2. Violence encompasses
What is violence?
• physical,
• visual,
• verbal or
• sexual acts
That are experienced by a
woman or girl as
threat, invasion, or
assault and that have the
effect of hurting her or
degrading her and /or
taking away her ability to
control contact (intimate
and otherwise) with
another individual”
3. What is Domestic violence?
SEC-3. For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or
commission or conduct of the respondent (person) shall
constitute domestic violence In case it-----
• harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or wellbeing,
• 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; or
4. explanation
1. “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;
2. “Sexual abuse" include, any conduct of a sexual nature that
abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity
of woman;
3. “Verbal and Emotional abuse" Includes-
(a) insults, ridicule, humiliation, name calling and insults or
ridicule specially with regard to not having a child or a male
child; and
(b) repeated threats to cause physical pain to any person in whom
the aggrieved person is interested.
5. 4. “Economic abuse" Includes-
1. 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;
(b) 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; and
(c) prohibition 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.
6. Whom to complain?
• Police
• Protection officer
• Magistrate
• Service providers
7. High lights
• Rights-based (civil) law
• Advocates the right to live with dignity
• First law in India to define DV in a
comprehensive way
• Legal right to live a life free of violence
• Government accountable to stop DV
• Emergency orders to stop DV (right to
residence, protection orders)
8. Laws under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
• Dowry Prohibition Act: any property or valuable (direct or
indirect) given before, at or after the marriage
• Section 304B: Death of a woman within 7 years of her
marriage
• Section 498A: When husband or his family subjects woman to
cruelty (“intentional” behavior that causes serious injury or
harassment for dowry)
• Section 376: Rape law
• Section 294: Obscene acts and songs
• Section 354: Intent to outrage a woman’s modesty
9. Criminal law (amendment) Act, 2013
Important inserted sections in criminal law
Section 326A – Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of
acid etc
Whoever causes permanent or partial damage or deformity to, or
burn or maims or disfigure or disable, any part of the body of a
person or cause grievous hurt by throwing acid on or by
administering acid to that person, or using any other means with the
intention of causing or with the knowledge that he is likely to cause
such injury or hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment for
life, and with fine.
10. Section 326 B – Voluntarily throwing or attempting to
throw acid
• Whoever throws or attempts to throw acid on any person or attempts
to administer acid to any person, or attempts to use any other
means, with the intention of causing permanent or partial damage or
deformity or burns or maiming or disfigurement or disability or
grievous hurt to that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of
either description for a term which shall not be less than five years
but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine
11. Section - 354A - Sexual Harassment
Definition of Sexual Harassment –
• (i) physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual
overtures; or
• (ii) a demand or request for sexual favors; or
(iii) making sexually colored remarks; or
• (iv) forcibly showing pornography; or
• (v) any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual
nature.
Punishment - Rigorous imprisonment up to five years, or with fine, or
with both in case of offence described in clauses
• (i) & (ii)Imprisonment up to one year, or with fine, or with both in other
cases
12. Section - 354B Public disrobing of Woman
Any man who assaults or uses criminal force to any women or abets
such act with the intention of disrobing or compelling her to be
naked, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description
for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may
extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
13. Any man who watches, or captures the image of a women engage in a
private act in circumstances where she would usually have the
expectation of not being observed either perpetrator or by any other
person at the behest of the perpetrator or disseminates such image shall
be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description
for a term which shall not be less than one year, but which may extend
to three years, and shall also be liable to fine, and be punished on a
second subsequent conviction, with imprisonment on either description
for a term which shall not be less than three years, but which may extend
to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 354C – Voyeurism
14. Whoever follows a person and contacts, or attempts to contact such
person to foster personal interaction repeatedly, despite a clear
indication of disinterest by such person, or whoever monitors the
use by a person of the internet, email or any other form of electronic
communication, or watches or spies on a person in a manner that
results in a fear of violence or serious alarm or distress in the mind
of such person, or interferes with the mental peace of such
person, commits the offence of stalking
Section 354D – Stalking
15. WHAT WE CAN DO ?
• Recognize abuse, Domestic abuse, as per the domestic violence Act,
includes actual abuse or threat of abuse that is physical, sexual, verbal,
emotional and economical abuse.
• Say No. Speak up. Or it will become pattern. You have to raise your voice
instantly
• Understand that you have rights along with responsibilities and duties. The
Act assures you the right to secure housing in the shared households,
whether or not you have any title rights to it.
• Under the Act, the court can pass protection orders that prevent the abuser
from committing or threatening any violence.
• Raise your voice against domestic abuse not just in your own house, but
also that of your neighbors, friends and even strangers.
16. • Increase women’s participation at all levels:
social, economic and political.
• Awareness of women’s rights – by the State, civil society
organizations, as well as the public at large.
• Gender budgeting and gender mainstreaming within State
agencies and civil society organizations
General recommendations
