Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is violence that takes place between people on private territory. The term domestic violence depicts violence between individuals who are usually bonded through law, blood or personal intimacy.

The term domestic violence is neutral in implication but almost always includes gender based abuse perpetrated by men on women or vice versa. The family as a sanctuary of peace, harmony and safety can often be a myth. In fact it can be the very place which breeds and allows injustice and violence due to its closed door policy.

The horrendous nature of domestic violence has been experienced and documented across nations and cultures throughout the world in all classes and communities. Domestic violence is a fact or human life- a universal phenomenon.

Domestic violence can also be viewed as criminal behavior done for power and control. Psychologists assert that people deal with their own insecurities and inadequacies by abusing and controlling the lives of others within the safe precincts of domestic walls. The domestic situation usually makes the abused very vulnerable and fragile. Violence on the domestic front has been a part of human society since times immemorial.

The rate of Domestic violence is particularly high in places where women are treated as the inferior sex traditionally. Economically dependent women are also found to be more vulnerable to violence and abuse.

The forms and methods of domestic violence vary in many ways. Intimate partner violence can be perpetrated in three ways according to Michael P. Johnson and his esteemed colleagues. One is intimate terrorism where the powerful partner uses psychological and emotional abuse to control another individual.

In the patriarchal system of society the abuser is normally a man. There is also a syndrome called situational couple violence, where the abuse is perpetrated by circumstances. Another form of violence can be resistance. Resistance is primarily a strategy of self defense – more like a payback adapted by an entrapped victim who sees no other way of escaping from a violent relationship.

Situational couple violence occurs when there is an actual conflict arising out of an argument and escalating into violence. It is not deliberate or planned, and also less serious than the Intimate terrorism phenomenon. The intensity of the problem in the former case differs with situation. However it can have very serious repercussions in some instances. The last phenomenon, which is called mutual violent control, is when both the partners turn violent and compete for control in a relationship.

India is now recognized as one of the countries in the world which recognizes domestic violence as a violation of human rights. Although the new law is not in itself enough, to fight the enormity of the problem, but a sure measure to facilitate those who want to uphold the dignity of human existence and life.

Domestic violence is a horrendous phenomenon, which is prevalent all over the world and drains its resources in terms of human and material wealth. The biggest problem is convincing people, especially women, that they do not deserve abuse.