Chapter 1

Introduction
In general, domestic violence against women refers to a social
phenomenon which reveals violent as well as nonviolent behavior of
male members of society towards female members in and around
domestic framework, especially after the martial life of women starts. It
includes all types of attitudes and behaviors related to the personal and
social interests of women in post marital life. It involves all verbal and
physical acts which abuse, hurt and violate against women in general by
men related through marriage.
Women all over world and especially in India have been facing
violence in all spheres of life for thousands of years. They face domestic
as well as social violence which leads to subordinate position of women.
There are many ways in which women suffer and are made to suffer. In
behavioral terms, violence against women ranges from simple
suppression to abuse, aggression, exploitation and severe oppression. We
know it as female infanticide, the abortion of female fetus, the neglect
and under-nourishment of girl child, denial of education to girls, rape,
pre-puberty marriage, wife beating, and the harassment of a bride
leading to her suicide or murder
Violence in general, is a coercive mechanism to assert one's will
over another, in order to prove or feel a sense of power. It can be
perpetuated by those in power against the powerless, or by the
powerless in retaliation against coercion by others, responsible for their
powerlessness. Any individual or group facing the threat of coercion or
being disciplined to act in a manner required by another individual or
group is subject to violence. This is not necessarily confined to physical
violence but by the creation of an atmosphere of terror, a situation of
threat and reprisal'

Nature of domestic violence

Domestic violence is as old as Indian history itself. The nature
and extent of domestic violence depends upon the quality of life and
basic social cultural milieu. Family as an institution laid down certain
principles, which regulate the relationship between husband wife and
their children. The domestic violence causes a breach in the husband wife
relationship due to many reasons. Primarily, the violence can be
categorized in two ways i.e., Mental and Physical. The mental violence
can be carried out with the help of psychological weapons (insult, abuse,
humiliation etc.), that hurt the individual and the scars are deep rooted.
The physical violence includes different types of aggressive /physical
assaults i.e., husband beating wife. The physical violence is quite common
among people living in lower and lower middle strata of the society. The
inmates living in the family are generally affected by such incidents. But
the adults such as parents, brother, sisters and in laws are less affected
by such acts as compared to innocent children who are in the formative
phase or developing stage.
The universality and pervasiveness of violence against women cuts
across geographical, cultural and ethnic boundaries, so does it persist
despite significant social changes. The difference is usually one only of
culturally or temporarily specific manifestations,
but rarely that of the presence or absence of this violence itself.
Domestic violence is a problem that affects many people in many
countries, nowadays. The victims are mostly women and children and the
abusers are usually their husbands /fathers. It usually happens at home,
women of all cultures, races, occupations, income levels and ages are
battered by husbands.2 The domestic violence against women composes
of all acts which hurt the women physically and mentally. Thus it reflects
in all practices related to wife beating, harassment of women, denial to
basic rights and needs to women, demand of dowry, grabbing of working
women‟s money, threat of divorce to wives,
There are constitutional provisions which ensure the equality of men and
women at all levels and the following articles have been laid for this
purpose .

Article
Article 14: Confers on men and women equal rights and opportunities in
political, economic and social sphere.
Article 15: prohibits, discrimination against any citizen on grounds of
religion, race, caste, sex etc.
Article 16: provides for equality of opportunities matters relating to
employment or appointment to any office under the state.
Article 39 (A)(D): Mentions policy security of state equality for both men
and women the right to a means of livelihood and equal pay for equal
work for both men and women.
Article 42: direct the state to make provision for ensuring just and
humane conditions of work and maternity relief. 5
There are legal measures as well for this purpose. However, in spite of
this there is a tremendous rise in the officially claimed number of crimes
committed against women and particularly wives in matrimonial homes
in India.

Domestic violence in Srinagar (source Police official

records Rambagh women police station)
Traditionally there has been no voice raised against the gender
violence in Kashmir. Patriarchal society bound values are strongly
imposed. There is no strong opposition to any violent measure against a
daughter in law. Generally speaking, neighbors are rarely encouraged to
pose their nose in the domestic conflict in their vicinity. This has been
encouraging the violence against the daughter in law. Generally up to the
time an act of physical violence takes place none would interfere into the
private matters of the family or express any resentment to that.
The cruelty of husband could include abusing, accusing, using ill
names; call by bad names, speaking against the wife's parents/ siblings
etc. The cruelty can be physical as well as verbal. In physical cruelty often
husband and even mother in law / father in law thrash women. it may be
due to her domestic fault: not cooking food in time, not cooking food as
per taste of husband etc. verbal can be as mentioned above, abuse,
calling ill names of her parents, using foul language such as: (gaun,kanjer
Dheul ,) prostitute, etc.
Breach of trust
cases reported have more or less same frequency except in 2008.
Dowry cases have been reported in 2010 and 11 only. There might have
been some seriousness in these two cases, otherwise as mentioned
earlier. Dowry is not so serious issue in Kashmir, now days. Attempt of
murder/Life threatening case as mentioned in the table is only one
reported in the year 2012 but it does not mean that such cases are not
happening. There have been many cases of bride /wife burning as the last
few years reported in dailies of Kashmir. However, as mentioned earlier
people do not want to make an issue official or to be registered by police
due to causes mentioned above.
 Chapter-2
Domestic violence in India
Domestic violence in India includes any form of violence
suffered by a person from a biological relative but typically is the
violence suffered by a woman by male members of her family or
relatives. Although Men also suffer Domestic violence, the law
under IPC 498A specifically protects only women. Specifically, only
a woman can file a case of domestic violence. According to a
National Family and Health Survey in 2005, total lifetime prevalence
of domestic violence was 33.5% and 8.5% for sexual violence
among women aged 15–49. A 2014 study in The Lancet reports
that although the reported sexual violence rate in India is among
the lowest in the world, the large population of India means that the
violence affects 27.5 million women over their lifetimes. However,
an opinion survey among experts carried out by the Thomson
Reuters Foundation ranked India as the most dangerous country in
the world for women

The 2012 National Crime Records Bureau report of India

states a reported crime rate of 46 per 100,000, rape rate of 2 per
100,000, dowry homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 and the rate of
domestic cruelty by husband or his relatives as 5.9 per 100,000.
[6]
 These reported rates are significantly smaller than the reported
intimate partner domestic violence rates in many countries, such as
the United States (590 per 100,000) and reported homicide (6.2 per
100,000 globally), crime and rape incidence rates per 100,000
women for most nations tracked by the United Nations

There are several domestic violence laws in India. The earliest law
was the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 which made the act of giving
and receiving dowry a crime. In an effort to bolster the 1961 law,
two new sections, Section 498A and Section 304B were introduced
into the Indian Penal Code in 1983 and 1986. The most recent
legislation is the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act
(PWDVA) 2005. The PWDVA, a civil law, includes physical,
emotional, sexual, verbal, and economic abuse as domestic
violence.

2006 NFHS survey report on domestic sexual violence

The National Family Health Survey of India in 2006
estimated the lifetime prevalence of sexual violence among women
aged 15–49, including instances of marital rape in India. The study
included in its definition of "sexual violence" all instances of a
woman experiencing her husband "physically forcing her to have
sexual intercourse with him even when she did not want to; and,
forcing her to perform any sexual acts she did not want to".The
study sampled 83,703 women nationwide, and determined that
8.5% of women in the 15–49 age group had experienced sexual
violence in their lifetime. This figure includes all forms of forced
sexual activity by husband on wife, during their married life, but not
recognised as marital rape by Indian law.

The 2006 NFHS study reported sexual violence to be lowest

against women in the 15–19 age group, and urban women
reporting 6% lifetime prevalence rate of sexual violence, while 10%
of rural women reported experiencing sexual violence in their
lifetime. Women with ten years of education experienced sharply
less sexual violence, compared to women with less education. The
total of some 83703 women took part and of 67426 Hindu women
who took part in it 22453, that is equal to 33.3% respondents said
yes to being physically abused at their home, similar is the case of
Buddhist women where 40% women said yes to being physically
abused.
 Chapter -3
Physical violence
Physical injury is the most visible form of domestic
violence. The scope of physical domestic/intimate partner violence
includes slapping, pushing, kicking, biting, hitting, throwing objects,
strangling, beating, threatening with any form of weapon, or using a
weapon. Worldwide, the percentage of women who suffer serious
injuries as a result of physical domestic violence tends to range
from 19% – 55%.Physical injuries as a result of domestic violence
against women are more obvious than psychological ones, and can
be more easily discerned by health professionals as well as courts
of law in the context of legal prosecution.

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse has been gaining more and more recognition

in recent years as an incredibly common form of domestic violence
(and therefore a human rights abuse) within the private home
throughout developing nations such as India. Psychological abuse
can erode a woman's sense of self-worth and can be incredibly
harmful to overall mental and physical wellbeing.
Emotional/psychological abuse can include harassment; threats;
verbal abuse such as name-calling, degradation and blaming;
stalking; and isolation.

Women who experience domestic violence overwhelmingly

tend to have greater overall emotional distress, as well as
disturbingly high occurrences of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
According to a study by the National Centre for Biotechnology
Information, suicide attempts in India are correlated with physical
and psychological intimate partner violence. Of the Indian women
who participated in the study, 7.5% reported attempting suicide.
This correlation is supported by the high rates of domestic violence
in India, although the rates differ greatly by region,
individual socioeconomic status and other factors.

Sexual assault

Domestic sexual assault is a form of domestic violence

involving sexual/reproductive coercion and marital rape. Under
Indian law, marital rape is not a crime, except during the period
of marital separation of the partners.

The Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

considers the forced sex in marriages as a crime only when the wife
is below 15. Thus, marital rape is not a criminal offense under IPC.
The marital rape victims have to take recourse to the Protection of
Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA). The PWDVA,
which came into force in 2006, outlaws marital rape. However, it
offers only a civil remedy for the offence.
Honor killing

An honour killing is the practice wherein an individual is

killed by one or more family member(s), because he or she is
believed to have brought shame on the family. The shame may
range from refusing to enter an arranged marriage, having sex
outside marriage, being in a relationship that is disapproved by the
family, starting a divorce proceeding, or engaging in homosexual
relations.

In 2010, the Supreme Court of India issued notice seeking

data and explanation for rise in honor killings to the states
of Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Dowry-related abuse and deaths

In almost all Hindu families, the ritual of taking dowry has

caused a serious problem. A newly married brides suffer domestic
violence in the form of harassment, physical abuse or death when
she is thought to have not brought enough dowry with marriage.
Some cases end up in suicides by hanging, self-poisoning or by
fire. In dowry deaths, the groom's family is the perpetrator of murder
or suicide.

According to Indian National Crime Record Bureau, in

2012, 8,233 dowry death cases were reported across India, or
dowry issues cause 1.4 deaths per year per 100,000 women in
India. For contextual reference, the United Nations reports a
worldwide average female homicide rate of 3.6 per 100,000
women, and an average of 1.6 homicides per 100,000 women for
Northern Europe in 2012.

Dowry deaths in India are not limited to any specific

religion, and it is found among Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and others.
Some 80% of the total Dowry related crime found in the Hindu
community followed by other Indian Religions as giving Dowry is
considered as an important ritual in the traditional Hindu marriage.
Furthermore, in many parts of India the Ritual
of Tilak(Engagement)done mostly in Hindu families is used by
Groom's Family to Demand a huge sum of money.

The Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, prohibits the request,

payment or acceptance of a dowry, "as consideration for the
marriage", where "dowry" is defined as a gift demanded or given as
a precondition for a marriage. Gifts given without a precondition are
not considered dowry and are legal. Asking or giving of dowry can
be punished by imprisonment of up to six months or a fine. It
replaced several pieces of anti-dowry legislation that had been
enacted by various Indian states. Murder and suicide under
compulsion are addressed by India's criminal penal code. The law
was made more stringent with Section 498a of Indian Penal
Code (enacted in 1983). Under the Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA), a woman can seek help
against dowry harassment by approaching a domestic violence
protection officer.
Regional, gender and religious differences

Kimuna et al. have published domestic violence trends in

India, based on the 2005–2006 India National Family Health
Survey-III (NFHS-III) data on the 69,484 ever-married women ages
15 to 49 from all regions of India. They report 31% of respondents
had experienced minor to major form of physical violence in the 12
months prior to the survey, while the domestic sexual violence
prevalence rate ever experienced by the woman was about 8%.
Women who lived in cities, had higher household wealth, were
Christian and educated had significantly lower risk of physical and
sexual domestic violence. In contrast, wives of men who drank
alcohol had significantly higher risks of experiencing both physical
and sexual violence.

According to a study made by Michael Koenig about the

determinants of domestic violence in India published by the
American Journal of Public Health in 2006, higher socioeconomic
status reduced domestic abuse.

Gender discrimination under law

The domestic abuse laws are claimed to be discriminatory
against men by anti-feminists. In particular, Section 498A, the act
that criminalizes cruelty against women by husband and his
relatives, has been used by anti-feminists in their arguments to
justify removing any legal penalty against criminals. Men's rights
activists such as the "Save the family foundation" in India argue that
the law is often misused by women. However, a 2012 report on
Section 498A from the Government of India found that the empirical
study did not establish any disproportionate misuse of Section 498A
as compared to other criminal laws. Even though misuse of Section
498A was not established, more recently the Supreme Court came
out with directives that every complaint received by the police under
Section 498A must be referred to a Family Welfare Committee
before the police can arrest the perpetrator.

More glaringly, the law only offers reliefs to women. Men in

India cannot avail of a similar legal remedy to protect themselves
from domestic violence from either men or women. For men, even a
simple relief of having a male or female aggressor stay away from
them (a restraining or protection order) is not afforded by the
current law.

But in 2016 this discrimination was removed by supreme

court itself. The bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton F
Nariman ruled on 6 October 2016 (Thursday) that this provision
frustrated the objective of the legislation since "perpetrators and
abettors of domestic violence" can be women too. The words "adult
male" has been struck down from the domestic violence act.
However this new definition still did not include men as victims and
was later changed back to the original.
. Conclusion

The domestic violence in every society is the outcome of men

domination. Woman has always been in subordinate position and this all
is due to the ill thinking of men folk that women are inferior to man. Even
if woman is economically dependent on man but man is also dependent
on woman for his domestic, emotional and psychological needs. They are
made equal with difference in responsibilities. They in most cases can not
take each others position. However, there are many responsibilities
which men and women can share or exchange. History bears testimony
to the facts that women have proved worthful in those fields as well
where men have worked. Taking present scenario men and women
worked shoulder to shoulder but there are social norms which keep a
difference between them. The violence against women and that too at
domestic level is not the weakness of legislation but rather of
implementation of the same. There is not record of all the problem issues
faced by women and not all women rather families report it or bring to
the notice of the general public through media.
Generally in rare cases are men folk or the person responsible for the
violence against women brought to books. There is always fear of family
breaking kids future etc which come as hurdles in tackling such issue. It is
believed that poor women have to suffer fmally. Until and unless full-
fledged institutions are developed for supporting such women who fall
prey to these conditions, till than there is no preventive method of these
evils.

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