Against Domestic Violence

What do you mean by
domestic violence?
Domestic violence (also named domestic
abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse by
one person against another in a domestic setting, such
as :in marriage or cohabitation. It may be
termed intimate partner violence when committed by
a spouse or partner in an intimate relationship against
the other spouse or partner, and can take place
in heterosexual or same-sex relationships, or between
former spouses or partners. Domestic violence can also
involve violence against children, parents, or the elderly.
It takes a number of forms,
including: physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religiou
s, reproductive, and sexual abuse, which can range from
subtle, coercive forms to marital rape and to violent
physical abuse such as choking, beating, female genital
mutilation, and acid throwing that results
in disfigurement or death. Domestic murders
include stoning, bride burning, honor killings, and dowry
deaths.

Types of abuse
Domestic
violence
Physical
abuse
Emotional
abuse
Sexual
abuse

Physical Abuse
 Physical abuse is any intentional act
causing injury or trauma to another
person or animal by way of bodily
contact.
 Putting a person in danger; by slapping,
hitting, pushing, punching, kicking, hair
pulling choking, burning or using
weapon or other objects to harm a
person.

Emotional abuse
 Psychological abuse is a form of abuse,
characterized by a person subjecting, or
exposing, another person to behavior
that may result in psychological trauma,
including anxiety, chronic depression, or
post-traumatic stress disorder.
 Name calling, threat, humiliation, blame
insults, put downs, isolations from
friends and families, being ignored,
pressure, extreme jealousy.

Sexual abuse
 Sexual abuse, also referred to as
molestation, is usually undesired sexual
behavior by one person upon another. It
is often perpetrated using force or by
taking advantage of another.
 Pressuring someone to have sex, taking
photos in sexual situation, sending those
photos to some others, forcing someone
to look at pornography, offering
someone to another person for sex.

What you need to do?
 Raise our voice.
 Talk to your friends and relatives about it.
 Take the help of NGO or police.
 Take the help of the protection of women
against domestic violence act,2005(PDDV,
ACT 2005) and contact the protection
officer of your area and register Domestic
Incident Report.
 You can also go directly to a magistrate.

 Widespread and rampant violence against women is
one of the most pressing problems India struggles with
as a society. It is estimated that around 37 percent of
Indian women have experienced either physical or
sexual violence in their lifetime.
 In 2013 alone, there were nearly a hundred and twenty
thousand reports of domestic violence against women,
according to India’s National Crime Records Bureau.

Furthermore, a 2015 study conducted by the Planning
Commission of India surmised that a whopping 84
percent of women have been abused in their homes at
least once.
 However, a majority of these women are far too afraid of
social stigma to reveal that they are victims of abuse.
This is due to women’s poor social standing in Indian
society, where beating a woman for even the smallest

 In turn, this leads to a lack of support, even
from close friends, when domestic violence
victims seek help in escaping their situation.
 Thankfully, the Indian government has already
put into place a number of rules and
regulations that are designed to protect Indian
women from domestic violence.
 If the following laws are properly enforced,
women in India may be able to hope for safer,
more peaceful homes within the near future.
1. The Indian Penal Code Amendment in 1983
2. The 2005 Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act
3. The 2013 Criminal Law Amendment

The Indian Penal Code
Amendment in 1983
 A special section, numbered 498-A, that officially made
domestic violence a criminal offense was added to the
Indian Penal Code in 1983. This section of the law
specifically covers cruelty towards married women by
their husbands or their husbands’ families.
 A helpful clause in this section allows women’s relatives
to make the complaint for them. This is extremely
beneficial in cases where the woman is too afraid to
speak up for herself, for reasons such as she could get
caught by her husband or simply cannot leave the
house.
 One kind of cruelty that can be punished is behavior that
causes a woman’s death or serious injury, or pushes her
to commit suicide. Another kind is the type of
harassment relating to intimidating the woman or her

 Under the policy, acts of cruelty include, but are
not limited to, the following:
 physical abuse;
 mental torture through threats to her or her
loved ones (such as children);
 denying the woman food;
 locking her in or out of the house as
punishment; and
 demanding perverse sexual acts against the
woman’s will.
 Convicted offenders will be charged with up to
three years of prison, as well as a hefty fine.

The 2005 Protection of
Women from Domestic
Violence Act
 Created in 2005 and enacted over a year later, the
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act is
exactly what the title proclaims.
 This is the first law in India to specifically
acknowledge every woman’s right to be in a home
without violence. In fact, it was seen as a major step
forward in securing women’s rights and more
effective protection.
 It is a long and comprehensive law that details
several important policies and procedures meant to
help women.
 First, 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.

 Women are given the right to seek protection against such
acts, and their relatives can file a complaint for them
against husbands who break the law.
 Second, a woman’s right to reside in their “matrimonial
household” is clearly recognized. She cannot be evicted
from it as she rightfully shares it with her husband.
 If she is evicted, she has the right to seek monetary
compensation and safe shelter, as well as free legal and
medical aid.
 Lastly, both NGOs and divisions of the Indian Government
– such as the National Commission for Women – took the
initiative to organize awareness seminars that could be
easily attended by women who are affected by this act,
e.g., women in high risk areas.
 Violators of this law will either be mandated to compensate
the woman financially, or will be served a restraining order
to keep them away from the complainant.

The 2013 Criminal Law
Amendment
 As a response to the requests made by the Justice
Verma Committee, a small commission named after
and headed by one of India’s most highly regarded
jurists, a lengthy list of amendments to the Indian
Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the
Indian Evidence Act were introduced in this 2013 act.
 The aim of the amendment was to provide harsher
and swifter punishment for those criminals who
committed abuse against women.
 Details regarding sexual assault and rape were
clarified and added onto. For instance, “rape” was
given a better and more exhaustive legal definition,
to include non-consensual penetration using non-
sexual objects, as well as non-penetrative sexual
acts.

 Penalties for offenses such as rape, assault, and sexual
harassment were increased.
 In particular, heavier sentences were declared for rapists,
even including the death sentence for particularly
disturbing cases, such as gang rape where the victim was
left in a vegetative state after the crime.
 New offenses that are punishable by law were introduced
by the amendment as well. These include, but are not
limited to:
 acid attacks (the act of throwing acid upon a woman with
the intention of disfiguring, maiming, or outright killing her);
 stalking;
 voyeurism (spying with prurient or indecent interest); and
 publicly and forcefully disrobing a woman

 However, despite the commission’s
recommendations, the amendment failed to
address the issue of marital rape. This
exception basically assumes that marriage
automatically means the woman will always
consent to her husband’s sexual desires.
 This ridiculous notion implies that rape
cannot happen within a marriage, when in
fact it does, and even happens quite
frequently to Indian women.

Sources used: wikipedia
naaree
BY, Aswathi S pillai

Against Domestic Violence

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