The ramifications of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005

By: Ritam Banati

Domestic violence or more simply violence at home is an invasion on one’s right to live safely. It infringes on ones basic right to feel comfortable within the confines of one’s house which to all domestic violence victims is not a home. A home where one can live without any fear or insecurity. It is with this in mind that the new Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 was passed. Some statistics: In the 2005 UN Population Fund Report it was found that 70% of married women in India between 15 and 49 are victims of beating, rape, or forced sex. In 2006 till Sept 2005, there were 5851 distress calls received from women victims. In India alone around 40% of married women are physically assaulted by their male partners National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) registers a case of cruelty by husbands and relatives every 9 minutes What is new about the law? Before this Act came into force, the law necessitated the production of physical evidence for the crime to be tried. Complainants were told to redress their grievances within the four walls of their homes. Now physical violence is not the only crime for which the perpetrators of domestic violence can be tried. The definition of violence has been broadened to include emotional violence and mental torture as well. In fact even making a dowry demand has been brought into the framework of domestic violence. Now the scope of domestic violence has been widened to include mothers, sisters and children as well. It seeks to provide protection against sexual abuse and also marriages that are thrust upon unwilling girls. This law even acknowledges the violence women have to undergo by their live-in partners thus in a way legally recognizing live-in relationships. In case of establishment of guilt, there is a fine of Rs 20,000 and imprisonment upto a year. Negatives: 1) When the Dowry Prohibition law was passed there was a lot of hype surrounding it. Yet it remains just on paper and the number of prohibition officers remains minimal. One remains apprehensive that what if the domestic violence law also meets the same fate. 2) Some have suggested that the protection officers to be appointed under the law must be appointed by the state governments and not the Centre for it to be effective. 3) Under the law, the NGOs are allowed to provide refuge to the victims and even take their complaints to the magistrate However there is no stamp of approval as such by the state governments. Also so far there is no enumerated list of the protection officers. Nothing so far has been allocated in the budget for the appointment of protection officers for the victims. 4) The law conveniently ignores crimes committed by a woman’s in-laws whether male or female. 5) Some have also decried the law stating that the law can be misused by shrewd women to trouble innocent husbands to score a point over them on any matter whatsoever. 6) Unless and until illiteracy and ignorance about the law is a concern, the law will not achieve much as first women need to be educated about the law to be able to know what all the law covers and what exactly constitutes “domestic violence”. 7) The provision of shelters and homes to distressed women is a must for shielding them and the government has not allocated any budget for the same. Conclusion Well-known social activists like Ranjana Kumari and Girija Vyas and renowned lawyers like Kamini Jaiswal have all lauded the passage of the law. Even though critics bemoan the misuse of the law yet one cannot rule out its positive ramifications. The very fact that now the boundaries of the law have been spread is a welcome relief and was a much-needed respite. Every law has its own loopholes so merely lamenting the misuse of the law is not going to help. History is replete with examples that it is only when a law comes into force do we encounter the pitfalls alongwith the upswings. One cannot just wish it away just because there are grounds for its misuse. Misuse comes at a much later stage after the law has been successfully implemented. And misuse is not the rule but an exception. There could be gross misuse as well but then the answer does not lie in doing away with the law or amending it in any narrow way but constructing a mechanism to prevent its abuse. The issue here really is implementation. As far as educating the women about such laws is concerned, it is the responsibility of the social activists and the media in discharging the same. Awareness campaigns are a must wherein not only are women educated about the new law but men also. Only time will tell about how far the law would go in safeguarding the rights of Indian women. It is the onus of all agencies directly or indirectly involved, to ensure that all spokes in the wheel function efficiently otherwise if one spoke malfunctions the wheel shall not move in the required direction.