Domestic volience1

Domestic violence

 Domestic violence is one of the crimes against women which is linked to their disadvantageous position in the society. Domestic violence refers to violence against women especially in matrimonial homes. Therefore domestic violence is recognized as the significant barriers of the empowerment of women, with consequences of women’s health, their health health-seeking behavior and their adoption of small family norm However an attempt has been made to study whether ever married women of reproductive age group in India view wife-beating as justified.

Domestic violence has many forms including physical aggression (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects), or threats thereof; sexual abuse ; emotional abuse ; controlling or domineering; intimidation ; stalking ; passive/covert abuse (e.g., neglect ); and economic deprivation .  Alcohol consumption   and mental illness   ^] can be co-morbid  with abuse , and present additional challenges when present alongside patterns of abuse.

Awareness, perception, definition and documentation of domestic violence differs widely from country to country, and from era to era. According to some studies, less that 1 percent of domestic violence cases are reported to the police.

Classification of domestic violence:-

Physical:- Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, pain, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm .Physical abuse includes hitting, slapping, punching, choking, pushing, and other types of contact that result in physical injury to the victim. Physical abuse can also include behaviors such as denying the victim of medical care when needed, depriving the victim of sleep or other functions necessary to live, or forcing the victim to engage in drug/alcohol use against his/her will.  It can also include inflicting physical injury onto other targets, such as children or pets, in order to cause psychological harm to the victim

Sexual:-Sexual abuse is any situation in which force or threat is used to obtain participation in unwanted sexual activity. Coercing  a person to engage in sex, against their will, even if that person is a spouse or intimate partner with whom consensual sex has occurred, is an act of aggression and violence.

Emotional :- (also called psychological abuse or mental abuse) can include humiliating the victim privately or publicly, controlling what the victim can and cannot do, withholding information from the victim, deliberately doing something to make the victim feel diminished or embarrassed , isolating the victim from friends and family, implicitly blackmailing  the victim by harming others when the victim expresses independence or happiness, or denying the victim access to money or other basic resources and necessities.

Verbal abuse:-
Abusers may ignore, ridicule, disrespect, and criticize others consistently; manipulate words; purposefully humiliate; falsely accuse; manipulate people to submit to undesirable behavior; make others feel unwanted and unloved; threaten economically; place the blame and cause of the abuse on others; isolate victims from support systems; harass; demonstrate Jekyll and Hyde behaviors, either in terms of sudden rages or behavioral changes, or where there is a very different "face" shown to the outside world vs. with victim.

Economic

Economic abuse is when the abuser has control over the victim's money and other economic resources. In its extreme (and usual) form, this involves putting the victim on a strict "allowance", withholding money at will and forcing the victim to beg for the money until the abuser gives them some money. It is common for the victim to receive less money as the abuse continues. This also includes (but is not limited to) preventing the victim from finishing education  or obtaining employment , or intentionally squandering or misusing communal resources 

Effects:

·         On children

·         Physical

·         Psychological

·         Financial

·         Burnout

Domestic violence in India :-

Violence against women is a serious problem in India. Overall, one-third of women

age 15-49 have experienced physical violence and about 1 in 10 have experienced

sexual violence. In total, 35 percent have experienced physical or sexual violence.

This figure translates into millions of women who have suffered, and continue to

suffer, at the hands of husbands and other family members. NFHS-3 collected

information from married and unmarried women age 15-49 about their experience of

physical and sexual violence. Married women were also asked about their

experience of emotional violence. NFHS-3 findings underscore the extent and

severity of violence against women in India, especially married women

Violence by Husbands against Wives Is Widespread

• Married women are more likely to experience physical or sexual violence by

husbands than by anyone else.

o Nearly two in five (37 percent) married women have experienced some

form of physical or sexual violence by their husband1.

o One in four married women have experienced physical or sexual

violence by their husband in the 12 months preceding the survey.

Slapping is the most common act of physical violence by husbands. Thirtyfour

percent of married women say their husband has slapped them; 15

percent say their husband has pulled their hair or twisted their arms; and 14

percent have been pushed, shaken, or had something thrown at them (see

figure).

• One in 10 married women have experienced sexual violence at the hands of

their husband, i.e., they have been physically forced against their will by their

husband to have sex or perform other sexual acts they did not want to

perform.

• Often, this physical and sexual violence causes injuries. Almost two in five

women who have experienced physical or sexual violence report having

injuries, including 36 percent who had cuts, bruises or aches; 9 percent who

had eye injuries, sprains, dislocations, or burns; and 7 percent who had deep

wounds, broken bones, broken teeth, or other serious injuries.

• The prevalence of spousal physical or sexual violence is much higher among

women in the poorest households (49 percent) than among women in the

wealthier households (18 percent).

• Nearly half (46 percent) of married women with no education have

experienced spousal violence; similarly, nearly half of women whose

husbands have no education (47 percent) have experienced spousal violence.

• Twelve percent of married women with 12 or more years of education have

experienced spousal violence, compared with 21 percent of married women

whose husbands have 12 or more years of education. This suggests that

women’s own education reduces their likelihood of experiencing spousal

violence more than their husband’s education.

• Spousal violence is lower among couples in which husbands and wives have

both been to school and are equally educated (23 percent) than among

couples where the husband has more education than the wife (36 percent).

• The cycle of domestic violence is repeated across generations. Women

whose mothers were beaten by their fathers are twice as likely to experience

violence as women whose mothers were not beaten by their fathers: 60

percent, compared with 30 percent.

• Women married to men who get drunk frequently are more than twice as likely

to experience violence as women whose husbands do not drink alcohol at all.

However, even though alcohol is important, it is not the only factor accounting

for the high prevalence of violence against women, as 30 percent of even

women whose husbands do not drink have experienced spousal violence.

Never Married Women Also Experience Physical and Sexual Violence

• Sixteen percent of never married women have experienced physical violence

since they were 15 years of age, generally by a parent, a sibling, or a teacher.

• One percent of never married women report having ever been sexually

abused by anyone. Among never married women who have experienced

sexual violence, 27 percent say that the perpetrator of the violence was a

relative.

Most Women Do Not Seek Help When They Are Abused

• Only one in four abused women have ever sought help to try to end the

violence they have experienced. Two out of three women have not only never

sought help, but have also never told anyone about the violence.

• Abused women most often seek help from their families.

• Few abused women seek help from any institutional source such as police,

medical institutions, or social service organizations. Only 2 percent of abused

women have ever sought help from the police.

Majority of Women and Men Say That a Husband Is Justified in Beating His

Wife

• More than half of women (54 percent) and men (51 percent) agree that it is

justifiable for a husband to beat his wife under some circumstances.

o Women and men most often agree that wife beating is justified when

the wife disrespects her in-laws.

o Neglect of the house or children is the second most commonly agreed

to justification for wife beating for both women and men.

The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005,

What specific provisions of law deal with domestic violence?

In 1983, domestic violence was recognised as a specific criminal offence by the introduction of section 498-A into the Indian Penal Code. This section deals with cruelty by a husband or his family towards a married woman. Four types of cruelty are dealt with by this law:

·         conduct that is likely to drive a woman to suicide,

·         conduct which is likely to cause grave injury to the life, limb or health of the woman,

·         harassment with the purpose of forcing the woman or her relatives to give some property, or

·         harassment because the woman or her relatives is unable to yield to demands for more money or does not give some property.

The punishment is imprisonment for upto three years and a fine. The complaint against cruelty need not be lodged by the person herself. Any relative may also make the complaint on her behalf.

What can a woman do to prevent domestic violence?

One option is to get the woman's husband to execute a "bond to keep peace", or a "bond of good behaviour" through the Executive, Magistrate who can order the husband to put a stop to domestic violence. The husband can also be asked to deposit securities (i.e. money or property) that will be forfeited if he continues to act violently. ?

Conclusion:-

women belonging to low socio-economic status are more likely to agree with each of the different reasons justifying wife-beating. Again domestic violence is more among lower autonomy and women belonging to low socio-economic status.