FAMILY LAW

ASSIGNMENT

COVID-19
DOMESTIC
RELATIONS

HARISANKAR V
18BLA1017
 IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON DOMESTIC RELATIONS

HARI SANKAR V

ABSTRACT

The pandemic named COVID-19 has taken everyone by surprise with its threatening and fear
instilling death toll. The solution that was supposed to be taken as a primary concern by all was
to practice social distancing and keeping themselves hygienic at all times by using sanitary
products like masks, soaps, sanitizers etc. when it comes to the act of social distancing, it is to be
noted that all the people had to refrain themselves from being close and touchy to any other and
the maximum number of people to be present at any particular place couldn’t exceed the number
of five and with the lockdown implemented, things were made even more strict. However the
situation demands it, the people are asked to remain in their homes with their family members
for almost a month’s time and this article to shed light on the effect it can have on various
families.

INTRODUCTION

Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory
illness and recover without requiring special treatment.  Older people, and those with underlying
medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer
are more likely to develop serious illness. The best way to prevent and slow down transmission
is be well informed about the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes and how it spreads. Protect
yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol based rub
frequently and not touching your face. Along with this came the act of practicing social
distancing which was given immense importance. Here, the fact that has to be taken into
consideration is that people are being forced to spend time at their respective abodes for almost a
month’s time when a lot of countries are considered. For countries like India and China it even
extended to months. Even though it is supposed to be and also is a necessary thing at this hour to
practice it in unison there are a lot of other factors that are supposed to be taken into
consideration. This pandemic has its claws stuck up on almost all fields and people from every
walks of life. It is sure that people from different backgrounds are likely to experience this
lockdown through different methods. But it sure has affected everybody’s lives. One of the most
important one of these issues that have to be shed light upon is the fact that people having to
spend long hours, all day and all night with their respective families. This will be further
discussed upon.

EFFECT OF LOCKDOWN ON FAMILIES

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

1. AN OVERLOOK ON THE CONDITION IN INDIA

Soon after the Government of India declared a nation-wide lockdown for a time period of 21
days1, families geared up to fill up their store rooms with the essentials needed for the coming
days to how much ever extent they can in unison. This happened to all the people who belonged
to countries where a lockdown was declared. There sure were a lot of positives that came along
with the idea of most of the family members being able to spend their time at home if not all.
This came as a boon to a lot of people, especially a lot of NRIs who have been working to their
fullest to gain some time with their loved ones back home. The case might not be as happy for
the people who earn their bread for the family through daily wages. However, all the positives
that can be thought of like utilizing your family time with the members was all fun and games
until a certain point of time for a lot of families. This can also be interpreted in a way that the
negatives outweigh the positives of being in constant togetherness with your family members for
a long time. Especially with the current trend of people following the nuclear family tradition
instead of the joint family tradition that used to exist a lot more is also a factor that promotes this
kind of agitation when the room fills up with people and stays that way for a long time.

The rates of domestic violence has gone up on a record high within these few days with couples
not being able to cope with each other in these closed households which prompts them to even
lose their temper over many trivial things. Families are complicated and therefore, there is no
1
The Hindu, Newspaper
simple answer to whether the coronavirus lockdown is actually leading to strengthening of
relationships or not. First, it is important to acknowledge that families are also not the same
across the board. For some people, families are the primary triggers of their mental health issues
while some others are part of deeply abusive families. Thus, this lockdown becomes extremely
dangerous for such individuals. The cases of domestic violence are high in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Haryana and Punjab, says NCW chief Rekha Sharma. She says the main reason for the rise of
domestic violence is that the men are at home and they are taking out their frustration on women
and they refuse to participate in domestic work. Women are also confined within the four walls
of the house and they cannot share their grief with anybody. The victims are also scared of
complaining to the police because they fear that harassment will increase.

For people who resided in the state of Kerala, it was a time of horror for the rest of the people in
the family when the drunkards who they wished to escape from their terror had no other option
but to abide by their tyranny and with their voice unheard and marks not shown. The violence of
domestic abuse is worse in the poorer section of the society. One in six (16 percent) married
women have experienced emotional violence by their husband. Women in the poorer families are
hopeless as they do not get their three meals a day. Because of that frustration and arguments,
leads to domestic violence. Alcoholic husbands unable to get the alcohol due to this lockdown,
shows their frustration and anger towards the women in their houses. The National commission
for women said they have received 58 complaints on the mail .The real figure is likely to be
more since the bulk of complaints come from women in the lower strata of society who send us
their complaint by post. The NCW said the WhatsApp number 7217735372 is in addition to the
online complaint links and emails which are already operational.

2. IN THE FOREIGN ARENA

In the first week of France’s coronavirus lockdown, authorities reported a more than 30 percent
rise in the country’s domestic violence cases. Although the government has put a number of
measures in place to make it easier for victims to report such abuses, few seem to have taken
advantage of them so far. The initiatives were launched after the government said late last week
that reports of domestic abuse to police had jumped 36 percent in Paris and 32 percent elsewhere
in France after the restrictions came into force. The cases included two murders. France has said
it would pay for hotel rooms for victims of domestic violence and open pop-up counselling
centres after figures showed the number of abuse cases had soared during the first week of a
lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.UK domestic abuse helplines report surge in calls
during lockdown.helpline for perpetrators of domestic abuse who are seeking help to change
their behaviour has received 25% more calls as the Covid-19 lockdown continues.

The Respect phone line, which provides confidential advice to perpetrators about violence and
domestic abuse, had a 26.86% increase in calls in the week starting 30 March, compared with the
week before. The Respect phone line website recorded an increase in hits of 125% in the same
period.The UK’s largest domestic abuse charity, reported a 120% increase in calls to its helpline,
which provides advice and facilitates referrals to refuge accommodation, in 24 hours. Nick
Thomas-Symonds, the recently-appointed shadow home secretary, has called on the government
to provide an emergency financial package to organisations providing domestic abuse support
services during the Covid-19. In April, Malaysia's Women, Family and Community
Development Ministry stirred a controversy after it asked women to dress nicely at home and not
bother male members of their families during the national lockdown to reduce the spread of the
novel coronavirus. After an outcry on social media, the authorities apologized and withdrew their
"recommendations." Many countries around the world have imposed lockdowns to stop the
spread of COVID-19. Lockdowns have proved effective measures for battling the pandemic, but
they have also exposed gendered inequalities and the threats to women across the world.
Iti Rawat2, sent out a message on her network, offering financial help to women during the
coronavirus lockdown. She was expecting business queries in response to her message but
instead started receiving emails and phone calls about domestic violence. She received 43
complaints within a week. Rawat's organization has now established the Red Dot Initiative.
Women who face domestic violence can put a red bindi, or decorative dot, on their foreheads if
they're unable to verbally express their distress. They can show it to their neighbors or
shopkeepers, or even send it as an image to the WEFT helpline as a distress call. The initiative
recently helped a woman in Kolkata whose husband had beaten her. "We have formed a task
force and are working to get the red dot sign recognized as a code for women in need of help,"
Rawat said.
Schools in Indonesia have been closed since the government imposed mandatory social
distancing on March 16. Digital learning works well in big cities like Jakarta, but it in rural areas

2
the founder of Women Entrepreneurs for Transformation (WEFT)
the situation is completely different. Mothers have to do professional work from home, as well as
perform household chores.
Gender disparity for household labor is high in countries in Asia, according to a study published
by the International Labour Organization in 2019 The ILO found that women in urban areas in
India, for example, spend an average of 312 minutes per day in urban areas on unpaid care work;
the number was 291 minutes per day in rural areas. In comparison, men spend only 29 and 32
minutes per day, respectively, on the same tasks. In neighboring Pakistan, women in urban areas
do an average of 272 minutes of unpaid care work per day versus 27 minutes for men, and 295
minutes to men's 28 in rural areas.3

INCENTIVES TAKEN

As the coronavirus pandemic forces countries everywhere to take unprecedented steps to restrict
the movement of their citizens, victims of domestic violence have suddenly found themselves
trapped at home with their abusive partners. Some are unable or too afraid to call the police,
experts say. So France, inspired by a similar scheme in Spain, has started telling victims to head
to drugstores. If they can't talk openly in the store, they can simply say the codeword "mask 19"
to the pharmacist behind the counter. The woman in Nancy was the first to seek help since the
government launched the initiative in late March, the spokesperson for Marlene Schiappa, the
French minister for equality, told CNN.4

As lockdown measures across Europe get stricter, charities and police forces are raising the
alarm over a potential spike in domestic violence. Refuge, a leading British charity focused on
fighting domestic violence, said Monday that calls to its helpline had risen by 25% since
restrictions on people's movement began, and that hits on its website had increased by 150%.

Being confined at home with their abuser makes victims more vulnerable, because there is no
escape. On top of that, multiple studies have found that emotionally stressful events can lead to
an increase in aggressive behavior at home. Researchers identified such spikes during the 2008
economic crisis, when major natural disasters hit, and also during big football tournaments.

3
https://www.dw.com/
4
https://edition.cnn.com/
The problem isn't limited to Europe. In Australia, the government said that Google has registered
the most searches for domestic violence help in the past five years during the outbreak, with an
increase of 75%. The government has introduced an AUD $150 million ($92 million) package to
support victims of domestic, family and sexual violence due to the fallout from coronavirus.
Refuge said one of the biggest concerns is that victims may find themselves unable to report their
ordeal.

The Telefono Rosa domestic violence helpline in Italy said it received 55% fewer calls in the
first two weeks of March because many women found it difficult to ask for help during the
lockdown. It said many women are "whispering to avoid being heard by their partner in the room
next-door." Delphine Beauvais, the director of a women's shelter network Rosa in the north of
France, told CNN the organization is experiencing a similar drop in calls: "We believe this could
be due to women's inability to reach out to us as a consequence of confinement." Ammerata has
had a similar experience. Victims have been reaching out during their brief trips to supermarkets
or sending messages while taking showers. She said the strict rules are making it difficult for
vulnerable women to escape their abusive relationships.

MEASURES TO BE TAKEN BY FAMILY MEMBERS

These methods that are supposed to be taken into consideration while being cooped up by their
fellow family members involve some psychological as well as some material induced methods.5

 RESPECT DIFFERENCES

One of the primary need of the hour when domestic relations are considered is when you realize
the tension in the atmosphere and act accordingly. Any member of the family, but preferably
adults can take the initiative to set a tone around the house which makes it clear that people
living as a single family unit can also have their own differences and way of doing things. So if
people try their best to respect the differences they have with their families, the understanding
itself would brighten up the atmosphere.

 SET BOUNDARIES
5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-V0gROOu9k
Like mentioned before, the act of respecting others’ differences also demands another thing,
respecting their boundaries. People of the same house need to reconsider their boundaries in a
way that they don’t misuse it too much. They should make themselves available to the rest of the
family members when needed as well as set a space for them to indulge in their own preferred
activities.

 REFLECT ON YOUR BEHAVIOUR

Each individual in a family would have to reminisce on the behavior that they portray towards
the other family members or anyone per se. This is very important as a lot of conflicts arise with
the people having a difficult time to accept their mistake or even try to do the same. People tend
to indulge in the blame game too much that they might find the atmosphere at home in current
times a lot more favorable to have their differences being shouted out at each other. If self-
introspection is felt as a need of a person to reach a realization regarding their behavioral aspects,
then they should definitely indulge in it as well.

 SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP

If the above mentioned activity is too hard for a person to follow, then it is a self-note to be taken
that they might need help from an outside source and preferably one of a professional nature. In
this era where everybody is part of global connect, therapists, councilors, psychologists are just
a video call session away and in this current times, the need and realization of that boon is
perfect to be known. The help of a professional may help the people who needs in ways that they
would’ve remotely imagined of.

 TALK IT OUT

Another important experience would be to just talk the problem out with the people you have an
issue with. At times like these when we are behind our busy schedules every day, the act of
talking to our loved ones may have been a rare practice. That might have been the reason that
caused the whole problem in the first place. So when such an opportunity like the lockdown
comes at hand, it is very advisory to use it to its full potential.

 BE PRODUCTIVE
Keeping oneself productive is an act that will bring a lot of satisfaction to their minds which will
in turn brighten up their mood and thus the whole day for them. This can result in the whole
family being in a delightful mood for a long time. The reason that people ask everybody through
their means available to them to keep oneself busy with productive chores is because it can be
seen as a family building exercise as well. Playing games with your family, providing your help
with the household chores etc can be seen as an example for this and also as a family building
exercise again.

CONCLUSION

The condition in many places are very much dissatisfying when compared to a lot more other
places where things might seem fine. But it is not to be pushed aside that the privileged can help
the ones in need. The poor might not have any other option other than to depend on the man in
the family in a society that is still patriarchal to a large extent. However the stigma of domestic
violence being a family affair has to be changed to an extent and should be involved with the
people who can provide the ones in need with help. People should also dwell in certain activities
that lighten their mental status so that they don’t tend to act out of their way in pressured
moments. As the need of the hour demands the lockdown with the pandemic at loose, it is our
responsibility as well.