Vivekananda School of Law and

Legal Studies

Professional Skill Development Activity 2021-22

 INTRODUCTION
The ongoing pandemic forced millions of people all over the world to confine themselves in
various forms of home quarantine. In India, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has
also raised the issue of an increase in domestic violence cases since the national lockdown was
imposed.

Domestic Violence may include acts of:

• Physical violence, such as slapping, hitting, kicking, and beating.
• Sexual violence, including forced sexual intercourse and other forms of sexual coercion;
• Emotional (psychological) abuse, such as insults, belittling, constant humiliation,
intimidation (e.g. destroying things), threats of harm, threats to take away children.
• Controlling behaviors, including isolating a person from family and friends; monitoring
their movements; and restricting access to financial resources, employment, education, or
medical care.
 Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

• Includes physical and mental ill-treatment.

• Primarily meant for the protection of wife or female live-
in partners.
• Law also extends to sisters, widows, or mothers.
• Harassment in the form of dowry demands also included
in this law.
• Gives women the right to secure housing.
• The court can also issue protection orders that prevent the
abuser to harass the woman by acts at her workplace.
• The act proposes the appointment of protection officers
and NGOs.
• A breach of a protection order is a non-bailable offense.
 Causes of Domestic violence
• Patriarchy
• Societal influence
• Economic causes
• Socio-Cultural
• Individual Factor
 STATISTICS
• Total complaints increased from 116 in the first week of March’20 to 257 in the final week of March, according to data
analysis.

• Cases under the right to live in dignity (Article 21) increased from 35 to 77. Such cases may involve discrimination
based on gender, class, or caste, or all three.
cases may only be a fraction of the total, as many women will be unable to reach out for a variety of reasons.

• According to the Hindu, in 2020, between March 25 and May 31, 1,477 complaints of domestic violence were made by
women. This 68-day period recorded more complaints than those received between March and May in the previous 10
years Nearly 82 percent of women who experienced violence did not seek help, and 77 percent did not even mention
the incident(s) to anyone. Only 7% of the 14.3 percent of victims who sought assistance approached relevant authorities
— the police, doctors, lawyers, or social service organizations. However, more than 90% of the victims sought
assistance only from their immediate family.

• As per a United Nations study published in 2018, an overwhelming 82 percent of all female murders occur in their
marital homes and are committed by an intimate partner or a family member.

• As of the most recent findings of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), at least 30% of women respondents
across 14 states and Union Territories justified their husbands beating them in certain circumstances.
 CONCLUSION

• Article 21 of our constitution guarantees women the right to live in dignity.

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005 has done little
to prevent domestic violence. A concerted effort is needed at both the societal
and governmental levels.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!