, he may do the same to his children, thinking it might be the only !ossible way of making a !erson to work hard. 9hene er a child is dro!!ed out of school because of !oor financial condition or when he is engaged in some form of child labour, there is a sudden lea! which the child tries to take from his childhood to the manhood. &n this !rocess he misses out the alues and morals a !erson should inculcate in him as a good human being. "e fails to de elo! a ision to see things from an unbiased !oint of iew. All these Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com

factors make a child insensiti e towards the society and the societal needs. D ery instance of child abuse causes a callous indifference to suffering. "owe er in the !rocess of com!rehending the wrong being done to them, many children are traumatised and !sychologically disturbed. %hey find it unsustainable and may lose out their mental soundness. #hildren who are ictimised by !hysical iolence may become handica!!ed as well. &n some cases children !refer to run away from home and try to become self de!endent. Some commit suicide. Some indulge in mal!ractices because of im!ro!er education and bad com!any they become a !art of after lea ing the home. Some e en reci!rocate the iolence they are subjected to by harming the family members. Airls also de elo! a feeling of insecurity in their homes when they are se'ually e'!loited. %hey lose their self2confidence and desire for li ing. A girl child from iolent home can withdraw from society and become com!letely de!ressed. #hildren from iolent homes become disobedient and iolent : and start using aggression to sol e their !roblems. Adolescents may succumb to drugs and alcohol when treated harshly. Some hel!less and abandoned children are !icked u! gangs who sell their organs for making huge amount of money. &n most of the cities, the grou! of beggars at traffic lights or railway !latforms are the abandoned children who are !hysically deformed forcefully for begging. %he children who esca!e being a !art of this icious circle are looked after by children welfare organi,ations like, &ndian #hild 9elfare Association E&#9AF, #hild 1elief and Hou E#1HF and #hildCine etc. Con-e3,en e- o& Vio+en e A1*in-t O+)%he elderly abuse is one of the most unfortunate ha!!ening for the elderly class in their li es. %hey would rather like to be more at ease and calm in this !hase of their life than being !rone to such kind of shameful treatment by the family or society. &ronically elderly class itself also indulges in harming each other. Many of the elderly men continue to beat and harass their wi es throughout their li es. Some of the olds are ousted from home by their children, some are beaten until death and some are e'!loited socially. A sense of insecurity dodges them all the time. %hey are isolated and cut off from society in some cases where son and daughter2in2law do not let them interact and mo e around freely in the society. %he old !eo!le are not looked after !ro!erly and their health !roblems are neglected. (ue to the abuse and mental trauma they suffer, some of them lea e home and stay in old age homes like "el!Age &ndia, Senior #iti,en "ome #om!le' 9elfare Society ES#"#9SF and many others. E&&e t o& Do(e-ti Vio+en e on the -o iety All the different forms of iolence discussed in this essay ad ersely affect the society. )iolence against women may kee! them locked in homes succumbing to the torture they face. &f they come out in o!en and re eal the wrong done to them for hel! and rescue, it influences the society both !ositi ely and negati ely. At one hand where it acts as an ins!iration and ray of ho!e for other suffering women, on Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com

the other hand it also s!oils the atmos!here of the society. 9hen something of this kind ha!!ens in the society, few families may witness the e il of domestic iolence knocking their door ste!s. Some families try to imitate what others indulge in irres!ecti e of it being good or bad for the family. E&&e t on the 5ro), ti4ity As mentioned earlier, domestic iolence affects the !roducti ity le el of the ictim negati ely. Men and women lose interest in household acti ities. &f they are em!loyed they fail to work with full ca!abilities in work!lace. #hildren are found to concentrate less on studies. %hey dro! out of school and do not get the education which otherwise they might ha e got if they were not tormented and thus the country loses a !roducti e asset. %herefore, the nation*s !roducti ity altogether gets affected because of domestic iolence in homes. 9hen old !eo!le are tortured and !hysically abused, they se!arate themsel es from family members and their daily acti ities are restricted to themsel es. %he guardianshi! they can !ro ide out of their e'!erience, the moral alues which they can instil in the grandchildren are all not done as they are unwanted in their own homes. 0eo!le need to s!end their !art of income for medication when they are met with worse forms of domestic iolence which again leads to loss in !roducti e use of a family*s income. %he cumulati e effect of the domestic iolence at all le els and across all regions is the country*s hindered de elo!ment and slow economic growth. Re(e)ie- &or Do(e-ti Vio+en e Wh*t e6* t+y )o we w*nt0 A ery im!ortant ;uestion in wake of domestic iolence remedies is that what e'actly we are looking for in the !rocess of minimising their occurrences. &s it so that we want to gather more information about such cases for just e'!ressing our concern o er this issue with more accuracy, ha ing facts and figures at handI +r instead of just raising our oices, we want to clean u! the mess with shear force and determinationI Fi1htin1 the 7Do(e-ti Vio+en e8 E4i+ A recent study has concluded that iolence against women is the fastest2growing crime in &ndia. According to a latest re!ort !re!ared by &ndia*s /ational #rime 1ecords Bureau E/#1BF, a crime has been recorded against women in e ery three minutes in &ndia. D ery @4 minutes, two women are ra!ed in this country. D ery si' hours, a young married woman is found beaten to death, burnt or dri en to suicide. %he res!onse to the !henomenon of domestic iolence is a ty!ical combination of effort between law enforcement agencies, social ser ice agencies, the courts and corrections?!robation agencies. %he role of all these has !rogressed o er last few decades, and brought their acti ities in !ublic iew. (omestic iolence is now being iewed as a !ublic health !roblem of e!idemic !ro!ortion all o er the world : and many !ublic, !ri ate and go ernmental agencies are seen making huge efforts to control it in &ndia. Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com

%here are se eral organi,ations all o er the world : go ernment and non go ernment : acti ely working to fight the !roblems generated by domestic iolence to the human community. Nee) &or Strin1ent L*w&n 58JK, domestic iolence was recognised as a s!ecific criminal offence by the introduction of section 78J2A into the &ndian 0enal #ode. %his section deals with cruelty by a husband or his family towards a married woman. %he main legislati e measures at the national le el for the children who become a ictim of child labor include %he #hild Cabor 0rohibition and 1egulation Act 258J@ and %he -actories Act 2 587J. %he first act was categorical in !rohibiting the em!loyment of children below fourteen years of age, and identified 63 !rocesses and 5K occu!ations which were considered dangerous to the health and li es of children. %he factories act again !rohibits the em!loyment of children less than fourteen years of age. %he Ao ernment of &ndia !assed a (omestic )iolence Bill, B445, %o !rotect the rights of women who are ictims of iolence of any kind occurring within the family and to !ro ide for matters connected therewith or incidental theretoL An act called 0rotection of 9omen from (omestic )iolence Act, B446 M ()A, B446 N also has been !assed. %his Act ensures the re!orting of cases of domestic iolence against women to a >0rotection +fficer* who then !re!ares a (omestic &ncident 1e!ort to the Magistrate and forward co!ies thereof to the !olice officer in charge of the !olice station within the local limits of jurisdiction$LL .nfortunately, at !resent there is no single law in the &ndian #onstitution which can strictly deal with all the different forms of >(omestic )iolence* as discussed in this essay. %here is an urgent need for such a law in the country. &n fact, there has also been misuse of section 78J2A and ()A, B446 because of restricted definition of cruelty subjected to married women. Ro+e o& Non9:o4ern(ent*+ Or1*ni;*tion- $N:O-' %he role of non2go ernmental organi,ations in controlling the domestic iolence and curbing its worse conse;uences is crucial. Sakshi : a iolence inter ention agency for women and children in (elhi works on cases of se'ual assault, se'ual harassment, child se'ual abuse and domestic abuse and focuses on e;uality education for judges and im!lementation of the 5883 Su!reme #ourt*s se'ual harassment guidelines. 9omen*s 1ights &nitiati e : another organi,ation in the same city runs a legal aid cell for cases of domestic abuse and works in collaboration with law enforcers in the area of domestic iolence. Hour browser may not su!!ort dis!lay of this image. &n Mumbai, bodies like Majlis and Swaadhar are doing meaningful works in this field. Sneha in #hennai and )imochana in Bangalore are working on many women*s issues arising from domestic abuse. %hey are also doing acti e work in issues related to labour. Ser ices ranging from counselling, education and outreach, gi ing !ro isions, and mobili,ing them for gaining self2confidence are !ro ided to them. Anweshi is a women*s counselling centre in Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com

Go,hikode !ro iding meditation, resource and counselling for battered women. All the abo e bodies ha e their own registered offices, contact numbers and websites for those who want to seek hel!. %here are at !resent only few /A+s for welfare of men like Social 9elfare Association for Men ES9AMF in #hennai. -ew more such organi,ations need to be o!ened for the hel! of abused men. %hese /A+s continue to s!read awareness amongst !eo!le regarding the legal rights they ha e in hand for fighting against the atrocities they are subjected to. %hey are encouraging more and more !eo!le to re!ort any case of domestic iolence so that !ro!er action may be taken against the cul!rits. Po+i e *n) He*+th C*re 0olice !lays a major role in tackling the domestic iolence cases. %hey need to be sensiti,ed to treat domestic iolence cases as seriously as any other crime. S!ecial training to handle domestic iolence cases should be im!arted to !olice force. %hey should be !ro ided with information regarding su!!ort network of judiciary, go ernment agencies?de!artments. Aender training should be made mandatory in the trainings of the !olice officers. %here should be a se!arate wing of !olice dealing with women*s issues, attached to all !olice stations and should be e'cluded from any other duty. Authorities should take ste!s to recogni,e (omestic )iolence as a !ublic health issue. A crisis su!!ort cell needs to be established in all major Ao ernment and 0ri ate "os!itals with a trained medical social worker for !ro ide a!!ro!riate ser ices. %raining !rogrammes must be organi,ed for health !rofessionals in order to de elo! their skills to !ro ide basic su!!ort for abused !eo!le. (ocumentation on the !re alence and the health conse;uences of domestic iolence should be undertaken by the concerned go ernment de!artments, health care institutions, /A+s and counselling centres. A nodal agency should also be set u! for the annual consolidation of the documented work and !ublish the same for wider !ublicity among the masses for increasing awareness. #onclusion "a ing looked at a sensiti e to!ic of (omestic )iolence in &ndia, we can sense the im!ortance of discussion of such a to!ic. %he arying causes which can s!ark the iolence within the four walls of homes need to be analysed carefully and a wise study of the factors causing the iolence may !re ent a family to suffer from the menace of domestic iolence. %he domestic iolence may ha e a far wider and dee!er im!act in real life than what has been co ered in this essay. 9hat is re;uired is to see closely the association of the factors !ro oking a !articular form of domestic iolence. &f these factors can be controlled then more than one form of iolence can be !re ented from harming an indi idual or our society and &ndia would be a much better !lace to li e in. Manoj.hrworld@gmail.com