The Shadow

Pandemic of
Domestic
Vi o l e n c e
A systematic analysis of spousal
domestic violence faced by women in
Karnataka, India during COVID-19

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Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports from those on
the front lines, have shown that all types of violence against women and
girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified. This is the Shadow
Pandemic growing amidst the COVID-19 crisis and we need a global
collective effort to stop it.

---United Nations, 2020

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 Spousal Violence in India

 1 in 3 women in India is likely to have been subjected to abuse at the hands of their husband.

 Physical violence was the most common form of abuse, with nearly 27.5% of women reporting this. Sexual abuse
and emotional abuse were reported by nearly 13% and nearly 7%, respectively.
--NFHS Report 2021

 1 in 10 women formally reports the offence to the police or healthcare professionals

--Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
Shadow Pandemic

Domestic Violence Complaints received in the last 21 years Trend analysis of Gender based violence

Source: National Commission for Women, 2020 Source: National Commission for women, 2021

Increase of at least 2.5 X in DV complaints

Research Methodology

10 semi-structured interviews with a

range of stakeholders including
NGOs, police and lawyers

Detailed secondary research of reports published

by organizations such as National Commission
for Women, National Family Health Surveys,
Supreme Court of India, PRS India, Legal
Service India, Women and Child Development,
Oxfam and news articles
 Scope of Research - Karnataka Spousal Violence by husband’s characteristics

As per NHFS-5 survey in 2021, Karnataka had the highest

number of domestic violence cases (44.4.%) which had more
27%
than doubled since the last survey in 2016. 39%

47% of both rural and urban women surveyed as part of NFHS-5 33%
reported having experienced spousal violence – the figure was
20.6 per cent in NFHS-4.
Marital control behaviours Gets drunk often
Husband never attended school
The NCW received 311 complaints of violence from women in
the state in 2020; of these, 124 cases were that of domestic 81.9% men (highest in India) and 76.9 % women felt violence is
violence. In contrast, NCW had received 52 cases of domestic justified

violence in 2019.
Help seeking
18%
Nature of violence
50%
45% 44%
14%
40%
35%
30% 68%
25%
25%
20%
15%
10% Never sought help or told anyone Never sought help but told someone
10% Sought help
5%
0% Only 12% sought help from police
Physical Violence Sexual Violence Emotional Violence
 Regulations Reality
Swati Maliwal, Delhi Commission for Women Chief
“Over 64.5 per cent such cases are pending investigation
with police, of which, several hundred have been pending
for last five years. The data showing severe pendency
validates the complaints of women that cases of domestic
violence do not figure in the priority list of the police”
Section 498A in
1983
IPC
“Matrimonial cruelty” Discrepancy between reported and actual

PWADVA
Defines not only physical
violence, but also other forms
of violence such as emotional,
2005
verbal, sexual, and economic
abuse, etc

Nirbhaya Act
Indian government set
2013 up the Nirbhaya Fund in
2013 to combat violence
against women
Funds underutilized
The Ministry of Women and Child Development which is the nodal authority for the fund
underspent its allocated budget by utilizing only 20% of the money it received in 2019
 Setting the narrative

I can't call at my house as he keeps checking The woman was in an abusive relationship with the husband for
me and what all am I doing. If by any chance I 50 years, the woman packed her bags when her husband was
even dare to answer back or refuse, all the not at home for 30 mins and travelled to the shelter home in
anger is on me, I will be beaten up and I know I Bengaluru
have no choice either. Rather than dealing with
this torture, I would prefer to die of Corona
- Meenakshi Giri, trustee for Durga India on a 55-year-old lady living in
- A lady staying with her husband in rural Karnataka
rural Karnataka

In most cases women return to their husbands,
even if they are financially independent, the
only reason they file the complaint is because
they want the violence to stop; there have
been instances where the woman has herself
bailed out her husband
She filed her case in 2021, her hearing hasn’t happened
effectively, mediation failed, nothing constructive has happened
for a whole year; she faced economic abuse, she couldn’t buy
sanitary pads and recharge her phone, and she faced emotional
abuse since her husband was having an extra-marital affair ;she
could only return home because her family was supportive

- Council to Secure Justice and Shakti Shalini - Aanchal Kapoor, Lawyer on a lady living in Bangalore
 Stakeholder Perspective
“ We believe that the rise in
cases during COVID-19 is
“ Women need to deal tactically
because of the social
awareness campaigns run by
our state office.
It is an internal matter of her
house and should be sorted
out internally and not
publicly. How will she survive
(financial dependency and
social stigma) after separation
from her husband?
We will need evidence. Even if
we get the right evidence, it
will take months to get justice
and there is a very little chance
” ”
for you to win the case.
to protect themselves and try
to mellow down the situation
by not reacting much.
We are allowed to admit the
victims for not more 30 days.
Besides, we have inadequate
facilities for the emotionally
and physically abused.
Women rarely come out and
report domestic violence
cases. Even when they do, we
don’t have enough number of
counsellors to attend to them
as we have limited funds.
 System Analysis
Domestic violence cases against women skyrocketed during COVID 19 pandemic
EVENTS

The experience of 37% of women who have at least 12 years of

spousal violence is schooling have experienced emotional, physical, or 83% of 534,431 cases filed under
slightly higher among sexual spousal violence cruelty by husbands and his relatives,
women in rural areas and 99.8% of 847 cases filed under the
(49%) than in urban PWDVA are pending in court
PATTERN
Violence is higher for women who are S
areas (48%);
employed (55%) than women who are not
employed (44%)

Inadequate implementation of PWADVA Poor infrastructure in shelter homes

UNDERLYING
Lack of emphasis on Domestic Violence Lack of awareness around PWADVA STRUCTURES

Gender roles Patriarchy Marriage is sacred

MENTAL
Objectification of women Normalized violence Stigma MODELS

Generations of abuse
 Causal Relationships
Lack of helplines before COVID 19 resulted in
underreporting of domestic violence before pandemic
Women form 33% of workforce in
Karnataka but they were working
from home and women lost more
jobs than men during the pandemic
Financial
agency
Conservative social structures don’t permit
women to leave their abusive partners despite
financial independence
Awareness &
Media
Omnichannel awareness campaigns resulted in women
knowing and understanding different kinds of violence
Increase in reporting
The apparatus under the Protection of
of DV against women Women from Domestic Violence Act
during COVID19 in should be recognized as fundamental
Karnataka service and substantial number of
resources must be allocated
Support
system
Unavailability of protection officers, NGOs and
diminished contact with natal family due to constant
presence of abuser worsened the situation
System Mapping
Solutions Landscape

• More lower courts to reduce case pendency • DV issue sensitization programs for Police
personnel

• Implement successful small scale

awareness campaigns at larger scale
• Increase number of Shelter homes
• State governments to hire qualified
• Increase maximum days of stay at homes
Protection Officers as opposed to Revenue
• Improve cleanliness of shelter homes
Officers
• In-house counselling services required
• Institute memorable helpline numbers for
• Vocational training course for survivors
ease for reporting
• Work towards restorative justice at shelter homes

• Increase number of grants + funds for

NGOs to address gaps in services by govt
• Direct and clear communication channel • Increase funding for proper implementation
between Protection Officers and NGO of government programs to combat DV
caseworkers to avoid working in silos on
same case
 Gaps & Levers of Change
Stakeholders Gaps Levers of Change

Lack of proper implementation Increase the number of Protection

of the DV Act Officers and also lower courts
for timely disposal of DV cases

Sensitization training programs

Lack of holistic and survivor
for protection Officers, Judges
centric support.
and Public Prosecutor

Mandate sex education and

Lack of awareness on what increase awareness campaigns
constitutes Domestic Violence through various channels such as
social media, radio stations, etc.

NGOs to be granted more funding

Inaccessible support for as they provide support to
survivors. survivors that other key
stakeholders fail to provide
Key Insights and Findings
 Lack of proper data to understand the depth of domestic violence in India.

 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) only started compiling DV data from 2014. The DV act came into
effect in 2008.
 NCRB data under PWDVA includes only criminal violations of court orders and also fails to include.
incidents of domestic violence recorded under section 498 A of Indian Penal Code for cruelty by husband
and his relatives, section 304 B for dowry deaths and Section 306 for abetment of suicide.

 Women from different socio-economic class are expected by the Indian society to experience and respond
to domestic violence differently. Women from lower socio-economic class are taught to accept DV as part
and parcel of DV. Women from upper socio-economic class are taught to sweep abuse under the rug to save
face.

 DV is widely misunderstood as physical abuse while emotional and financial abuse are widely not considered
as DV by most Indian societies.
 Conclusion
 The Domestic Violence Act is comprehensive and forward looking but improper implementation hinders
the Act from properly addressing the issue.

 Various stakeholders – police, lawyers, judges, public prosecutors, government agencies, policymakers,
Indian society etc. need to be sensitized on the issue of domestic violence and that it is NOT a
private affair. Domestic Violence is a criminal act that occurs within the confines of a home.

 Domestic Violence is an imminent issue that needs to be prioritized. NCRB data shows that DV is
the top crime Indian women faced in 2019 although most news coverage + govt policies address rape and
sexual assault.

 Moving forward, solutions to address DV must be enacted while keeping in mind the existing structures
and resources available to DV survivors. For example, a lot of apps to report DV cases require access to
mobile phones. Given that most known DV survivors are women in India and that women's access to
mobile phones in rural areas are 41% and 62% in urban areas, investing in apps to improve DV reporting
may not be the best strategy.
Thank you