Women & Law
Women & Law
Women & Law
2005
SUBMITTED TO
DR. DIPAK DAS
SUBMITTED BY
Vivek kumar sai
SEMESTER-X
ROLL NO. 146
B.A. L.L.B. (HONS)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my gratitude to Dr.Dipak das for granting me such an interesting and unconventional topic
and expect his leniency in judging the same.
Words fail to express my deep sense of glee to my teacher Dr.Dipak das, who enlightened me with his beautiful
work on this topic. I would like to thank him for guiding me in doing all sorts of researches, suggestions and having
discussions regarding my project topic by devoting her precious time. I thank to the H.N.L.U for providing Library,
Computer and Internet facilities. And lastly I thank my friends and all those persons who have helped me in the
completion of this project.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This is a descriptive and analytical research paper. My research paper is largely based on secondary and electronic
sources of information.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements................................................................................................................3
Introduction............................................................................................................................4
Objective................................................................................................................................5
Research methodology...........................................................................................................5
Introduction
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, or intimate partner violence
(IPV), can be broadly defined a pattern of abusive behaviours by one or both partners in an
intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, friends or cohabitation. Domestic violence
has many forms including physical aggression (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining,
throwing objects), or threats thereof; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; controlling or domineering;
intimidation; stalking; passive/covert abuse (e.g., neglect); and economic deprivation. Domestic
violence may or may not constitute a crime, depending on local statues, severity and duration of
specific acts, and other variables.
"The rate of crime against women in Delhi is projected to increase faster than population growth
rate by 2010, according to figures released yesterday by the director of India's National Crime
Records Bureau, Sharda Prasad. Despite being the 'official hub' of scores of campaigns aimed at
eliminating abuse, increasing legal protection and reforming the criminal justice system, Delhi's
rate of abuse against women continues to rise .
Prominent women rights activist, Indira Jaising said the criminal justice system does not provide
adequate remedies to the victims of domestic violence. Criminal courts are powerless to grant
women protection against being thrown out of their homes and are reluctant to provide for the
immediate needs of women and children during trial. Jaising said there is a strong need for a
new law that would ensure that the violence is stopped immediately and that women are
protected while they await justice.
Through the medium of the present research paper the author visions to analyse the position of
domestic violence in the Indian constituency, critically analyse the Domestic Violence Act and
the various legislations attached, scrutinize the various bottlenecks attached and come up with
suggestions and findings.
aggression and violence. Furthermore, women whose partners abuse them physically and
sexually are at a higher risk of being seriously injured or killed.
All forms of domestic abuse have one purpose: to gain and maintain total control over the
victim. Abusers use many tactics to exert power over their spouse or partner: dominance,
humiliation, isolation, threats, intimidation, denial and blame.
Direct physical violence ranging from unwanted physical contact to rape and murder.
Indirect physical violence may include destruction of objects, striking or throwing objects near
the victim, or harm to pets.
Mental or emotional abuse including verbal threats of physical violence to the victim, the
self, or others including children, and verbal violence including threats, insults, put-downs, and
attacks.
Nonverbal threats may include gestures, facial expressions, and body postures.
Psychological abuse may also involve economic and/or social control such as controlling the
victim's money and other economic resources, preventing the victim from seeing friends and
relatives, actively sabotaging the victim's social relationships, and isolating the victim from
social contacts.
Physical violence
Physical violence is the intentional use of physical force with the potential for causing injury,
harm, disability, or death, for example, hitting, shoving, biting, restraint, kicking, or use of a
weapon.
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse is common in abusive relationships. The National Coalition against Domestic
Violence reports that between one-third and one-half of all battered women are raped by their
partners at least once during their relationship. Any situation in which force is used to obtain
participation in unwanted, unsafe, or degrading sexual activity constitutes sexual abuse. Forced
sex, even by a spouse or intimate partner with whom consensual sex has occurred, is an act of
aggression and violence. Furthermore, women whose partners abuse them physically and
sexually are at a higher risk of being seriously injured or killed.
contact" . The respondent can even be prohibited from entering the room/area/house that is
allotted to her by the court.
The Act allows magistrates to impose monetary relief and monthly payments of maintenance.
The respondent can also be made to meet the expenses incurred and losses suffered by the
aggrieved person and any child of the aggrieved person as a result of domestic violence and can
also cover loss of earnings, medical expenses, loss or damage to property and can also cover the
maintenance of the victim and her children.
Sec.22 allows the magistrate to make the respondent pay compensation and damages for
injuries including mental torture and emotional distress caused by acts of domestic violence.
Sec.31 gives a penalty up to one year imprisonment and/or a fine up to Rs. 20,000/- for and
offence. The offence is also considered cognisable and non-bailable.
Sec. 32 (2) goes even further and says that "under the sole testimony of the aggrieved person,
the court may conclude that an offence has been committed by the accused"
The Act also ensures speedy justice as the court has to start proceedings and have the first
hearing within 3 days of the complaint being filed in court and every case must be disposed of
within a period of sixty days of the first hearing.
It makes provisions for the state to provide for Protection Officers and the whole machinery
by which to implement the Act.
The act enuciates the certain duties of central and state government to make wide publicity &
training programs for the police officers.
The Act also provides for the assistance of welfare experts if found necessary by the
Magistrate.
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The Act also provides for the penalty for not discharging duty of Protection Officer.
without worrying about proof of claims. In the process we are likely to see this law make a
mockery of itself.
Disparities in Implementation20
There are major disparities in implementation of the law in various states. For instance, while
Maharashtra appointed 3,687 protection officers, Assam had only 27 on its rolls, and Gujarat 25.
Andhra Pradesh had an allocation of Rs 100 million for implementation of the PWDVA, while
other states like Orissa lagged far behind. Not surprisingly, states that invested in
implementation of the Act in terms of funds and personnel also reported the highest number of
cases filed. Maharashtra filed 2,751 cases between July 2007 and August 2008 while Orissa
could only manage 64 cases between October 2006 and August 2008.
Public Opposition21
The report highlights the problem of public opposition. Many have labelled the PWDVA
(Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act) as a law that propagates inequality. There
are, at the moment, five petitions challenging the PWDVA in various high courts which argue
that the Act violates the constitutional right to equality as it provides relief only to women. Till
date, a judgment has been delivered only in one case (Aruna Pramod Shah vs Union of India) by
the Delhi High Court.
Fading Attempts of NGOs as Service Providers22
Very few NGOs have registered themselves as service providers under the Act, the registered
service providers as well as protection officers lack experience with domestic violence work,
too few protection officers are assigned in each district to handle the caseload, and government
service providers provide poor services to those in need.
Failure to Mandate Criminal Penalties23
Advocates and protection officers have noted additional inadequacies of the PWDVA, including
the Acts failure to mandate criminal penalties for abuse along with its civil measures, its failure
to explicitly provide a maximum duration of appellate hearings which delays womens grant of
relief, the residency orders failure to give women substantive property rights to the shared
household (only giving them the right to reside there), and a basic lack of infrastructure linking
law enforcement officials, officials under the act, and service providers together in order to best
and most efficiently serve domestic violence victims.
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conclusion
The question raised in this article is how far the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 has succeeded in
fulfilling the requirements of adequately defining all forms of domestic violence and providing
redressal and protection to its victims. The issue has been tackled on conceptual and practical
grounds, while the aforesaid enactment is an important first step in terms of the concepts it
introduces into the Indian legal system, the viability of its implementation may be contested on
certain grounds.
In terms of concepts, the aim of the legislation, in addressing the problem of domestic violence
visited on a woman by a man in a domestic relationship, has to a great extent been served. It may
be concluded from an overall study of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, that the range and detail
in which various definitions and forms of relief have been drafted, show a clear effort on the part
of the legislators to provide adequate redressal and protection. It is only in some cases that
implementation has not been adequately provided for example, in the system whereby a breach
in a protection orders is addressed. More specifically the case of protection officers is an
instance where the act might have considered using existing administrative machinery instead of
created the necessity for further expenditure.26
The enactment of Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is an answer to violation of womens human
rights as well as their person which may be criminally prosecuted. Though this legislation has
been thoroughly prepared, lacunas will always be there leading to accused circumventing the
law. But while such circumvention takes place, it becomes the duty of the judge to interpret the
provision on the lines of the objective that violence within the home is not acceptable.27
Whether or not the act will be mis-used or not only time will tell for there cannot be any
perceptible change in women's status overnight. It will take at least a decade before things
change. This bill will provide them a safeguard and a sort of sword in their hand so that they will
not be seen as an animal, or a shoe that you can wear anytime and throw anytime but at least
some women would benefit which would set a precedent for others.
One precondition of improving the implementation of the DV Act is to increase womens
awareness of it. Also, effective trainings for each role of departments involved in the
implementation of the Act are necessarily. To complete the system, there should be sufficient
budget invested with well superintendence.
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In social-cultural level, to bring the idea of gender equality to public is one tough mission of the
government. The process of socialization is obscure however the effects are obvious. Only in a
more gender-equal society, women who have suffered violence could get rid of shame/selfblame and such happenings could be de-stigmatized. Family, school, peer groups, and media are
all agencies of socialization, which all together should join the cultural revolution and mental
revolution to construct India a more female-friendly society. Domestic violence concerns so
many elements. Low rates of participation in education, lack of economic independence, value
biases operating against them, etc, directly and indirectly resulted in the women been given the
status of being the secondary gender in India society. Wife abusing is a common phenomenon
worldwide irrespective of class, religion and region for centuries.28 Women in India still have a
long way to go in making the ideology of gender-equal into reality. They have to recognize the
violence in the structure first, and then stand out for combat.
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REFERENCE
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