Domestic Violence in India and DV Act, 2005

Domestic violence is a worldwide phenomenon. In India, it is prevalent in all castes, classes, religious groups and regions. Most of domestic violence incidents are against women however, men are also victim of the same.

Domestic Violence against Women

There are a number of factors as cause of domestic violence against women such as patriarchal structure of the families; strong link between demand for dowry and domestic violence; hesitancy to report cases of domestic violence and other factors such as socioeconomic class, educational level and family structure beyond the patriarchal framework.

In India, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005 defines and covers the domestic violence against women. This law has defined domestic violence as “any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent which:

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.”

Implications

The effects of physical and emotional abuse that women suffer are manifested in serious physical health problems, like injury, unwanted pregnancy, STDs, miscarriage, permanent disabilities etc. Apart from these mental health effects like depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorders etc. also occur.

Protection: Legal Measures

While dowry related violence or cruelty has been covered in section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, an additional law was enacted by the parliament as Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005 to explicitly define domestic violence in addition to dowry-related cruelty and provide maintenance, shelter, or interim finances to a woman subjected to domestic violence or harassment by an adult male.

However, this act protects women from domestic violence and is seen as an additional weapon in the bad woman’s legal artillery. It has been alleged to be pro-women and anti-men as it assumes every man as a virtual torturer and considers only women as victims via its section 2(q) {this section defines adult make as torturer}. Further, it does now allow prosecution of a woman against woman {for example – mother-in-law tortured by daughter-in-law or vice versa}.

Further, the law is highly vague and speaks of verbal/economical; emotional abuse, which are impossible to quantify; ascertain. Many husbands and their family members, falsely implicated in these cases have committed suicide after being jailed, unable to bear the social trauma. Further, more suicide victims were married males in comparison to married females, which shows the ratio of victims of domestic violence and gender abuse.

October 2016 Supreme Court Judgement

In October 2016, the Supreme Court has made a verdict to delete the words “adult male” before the word ‘person’ in Section 2(q) of the Act making it gender-neutral. The remaining part of the legislation would remain operative and was kept untouched. This order paves the way for prosecution of women and even non-adults for subjecting a woman relative to violence and harassment. It strikes down two words from Section 2(q) of Act which deals with respondents who can be sued and prosecuted under it for harassing a married woman in her matrimonial home.It also allows a woman to seek legal action against her daughter-in-law and even her minor grandchildren for domestic violence. According to SC, microscopic difference between male and female, adult and non-adult is neither real nor substantial. It also does not have any rational relation to the object of the legislation. The words “adult male” also violated right to equality under Constitution. It is contrary to object of affording protection to women who have suffered from domestic violence of any kind.

Domestic Violence Against Men

The National Family Health Survey, 2004 has found that around 1.8% or an estimated 60 lakh women had perpetrated physical violence against their husbands without any provocation. Further, the Domestic Violence act has been mis-used by the daughter-in-laws against their husband and father-in-laws. There has been a demand for not only making the 2005 gender neutral but also to pass a similar law for protection of men from domestic violence. However, so far only the following options are available for men:

• If a wife makes false allegations of domestic violence against her husband, it would amount to cruelty and is a valid ground for divorce.
• Henceforth, the Protection of women law 2005 will be considered Gender neutral {though it still protects women against other men or women}.

Thus, there has been a demand for a law to protect men from domestic violence to cover millions of those men who feel victimised and left out.