Domestic peace tested in times of corona

GS Bajpai
Professor, National Law University, Delhi

In an unprecedented preventative measure, nearly half the world’s population has been confined to their homes. Even as governmental and non-governmental agencies battle to save countless lives across the world, a different battle for survival is raging inside locked down homes. A week after the announcement of total lockdown, the National Commission for Women (NCW) announced that complaints of domestic violence received by it had more than doubled in that period. The complaints were received by the NCW through its online platform, and can be considered to be a tip of the iceberg.

The National Health and Family Survey 4 (NFHS-4) found that nearly 30 per cent of women experienced physical violence since their childhood and one in three married women have experienced physical, sexual or emotional spousal violence. These figures are backed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which estimates that 30 per cent of the women experience either physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner. As per the NFHS-4, only 14 per cent of the victims sought help to cease the violence.

In a study conducted by NLU, Delhi, during 2016-17, across multiple states in India, we found that nearly 57.7 per cent of all victims who reported domestic violence suffered from physical violence, 3.8 per cent suffered verbal abuse while 38.5 per cent reported suffering multiple forms of abuse, including sexual, mental and economic. A large majority of them (46.2 per cent) found themselves unable to retaliate to such abuse. Nearly 81 per cent of the victims had informed their parents about the abuse, but to no avail.

These figures highlight the stark reality of domestic violence in India. This reality cannot be swept under the rug while making policy decisions with the potential to impact the most vulnerable segments of society. Adequate provisions must be made to address this issue. The rise in cases of domestic violence in India is in line with a global trend. Most countries which have put their citizens under lockdown, be it China, Kyrgyzstan, Spain or the United Kingdom, have experienced a rise in domestic violence complaints.

Why are the trends in domestic or family violence especially soaring during the lockdown period? Criminologists have some answers to this. While the lockdown itself is not the cause, nevertheless it creates situations conducive to family discords. The current lockdown has confined the family members in their homes. As a consequence, certain situational factors are at work, which give rise to family violence. The potential victim and offenders have greater amount of availability to come into conflict even on a slight trigger. Unemployment, insecurities, communication and the future of children are the most common issues which give rise to a tense relationship, leading to verbal and physical abuse. This is more so when the family members already have a history of abuse and violence.

Criminologists are also of the view that a confined situation, where the members are compelled to be in contact, tends to pose several situations which finally result into violence. Communication patterns in this situation are a major factor. Criminologists believe that intensive and compelled interactions in families tend to make persons vulnerable for abuse, specially in those cases where some attributes of tense relationships are already existing.

Much like India, the victims of domestic violence in these countries found their relief avenues dissipated. The abuse hotlines have not been operational; the shelter homes, already working at operational capacity, are either closed to newcomers or they are altogether inaccessible; and the law enforcement agencies have been swamped with enforcement of lockdowns and other measures necessitated by the pandemic. The victims have been left out to dry. Relief mechanisms aside, one can also envision situations where the victim cannot find ways or means to trigger the relief mechanism. By the NCW’s own admission, it receives most complaints about domestic violence via postal services — online platforms being inaccessible to the lower strata of the Indian society.

More recently, the Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that “women in abusive relationships are more likely to be exposed to violence” when trapped with their abuser. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, too, called for a ‘ceasefire’ on domestic violence.

Cues on how to creatively tackle and reverse these trends can be taken from other countries affected by this pandemic. After much public outcry, Spain now plans to convert hotel rooms into shelters for victims. France has asked its victims to access pharmacies and inform the pharmacist about the abuse either directly or by using a code word: mask19.

While such solutions may work as a stop-gap measure, it is equally important to strengthen our institutional responses. The NLUD study also found that 88.5 per cent of the victims had no awareness of the existence of redress mechanisms under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA). Section 11(a) of the PWDVA casts a duty upon the government to publicise the provisions of the Act through television, radio and print media. Now, with a majority of the population under lockdown and with India recording its highest TV consumption in a week, the government has the opportunity to perform its duty most efficiently.

It seems, however, that the policy and decision makers too are oblivious to the existence of the PWDVA, which, at the time of its enactment was touted as the solution to all domestic violence-related ailments. Even as higher courts across the country are entertaining only ‘urgent matters’, the lower courts have limited their operations to magistrates hearing matters pertaining to ‘remand’. The civil remedies provided for under the Act — be they Protection Orders or Residence Orders, which ordinarily remain underutilised— have now been rendered completely inaccessible.

The all-pervading feeling of helplessness under the current scenario is bound to have a lasting psychological impact on the victims — post-traumatic stress disorder and depression being amongst the most common. Nevertheless, no provisions have been made to enlist either counsellors or service providers under the PWDVA as essential services. Further, as per the NLUD study, it was found that counselling services were provided by the police only in 55.3 per cent of the cases, and that too, in collaboration with NGOs, which have been categorised as non-essential.

(With inputs from Ankit Kaushik, NLUD)