District wise Guides on Domestic Violence

Why is this topic important?

1 out of 3 women in India is a victim of domestic violence. However, many of them are unaware that they are being subjected to violence. We hope that the module can help you identify the signs or types of domestic violence, the various reliefs available under the law from the police and courts, the authorities/support systems and their role like protection officers, magistrates etc

What is Domestic Violence?

• Domestic violence refers to violent or abusive behaviour in a household that causes harm and may put the health and safety of a woman or any child under her custody in danger. Domestic violence includes physical abuse, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, economic abuse, and sexual abuse (marital rape).
  
• You are protected from being abused by your spouse or his family. The law not only protects you from your husband/partner but anyone (male or female) in your family or your husband’s family. In India, domestic violence is a crime under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 punishable with a jail time of up to 3 years along with a fine. Domestic Violence is also a ground for divorce under the personal laws in India.

• The current module provides information on the civil remedies available to women under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. It particularly looks at the other reliefs apart from the arrest of the abuser which is available to women under the Protection of Women against the Domestic Violence Act.
  

What is the Law being covered in the guide?

• Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
• Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Rules, 2006

• Judgments by the Supreme Court of India.

Breaking Down the Concept – Instances of Domestic Violence

Physical Abuse : 

Any behaviour which causes you bodily pain, harm, or danger to life, limb or health,or impairs your health or development. Illustrations of Physical Abuse include: 

Hitting, Slapping, Punching, Kicking, Biting, Choking, Using a weapon to threaten or hurt, Burning, Strangulation, Forcing into substance abuse, Abuse during pregnancy, Restraining/controlling you at home. 

Verbal/Emotional Abuse: You can face verbal and emotional Abuse in the form of insults and threats employed to intimidate and control you. Illustrations of verbal/emotional abuse include: 

• Ridiculing you in front of your children and your family, 
• Humiliating you in front of other people, 
• Name-calling, 
• constant nagging for not having children/male child, 
• controlling your actions and movements, 
• threatening you to hurt you or someone related to you, 
• threatening to leave you or commit suicide, 
• threatening you by using looks, actions or gestures, 
• threatening to take your children away, 
• displaying weapons, 
• smashing things, 
• treating you like a servant, and 
• infidelity.

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse includes any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of women. Any sexual activities conducted between you and your partner, without your consent, constitutes Domestic Violence. Examples of Sexual Abuse include:

• forcing you to have sex with other people;
• pursuing sexual activity when you are not fully conscious or are afraid to say no;
• demanding sex when you are sick, tired or after beating you. 

Economic Abuse

• Economic abuse includes depriving a woman of all or any financial resources like stridhan, household necessities, jointly or individually held properties of the woman, payment of rent, or maintenance of the shared household.
  
• It also includes alienation of assets whether movable or immovable, valuables, shares, securities, bonds and the like or other property in which the woman has an interest or is entitled to use by virtue of the domestic relationship or which may be reasonably required by her or her children or her stridhan or any other property jointly or separately held by the aggrieved person. Restricting access to the household in which the woman was staying during her marriage.
  

Who is the victim?

Any woman, regardless of her religion or caste can file a complaint and seek protection against domestic violence under the law, for herself and her child/children. To file a complaint about domestic violence, you can have the status of a wife, widow, female live in-partner, mother, grandmother, stepmother, adoptive mother, mother-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, stepdaughter, adopted daughter, sister, step-sister, sister-in-law, aunt and niece residing in a joint family.

You can also file a complaint before or after a judicial separation, after deserting your husband because he was subjecting you to domestic violence and if you faced violence by your husband or in-laws before initiating the divorce, after filing for the divorce and in some cases, after getting divorced. For instance, if a woman and her husband continued to take care of your child together after getting divorced, and you faced harassment in the course of that. A widow who continues to live with her in-laws can also file a complaint about domestic violence. 

Who is the perpetrator?

Any adult male person can be the perpetrator of domestic violence. This person can have the status of a husband, male live-in partner, father, stepfather, father-in-law, adoptive father, grand father, son, son-in-law, adopted son, stepson, brother, brother-in-law, stepbrother, uncle and nephew in a joint family.

You can also file a complaint against the relatives including female relatives of your husband or male partner given that they shared the household when the incident of domestic violence occurred.

Where can Domestic Violence take place?

An act of domestic violence can happen anywhere. It need not always be confined to the house you are living in. Domestic violence can take place anywhere, like

• • your place of employment or education,
    
  • your child’s school,
    

• the marketplace, etc.
  
  Domestic violence can take place at any point during or after the end of her relationship when a woman has shared a household with the perpetrator. This household includes:
  

• owned or rented either jointly by the perpetrator and the woman;
• owned or tenanted by either of them or both jointly or singly have any right, title, interest or equity and include such a household which may belong to the joint family of which the respondent is a member, irrespective of whether the perpetrator or the woman has any right, title or interest in the shared household.

For example: If the house in which the woman and her abusive husband is living is owned by his mother, it will be considered a shared household and any incident of abuse against the woman by the residents of that house will be considered as domestic violence. 

Processes and Work by Authorities

1. Who to Approach

You can approach the police station in your area, or any other police station, and file a complaint about domestic violence. The police will file a First Information Report, and/or direct you to the Protection Officer of the district who will file a Domestic Incident Report (DIR/FIR) and help you out further. You can also approach the protection officer, or directly approach the State and National Commission for Women. 

The list of Protection Officers in Delhi. 

The list of Protection Officers in Mumbai. 

The list of Protection Officers in Bangalore. 

2. Domestic Incident Report

The Domestic Incident Report is a document prepared by the Protection Officer or Service Provider that records a complaint under the Domestic Violence Act of 2005. It is a special report for cases of domestic violence which will have all the details of the harasser(s), the details of the victims, etc. This report is similar to an FIR prepared by the police when they receive a complaint about a crime.

3. Magistrate

If the magistrate is satisfied after referring to the DIR that domestic violence has occurred, he/she will award the relief that is sought by the survivor. 

Types of Authorities & their Work

1. Protection officer and police officer

The Protection Officer  will help you file a Domestic Incident Report (DIR) They will also help you file a direct complaint with the Court and assist you in getting legal support. The PO will help you in preparing a safety plan, getting free legal aid, counselling,  medical aid and access to shelter homes and other service providers. If you cannot find a Protection Officer or a service provider, you can approach the nearest police station to file a complaint. The officers will put you in touch with a Protection Officer and file an First Information Report, through which a criminal case can be initiated.

2. Magistrate 

A Magistrate who  receives  a complaint of domestic violence is supposed to inform the survivor of her right to make an application for obtaining various reliefs  by way of orders, about the availability of services of service providers; about  the availability of services of the Protection Officers; and  her right to free legal services along with  her right to file a criminal complaint wherever relevant. The Magistrate can direct the survivor or the perpetrator to either singly or jointly, undergo counselling with any member of a service provider who possesses such qualifications and experience in counselling.

3. Service Providers

Organizations which help women in trouble by providing:

• legal, medical or financial assistance are known as service providers.
  
• connecting the victims with protection officers.
  
• shelter, employment opportunities and vocational training, counselling, etc.
  
• Recording a Domestic Incident Report themselves and forward it to the concerned Court or Protection Officer.
  
• medical checkup, especially if you are injured and forward the medical report to the concerned Protection Officer or police station.
  
  Such organizations need to be registered under the Domestic Violence law in India. These services will likely be free of cost, depending on the type of organization you have approached. qualifications and experience in counselling . 

Reliefs under the Domestic Violence Act

To seek immediate relief against domestic violence, you can file an application with the Court with the help of a Protection Officer or a lawyer for the following orders: