Domestic Violence

Indian lawyers collectively drafted a Bill on domestic violence in 1992 and circulated it widely in all women’s organizations and groups. In 1994, The National commission for women (NCW) came out with the draft of its bill, which met with intense criticism by various women’s organizations.

Most of the women’s groups were unanimously vocal in articulating the need for a law against domestic violence by this time. They identified, that half of India faces the threat of typical gender based violence. It was also recognized that the existing criminal laws were proving inadequate, in meeting the needs of Indian women. Subsequently, the lawyers collective came out with its copy of a law on domestic violence in 1999, after a nation wide consultation with various women’s group. Following this the government of India introduced a bill on domestic violence in the Lok Sabha. The Bill was titled ‘The Protection from Domestic Violence Bill 2001’.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this bill both domestically and internationally in terms of its implications and reach. Indian judiciary has created a kind of social revolution in India by revising the loop holes in the bill, and bringing it into effect – in its latest form. This new law is a landmark in an attempt to protect women against domestic violence. The new domestic violence bill extends to ban dowry related harassment by way of dowry demands. The law has specially proved effective, because it gives sweeping powers to a magistrate to grant protection orders in such cases.

India’s national crime record’s bureau has recorded a crime against women in every three minutes in India. Every six hours, a young married woman is found beaten to death, burnt or driven to suicide, according to police officials. In spite of the enormity of the problems related to crimes against women in India, there was no specific legislation to control the threat of abuse or actual abuse for women in their homes. The new domestic violence bill attempts to meet this vacuum by including “actual abuse or the threat of abuse whether sexual, physical, economic or emotional. The law is specially designed to offer protection to wives or live-in-partners, from violence perpetrated by husbands and in-laws – or live-in-partners and relatives of live-in-partners. Punishment ranges from a fine up to 20,000 to a jail term up to one year. This landmark new law, offering protection to Indian women against domestic violence – has become fully functional in India.

The protection of women from domestic violence act, 2005 – is path breaking in many ways. The act was notified on October 25, of the year 2006. It’s all encompassing definition of domestic violence as “all forms of physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse” is very significant. The civic solutions offered to abused women via this act are unique. Before this act came into being women could only seek redress through section 498 A of the penal code to file a complaint against a violating partner. The older law did not give the woman a right to stay on in her matrimonial home or demand maintenance. The new bill has taken justice for women beyond the precincts of theory and made it practicable.