Domestic Violence

Violence and abuse scars all kinds of people every day all over the globe, irrespective of culture, race class or age. Psychologists have always believed that domestic abuse is dictated by gender equation in most cases, and women are usually more vulnerable to violence in the domestic set up. Abuse against a woman can be mental, physical, emotional, sexual, economic, social or spiritual. The abuser can be a family member, a current or past spouse, someone one is dating, boyfriend, an acquaintance or a stranger.

India has taken decisive steps to prevent domestic abuse against women in recent times through section 498 A, and the new domestic violence act of 2005.

Section 498A lists four types of cruelty against women, namely: Behavior or conduct that can drive a woman to suicide, acts which can cause serious injury to the life and health of a woman, deliberate harassment to coarse a woman or her family to give property to husband and his family, torture or harassment for not yielding to demands for money or gift items by woman and her relatives.

The punishment for the above offences, – if a complain is lodged by the woman or her relatives is imprisonment up to three years – and a fine. The forms of cruelty against women in domestic situations are continuous denial of food, insistence on perverse sex, confining a woman to the house regularly, torturing her mentally by denying her access to children, physical violence, belittling a woman by taunting and demoralizing her constantly, locking her indoors and denying normal social interactions, abusing children in the mothers presence with the intention of hurting her, questioning the paternity of the children to insult her and threatening to divorce unless dowry is given. The above are all recognized by the Indian court as punishable offences against women in domestic situations.

Domestic violence against women is a vital health problem, that not only robs the state of its most important resources, but also diminishes the over all quality of human life. The victimized women are conditioned by society to accept violence silently. An Indian girl child is taught to believe that it is all right to be violated. The perpetrator is usually the male spouse, against whom she rarely speaks. There is an urgent need for women to recognize abuse and stand up for themselves. The patriarchal form of society in human civilization and the economic subordination of women also go a long way in making her vulnerable to domestic violence all over the globe.

The term domestic violence is neutral, but it has been found that it is usually a crime perpetrated by men against women. Violence against women persists in all places of the world as a blatant and pervasive violation of human rights and dignity. Violence against woman is a major deterrence to attaining the ideal of gender equality. It is important to identify the forms and manifestations of violence against women in different world regions, and formulate effective strategies to prevent it. The plans of action need to be effective in terms of implement ability.