Author: VANSHIKA SRIVASTAVA, II year of B.A., LL.B. from LLOYD LAW COLLEGE, GREATER NOIDA.
This article will talk about “Violence Against Women in India”. Before India became independent there was no respect for women. There were no rights for them. They were treated as man’s slave, slowly they became the weaker sex of the society. In Indian society, women have always been considered as things of enjoyment since ancient times.
Violence against women is not a new happening. Women are always considered weaker than males, either physically or emotionally. The statistics of violence against women is shocking where women are put through child marriage, bride burning, sexual abuse of girl child, rape or sexual harassment at different places In all these cases only women were harmed.
Women coming from low socioeconomic status generally face more episodes of violence than who are from higher socioeconomic status. In India, more than 55 percent of women suffer from Domestic Violence, especially in the states of Bihar, U.P., M.P and other states. According to ‘United Nation Population Fund Report’, around two-third of married Indian women are victims of “Domestic Violence” attacks and as many as 70 per cent of married women in India are victims of beating, rape or forced sex. Domestic Violence affects women’s productivity in all forms of life i.e., assaulted women will always get agonized and emotionally disturbed and remain quiet after the occurrence of the torment.
Rapes and sexual activities form a large portion of violence which happens against Indian women. India is the most dangerous country as far as the number of cases kept on increasing. Marital rape is another example of violence. Some of the famous case laws which are relate3d to rape threats-:
1.) Delhi Gang Rape (2012)
2.) Hyderabad Gang Rape (2019)
3.) Hathras Gang Rape (2020)
Moreover, the majority of violence against women only occurs in the family or the community. In all the regions of the world women and girls culture and norms. However, some aspects of traditions are retained even with time. One of the aspects is the position of the man in the home is only the source only because of their gender.
In most of the states, violence against women is not seen as a major offence, and law enforcers are not trained to handle this kind of aggression. Men are free to mistreat their wives knowing very well that nothing can be done to them. In very few cases we can see the man is arrested.
Administrative officers, particularly in developing countries use sexual brutality as a method of getting confessions from female detainees. Seeing that legal systems in these regions don’t have the provision for independent investigation against the police, such cases of violence against women often go unpunished.
Alcohol and hard drugs commonly result in impaired judgment and a reduced sense of tolerance. As a result, men who use them are more likely to instigate violence against their family members and in a traditional family setup of father, mother and children, it is most likely that the hostility will be directed at the wife.
Conflict among married people also has a bearing in the prevalence of violence against women. It has been argued time and again that the compatibility of a man and woman will essentially determine the level of happiness in the marriage. Ill-assorted coupling often results in incessant disagreements which in most cases end up in physical or psychological abuse against the woman. To prevent violence against women and to protect the rights of aggrieved women, the legislation ‘The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005’ was passed by the parliament. According to this act, every woman who has been deprived of their right to life by the act of husband or relatives of the husband can file a complaint to the protection officer, police officer or magistrate in the form of ‘Domestic Incident Report’. The complaint can be filed by the victim /aggrieved person or relatives, it will be considered as the prima-facie evidence of the offence. Every report has to be prepared by the Protection Officer which will assist in the further investigation of the incidence. The protection officer will pass certain orders i.e., protection of the women, custody of respondent and order of monetary relief to the victim.
The Government of India should come out with some more stringent laws to protect the rights of women who are victims of violence of any kind occurring within the family so that it will work as the preventive measure to lesser the crime.
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Author's Biography
Vanshika Srivastava student at the Lloyd Law College, in the second year of B.A., LL.B. where her major interest in legal studies and law-related subjects. My native town is Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. Her dream is to excel in the judiciary.