DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN INDIA:

In India where almost half of the population is women, they have always been ill-treated and
deprived of their right to life and personal liberty as provided under the constitution of India.
Women are always considered as a physically and emotionally weaker than the males, whereas
at present women have proved themselves in almost every field of life affirming that they are no
less than men due to their hard work whether at home or working places. Behind closed doors of
homes all across our country, people are being tortured, beaten and killed. It is happening in rural
areas, towns, cities and in metropolitans as well. It is crossing all social classes, genders, racial
lines and age groups. It is becoming a legacy being passed on from one generation to another.
But offences against women which reflects the pathetic reality that women are just not safe and
secure anywhere. India has adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both of which
ensure that women are given equal rights as men and are not subjected to any kind of
discrimination. The Constitution of India also guarantees substantive justice to women. Article
15 of the Constitution provides for prohibition of discrimination against the citizens on grounds
of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth or their subjection to any disability, liability or
restriction on such grounds. In exercise of this power, the Protection of Women from Domestic
Violence Act was passed in 2005. In this paper, I am going to talk about the domestic violence
which became a major problem nowadays.

DEFINITIONS

The term "domestic violence" doesnt have a clear definition. However, it includes elaborately
all forms of actual abuse or threat of abuse of physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic
nature that can harm, cause injury to, endanger the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, either
mental or physical of the aggrieved person. The definition is wide enough to cover child sexual
abuse, harassment caused to a woman or her relatives by unlawful dowry demands, and marital
rape.
The Domestic Violence Act of 2005 of India legally defines domestic violence and the
prosecution guidelines of those cases that are reported to the police.

In 1983, domestic violence was recognized as a specific criminal offence by the introduction of
section 498-A into the Indian Penal Code. This section deals with cruelty by a husband or his
family towards a married woman. The main legislative measures at the national level for the
children who become a victim of child labour include The Child Labour Prohibition and
Regulation Act -1986 and The Factories Act -1948. The first act was categorical in prohibiting
the employment of children below fourteen years of age, and identified 57 processes and 13
occupations which were considered dangerous to the health and lives of children. The factories
act again prohibits the employment of children less than fourteen years of age.

An act called Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 [DVA, 2005] also has
been passed. This Act ensures the reporting of cases of domestic violence against women to a
Protection Officer who then prepares a Domestic Incident Report to the Magistrate and
forward copies thereof to the police officer in charge of the police station within the local limits
of jurisdiction.

FORMS OF DOMETIC VIOLENCE: