This document summarizes the Domestic Violence Act of 2005 in India. It defines domestic violence, outlines the various forms it can take including physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, and economic abuse. It notes that women represent 95% of victims. The act aims to protect women from domestic violence and provides civil remedies like protection orders and maintenance orders. It recognizes the right of women to reside in the shared household and seek help from agencies like protection officers or service providers.

1. THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT 2005ADITI CHOUDHARY (6004)KRITI ASHOK (6033)NEHA AGARWAL (6045)NIHARIKA RAJORIYA (6048)

2. Domestic violence can be broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, friends or cohabitationIt is the establishment of control and fear in a relationship through violence and other forms of abuse. The violence may involve physical abuse, sexual assault and threats. The abuser tortures and controls the victim by calculated threats, intimidation, and physical violence. In most cases, the victims are women. Children in homes where there is domestic violence are also abused or neglected. Domestic violence is a CRIME and you must seek help.WHAT IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?

3. For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in case it -harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; orharasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; orhas the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or(d) otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.DEFINITION IN SECTION 3, IPC

4. Physical Assault or injury (hitting, beating, shoving, etc.)Psychological or Emotional AbuseSocial AbuseFinancial AbuseSexual Assault (sexual abuse, forced sexual activity)FORMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCEA physically abused victim

5. PHYSICAL ABUSE means any act or conduct which is of such a nature as to cause bodily pain, harm, or danger to life, limb, or health or impair the health or development of the aggrieved person and includes assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force;SEXUAL ABUSE includes any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of woman;VERBAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE includes-insults, ridicule, humiliation, name calling and insults or ridicule specially with regard to not having a child or a male child; andrepeated threats to cause physical pain to any person in whom the aggrieved person is interested.FORMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

6. ECONOMIC ABUSE includes-deprivation of all or any economic or financial resources to which the aggrieved person is entitled under any law or custom whether payable under an order of a court or otherwise or which the aggrieved person requires out of necessity including, but not limited to, household necessities for the aggrieved person and her children, if any, stridhan, property, jointly or separately owned by the aggrieved person, payment of rental related to the shared household and maintenance;disposal of household effects, any alienation of assets whether movable or immovable, valuables, shares, securities, bonds and the like or other property in which the aggrieved person has an interest or is entitled to use by virtue of the domestic relationship or which may be reasonably required by the aggrieved person or her children or her stridhan or any other property jointly or separately held by the aggrieved person; andprohibition or restriction to continued access to resources or facilities which the aggrieved person is entitled to use or enjoy by virtue of the domestic relationship including access to the shared household.FORMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

7. VICTIMSDomestic violence does not belong only to a specific group of people rather it occurs across all socio-economic, racial, religious, ethnic age groups.1. Domestic violence happens between people who are dating married, separated and divorced.2. It occurs in heterosexual as well as in gay and lesbian relationships and in adolescent dating relationships.

8. Cont……But the main victims of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE are WOMEN :1. women represent 95% of adult victims.2. between 1 and 4 million women abused per year.3. lifetime risk for women is about 20%. Abusers come from all walks of life. They can be male or female, but the trend indicates men as majority of perpetrators. The abuser is responsible, and there is no excuse for domestic violence. Contrary to popular belief, domestic violence is not caused by stress, mental illness, alcohol or drugs. The only true cause of domestic violence is the abuser’s choice to act violently.

10. One in every 2 women in South Asia faces violence in her home21-28% women are abused by a current or former partner some time during their lives47% of husbands who beat their wives do so 3 or more times a year14-25% of ever-married women report being raped by their current or former husbands19% to 30% of injured women seen in emergency departments are victims of domestic violence25% of women who attempt suicide may have suffered domestic violenceSTATISTICAL FACTS ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

11. Cont…..1500 women are killed by their partners annually.30 to 50% of all women murdered are killed by their partners.Upto 6 million women are beaten in their homes annually.90% of battered women never report their abuse.Battering contributes to all 25-50% suicide attempts.1 out of every 3 women seen in ER are victims of domestic violence as per the AMA.

15. Violence Against Women Womb To Tomb• Before birth, as many as 5 million girls in India are aborted by sex selective abortion. If her mother is beaten, the unborn child can beharmed in the womb, born underweight, miscarried or stillborn.• As an infant, she may be one of 10,000 girl children in India who aremurdered by female infanticide every year.• In girlhood, she may suffer physical, sexual, or psychological abuse atthe hands of her elders.• In adolescence, she is married and pregnant before she is physicallyand emotionally ready .• As a wife, it is likely that she is battered in the home. In a UNICEFreview of 21 studies of violence in South Asia, over 70% of women inIndia reported that they were physically abused by their husbands.• Outcast in widowhood: She is harassed, abused, and even murderedwhen her husband dies.• Throughout her life, depression and suicide are two predictableoutcomes for a life endured under these conditions

16. Sharad B. Sarda vs. State of Maharashtra (1984) 4 SCC 116State (Delhi Administration) vs. Laxman Kumar and ors (1985) 4SCC 476Vanka Radharnanohari vs. Vanka Venkato Reddy and ors (1993) SCC 4State of West Bengal vs. OrilalJaiswal & anr. (1994) 1 SCC 73Hem Chand vs. State of Haryana (1997) 11 SCC 552Pawan Kumar vs State of Haryana (1 998) 3 SCC 309IMPORTANT CASES

17. During the 1980’s, far-reaching changes were introduced in our criminal laws to deal with DVIn 1983, DV as a specific criminal offence by the introduction of section 498-A into the Indian penal code.Section 498-A of the Indian penal code covers dowry-related harassmentAlso addresses dowry deaths in section 304-B.Section 306 should be invoked when a woman commits suicide because of dowry-related harassment.PREVIOUS ACTS

18. Domestic Violence Bill was first introduced by NDA Government after a persistent demand from women organizations across the country.There are certain criminal remedies that address domestic violence against the wife/married woman but none of them address violence against sisters, daughters, mothers and mothers- in-law. The existing criminal law does not address a woman’s needs for residence or maintenance, for instance. The Domestic Violence Act allows women in domestic relations with the aggressor to seek a whole range of civil remedies under a single-window clearance system.NEED OF THE ACT

19. The wide definition of domestic violence - physical, mental, economical and sexual - brings under its purview the invisible violence suffered by a large section of women and entitles them to claim protection from the courts.To protect women from domestic violence.Not that there was no law in India earlier dealing with violence against women.The previous law, however, was not specific to domestic violence against women.Therefore it was not very effective in controlling violence committed against women, within the family or inside the household.NEED OF THE ACT

20. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is a new legislation which empowers courts to grant protection to victims of domestic violence. It also includes new concepts such as “civil wrong of domestic violence, the right to reside in a shared household and the right to protection against domestic violence by obtaining protection orders including monetary relief and custody of children orders”. The objective of Act is to preserve the family and “regulate and improve matters for the future, rather than pass judgments or punish past behavior.”OBJECTIVE OF THE ACT

21. Commencement of the Act: This Act came into force on 26th October 2006.Extent of operation: It extends to the whole of India, except the State of Jammu and KashmirIt seeks to protect a woman from domestic violence committed or threatened to be committed, by an adult male member of the family or household.It recognizes the right of the aggrieved woman to reside in the shared household.Aggrieved woman may directly apply to the Magistrate for appropriate reliefs.She may also approach the Magistrate through other agencies, such as Protection Officer, Police Officer or Service Provider.LAWS

22. The role of the NGOs as Service Providers has been acknowledged in the Act itself.A strong support system has been created in favour of the aggrieved woman.It is for the Protection Officer, Police Officer or a Service Provider to aid and assist the aggrieved or affected woman, in seeking appropriate reliefs under the Act and to ensure that the benefits flowing out of the Act are actually made available to her.Aggrieved woman has a right to be informed of the facilities and services that may be available, specially with respect to legal aid, safe shelter, medical facility, etc.It provides for counselling, which may pave the way for proper perspective or reconciling attitude.LAWS

23. It lays down scope for securing the services of welfare experts.The Act insists on speedy disposal of cases and for what purpose, has fixed time-limits. For termination of various stages of legal process Sec. 12 (4) Sec 12 (5).The Act provides for many remedies which an aggrieved woman may need – protection, shelter, custody of children, medical facility, legal aid, compensation, restoration of property, and monetary reliefs.The Act prefers sensitized personnel for its implementation. That is why it leans in favour of active participation of the women in the capacity of Protection Officers and also as welfare experts for being more gender-sensitive.LAWS

24. The Act provides for remedies under the Civil Law and at the same time, creates two penal offences.While the Act seeks to punish Protection officers for dereliction of duties, it intends to protect them from false or frivolous complaints. They cannot be prosecuted without any sanction of the State Government. That apart, action taken by them in good faith is protected (Sec. 35).All proceedings under the Act for obtaining reliefs and also for trial of offences are to be governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Magistrate may, however, evolve his own procedure in two situations u/s 12 and u/s 23 (2).There are provisions in the Act, empowering the Magistrate to pass interim or ex parte orders. He may deal with emergent situations, as and when they may so require.LAWS

25. Protection Officers and members of the Service Providers shall be deemed to be public servants (Sec 30).Both the offences created under the Act are cognizable and non-bailable.Orders passed by the Magistrate may subsequently be rescinded or modified if the circumstances so require. That kind of flexibility has been in-built in the Act itself.The Magistrate is under an obligation to give copies of his orders to the parties, officer-in-charge of the Police Stations and Service Providers (if associated) free of cost.The Act contemplates that all the agencies, namely, Protection Officers, Police Officers and Service Providers, should act in harmony in furtherance of its objectives.LAWS

26. The specialty of the Act lies not only in empowering a Judicial Officers (JM, Ist class or M.M.) to deliver justice at a single window and under the same roof but also in creating a separate agency, namely cadre of protection officers and making it mandatory for them to render assistance and to extend support to the victim of domestic violence, towards giving them what are due to them.The Act also relies up on Police Officers and imposes upon them specific duties to perform in promotion of its goal, in addition to their obligation to deal with cognizable offences.LAWS

27. LAWSInvolvement of the NGOs in the area of implementation of the act is another important strategy adopted by the parliament through this legislation, NGOs may get themselves registered as “Service Providers” and once they do so, they derive certain powers and obtain a degree of immunity, as laid down in section 10 (2).

28. Protection order (sec. 18)Residence order (sec. 19)Monetary Relief (sec. 20)Custody order (sec. 21)Compensation order (sec. 22)Interim and ex parte order (sec. 23)RELIEFS AVAILABLE UNDER THE ACT

29. Medical facilities (sec. 7)Shelter homes (sec. 8)Counseling (sec. 14)Assistance of welfare experts (sec. 15)Support by Protection Officers, Police Officer and Service Providers (sections 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10)THE FACILITIES PROVIDED UNDER THE ACT

30. Determined campaigning and lobbying by women’s organizations, significant amendments were made to the Indian penal code, the Indian evidence act and the dowry prohibition act, with the intention of protecting wives from marital violenceThe most notable ones are sections 304b, 306 and 498a of the Indian penal code.The Indian penal code was amended twice during the 1980s — first in 1983 and again in 1986 — to define special categories of crimes dealing with marital violence and abuse.SALIENT FEATURES

31. The Act seeks to cover those women who are or have been in a relationship with the abuser where both parties have lived together in a shared household and are related by consanguinity, marriage or a relationship in the nature of marriage, or adoption; in addition relationship with family members living together as a joint family are also included. Even those women who are sisters, widows, mothers, single women, or living with the abuser are entitled to get legal protection under the proposed Act."Domestic violence" includes actual abuse that is physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic. Harassment by way of unlawful dowry demands to the woman or her relatives would also be covered .SALIENT FEATURES

32. One of the most important features of the Act is the woman’s right to secure housing. The Act provides for the woman’s right to reside in the matrimonial or shared household, whether or not she has any title or rights in the household. This right is secured by a residence order, which is passed by a court. These residence orders cannot be passed against anyone who is a woman.The other relief envisaged under the Act is that of the power of the court to pass protection orders that prevent the abuser from aiding or committing an act of domestic violence or any other specified act, entering a workplace or any other place frequented by the abused, attempting to communicate with the abused, isolating any assets used by both the parties and causing violence to the abused, her relatives and others who provide her assistance from the domestic violence.SALIENT FEATURES

33. The draft Act provides for appointment of Protection Officers and NGOs to provide assistance to the woman w.r.t medical examination, legal aid, safe shelter, etc.The Act provides for breach of protection order or interim protection order by the respondent as a cognizable and non-bailable offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees or with both. Similarly, non-compliance or discharge of duties by the Protection Officer is also sought to be made an offence under the Act with similar punishment.SALIENT FEATURES

35. Domestic violence only happens to poor women.Domestic violence is not caused or provoked by the actions or inactions of the woman. Alcohol or drug abuse, depression, lack of money or lack of a job do not directly cause domestic violence. These may be factors which may put women at greater risk of violence because of the stress created by financial hardship and relationship crises. Many abusers blame the victim or other things for their violent acts and do not take responsibility for the abusive behavior.Many overseas jurisdictions view acts of domestic violence as criminal acts. THE MYTHS ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

36. The causes of domestic violence are not known to date. The research carried out in different parts of the world indicates that any social structure which treats women as fundamentally of less value than men is conducive to violence against women.Victims of violence are predominantly women, while perpetrators are overwhelmingly males which gives credence to the theory that violence is an outcome of gender inequality.In countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and the United States, considerable legislation has been developed to recognize and prosecute crimes of domestic violence.THE MYTHS ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

37. A person can be violent if he/she

38. Holds rigid, traditional gender roles

39. Showing extreme jealousy and possessiveness

40. May have negative attitude towards women in general

41. Refuses to take responsibility . His mistakes or failures are always someone else's fault.

42. Shows excessive charm .