Domestic Violence: Difference between the Statistics and Reality

“You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.”

Jawaharlal Nehru quoted the above-mentioned remark. This quote may easily be interpreted as alluding to the importance and role of women in a given nation. As a reference to the current situation in India, women still have a long way to go in terms of their rights and equality. Every court struggles while dealing with injustice against women that has ever been witnessed. It has its own story to tell which ranges from dowry clashes, bride burnings to pouring acid on women which scars them emotionally and physically for life. This paper aims to determine and enlighten readers about the notion of domestic violence as it exists in India by evaluating statistics and real-life scenarios. For a better understanding of the notion, the author has attempted to explore the legal backdrop briefly as well.

Domestic Violence, is commonly called as intimate partner violence, is perpetrated by one spouse or partner against the other in an intimate relationship. It is a key contributor to the victim's physical and mental health, and exists to some extent in every civilization on the planet. Domestic violence, in its broadest sense, includes violence against children, parents, and can take a variety of forms such as physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religious, reproductive, and sexual abuse, which can range from subtle, coercive forms to marital rape and even death.

Statistical Analysis-

The number of cases recorded for domestic violence are significantly lower than the actual cases . They are not prosecuted further due to societal pressure or inefficient judicial administration in this situation. According to statistics, three out of every five married women in reproductive age groups believe their husbands' wife-beating is appropriate in certain conditions.

Furthermore, clinical research and general population surveys have shown a correlation between heavy drinking and aggressive conduct against their spouses in general. Reports state that Kochi recorded 352 domestic abuse crimes during 2019 and 2020, with women being the most impacted during the lockdown time. According to the survey, as men began spent more time at home, there has been a significant increase in violence against women.

Domestic abuse cases are not reported to the authorities for a variety of reasons, one of which being that it occurs at home, which is considered the safest place for everyone. Indian women experienced more domestic violence during the first four phases of the COVID-19-related shutdown than in the previous ten years. However, this outlier is simply the tip of the iceberg, since 86 percent of women in India who are victims of domestic abuse do not seek help or report to concerned authorities.

According to the surveys of National Commission for Women and the National Family Health Survey- 2015-16, there have been 1,477 incidents of domestic violence between March 25 and May 31, 2020. More complaints have been reported in this 68-day period than in the preceding ten years between March and May. Approximately 86 percent of women who have been victims of violence have never sought help, and 77 percent of the victims have never reported either. Only 7% of the 14.3 percent of victims who sought assistance went to the authorities, such as the police, physicians, attorneys, or social service groups. However, more than 90% of the victims turned to their immediate relatives for assistance.

Critical Analysis

While statistics are the only numbers or reports tainted by many measurements, they cannot be regarded as the truth. To discuss the discrepancies, in most cases, the victim addressing their grievances to the person in authority regarding the violent acts ranges from a point or amount difference of around 6% for Himachal Pradesh to a high of 58 percent in Bihar, implying that half of man violent acts cases stated in overviews are not reported to the police in Bihar.

The judicial system does everything within its ambit to make individuals aware of the injustice that is being perpetrated against them. As much as we feel that a historic verdict will have a significant influence on people's perspectives in society, it is ultimately up to the people to decide whether or not to transcend the patriarchal bubble. In the case of Ajay Kumar v. Lata alias Sharuti, Justice DY Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta ruled that, under the proviso to section 2(q) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, both an aggrieved wife and a female living in a relationship in the nature of a marriage may file a complaint against a relative of the husband or male partner, as the case may be. This is a positive move by the judiciary in dealing with incidents of domestic violence by broadening the scope and reach of the law.

Secondly, another harsh reality of the society is the gravity of violent actions which is likely to be understated even among those who hold such beliefs, because the link between injuries sustained as a result of man-made violent acts becomes very weak between significant and less serious cases of abuse. In other words, persons who present less serious attacks to a person in authority may be in significantly greater pain or distress.

While we're talking the victims of this dilemma, let's not forget about the flip side of the coin. According to the NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau), 76 percent of rape allegations submitted were found to be fraudulent, 30,000 molestation cases were found to be false, and 1 lakh domestic violence or dowry cases were found to be false. Due to fake dowry or domestic violence allegations, almost 11 lakh men have been imprisoned. Approximately 9000 men are assaulted by their wives or their wives' boyfriends.

In the case of Preeti Gupta v. State of Jharkhand, the complainant reported to the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Ranchi alleging violations of sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Dowry Prohibition Act, against her husband and his immediate relatives. However, as the complainant never lived with the accused, the court determined that the allegations in the complaint were made only to torment and humiliate the husband's family.

In another instance, Ashok Kumar v. Vijay Laxmi, the woman (Respondent) falsely claimed that her husband (Appellant) was involved in a plot to burn and murder her, which he never did. The respondent filed a false report against the spouse, causing him mental anguish, misery, and humiliation. As a result, the Delhi Court, in ruling in favor of the spouse, found that the Respondent had subjected the Appellant to severe mental torment, which might be classified as cruelty. While we have focused on the seriousness of domestic violence concerns throughout this article, the opposite scenario cannot be dismissed. However, the problem has not received the attention it deserves.

Conclusion

Despite the significant frequency of domestic violence in today's culture, analysis shows that the victims' perceptions of the law against domestic violence are pessimistic. It is critical to make efforts to enhance public awareness about the need of reporting domestic abuse occurrences using the Domestic Violence Act 2005. This will enable us to gain a better understanding of the present state of domestic violence in the country, and how we can address the problem by providing proper protection and compensation to victims. Furthermore, present laws are insufficient to punish perpetrators of domestic violence, just as they are in the case of sexual assault, and it is important to enact legislation that covers all types of domestic abuse, and not just focusing on physical ones.