DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STATISTIC AND THE REAL PICTURE

"One in three women may suffer from abuse and domestic violence in her lifetime. This is an
appalling human rights violation, yet it remains one of the invisible and under-recognized
pandemics of our time."

- Nicole Kidman

Domestic Violence is one amongst the crimes against women, that is directly coupled to their
inopportune position in society. It associates in the nursing act of physical, sexual, or psychological
abuse, or the threat of such abuse, inflicted against a woman by an individual intimately connected
to through wedding, family relation, or acquaintance is universal and has its roots in the socio-
cultural set up of the society. The perpetrators of domestic violence have usually been found to be
males. Internationally, one in three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in their
lifetime by a member of her circle of relatives.

Every third woman in India suffers sexual, physical violence at home

According to the report of the National Family Health Survey (NHFS-4) released by the Union
health ministry, 27 per cent of women have experienced physical violence since the age of fifteen
in India. This experience of physical violence among women is more common in rural areas than
among women in urban areas. Domestic violence cases, where women reported physical abuse in
rural and urban areas were at 29% and 23% respectively. One thing, which this substantial data
proves: rampant domestic violence against women in India is a reality.

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA), provides a definition of
domestic violence that’s comprehensive and includes all kinds of physical, emotional, verbal,
sexual, and economic violence, and covers both actual acts of such violence and threats of violence.
Also, the PWDVA recognizes marital rape and covers harassment in the form of unlawful dowry
demands as a form of abuse.
The Perpetrator at home

Most of the times, perpetrators of this violence have been the husbands. 31% of married women
have experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence by their spouses. The most common type
of spousal violence is physical violence (27%), followed by emotional violence (13%). The survey
reported that among married women who have experienced physical violence since the age of 15,
83% reported their present husbands as perpetrators of the violence. However, for women who are
not married, the experience of physical violence stems from the most common perpetrators, which
include mothers or step-mothers (56%), fathers or step-fathers (33%), sisters or brothers (27%),
and teachers (15%).

The most worrying part of the spousal-violence is that almost every third married women, who
have experienced spousal violence, reported experiencing physical injuries, including 8% who
have had eye injuries, sprains, dislocations, or burns and 6% who have had deep wounds, broken
bones, broken teeth, or any other serious injury. Yet, only 14% of women who experienced this
violence sought help to stop it.

But the helplessness of stopping the violence being inflicted on them is not the only worrying
factor. Women in India, shockingly, are supportive of domestic violence. Data from the survey
shows women in India between the ages of 40 to 50 were most supportive of domestic violence,
with 54.9% in agreement. The percentage of justifying abuse is marginally lesser among younger
women. 47.8% of girls between the age of 15 and 19 agreed with violence by the husband.

The way ahead

Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its November 2017 report found out that sexual harassment victim
in India faces significant barriers to obtaining justice and critical support service. The report,
'Everyone Blames Me': Barriers to Justice and Support Service for Sexual Assault Survivors in
India found that women and girls who survive rape and other sexual violence often suffer
humiliation at police stations and hospitals.

Under Indian law, police officers who fail to register a complaint of sexual assault face up to 2
years in prison. However, Human Rights Watch found that police did not always file First
Information Report (FIR), the first step to initiating a police investigation, especially if the victim
was from an economically or socially marginalized community.

Most of the domestic violence, sexual violence, and marital rape cases in India are also never
reported. Going by the pure numbers, these cases are grossly under-reported when comparing the
National Family Health Survey (NFHS) and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.
Lack of trained counsellors who can help domestic abuse victims and little access to legal aid also
adds to the misery of these victims.

Education makes a difference

Irrespective of all the abuse meted to women at their homes, there still a silver lining. The main
distinguishing factor in the acceptance of domestic violence is education, much more than income,
or even age. The report stated that experience of domestic violence, including physical and sexual
violence, decreases sharply with schooling and education. By schooling, the percentage of women
who report physical violence declined from 37% among with no schooling to 16% among women
with 12 or more years of formal education.

Similarly, experience if sexual violence decreases sharply with schooling from 8% among women
with no schooling to 3% among women with 12 or more years of schooling. Education does,
however, not automatically translate in a lower incidence of domestic violence.

BY: PRERNA JHA

BALLB (2nd Year).