| Domestic Violence(DV) means |
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| Written by SIFF Admin |
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Domestic Violence(DV) means “Interpersonal violence with in family.” The present law is highly unbalanced and incomplete because it is only meant for violence against wives, mothers, sisters, daughters committed by men who are related to them. The abuses classified as domestic violence are abuse or threats of abuse which is physical, verbal, emotional, sexual and economic. It can be made somewhat balanced by including:1) violence against children by parents (male or female) or other elders. Children are much smaller, weak and helpless than grown up women. Many children are driven to sucide because of domestic violence. Statistics show exponential rise in suicide rate of children because of abuse by their parents (mothers, fathers) or other family members. Trauma of abuse is most severe in case of children. Mothers who physically, verbally, emotionally abuse their infant and young sons create a future domestic violence abuser.
Are children neglected in this law just because they can not burn bras ? Are not they human beings ? Do not they belong to family ?
2) Old and sick, wheel chair bound elderly men, sick, mentally/physically challenged men are much weaker than women. They are abused physically, verbally and emotionally by both men and women inside family. This law does nothing for this group of men. If a woman threatens these people of putting a false domestic violence case, she can get away as in India, there is no punishment or even fine for misuse of laws. 3) Does it cover domestic violence by women against women ? 4) I have personally seen cases of women verbally, emotionally abusing and even physically hitting men with objects and threatening them. Where will these men go ? Present DV law in fact gives a licence to such women to increase their attacks on men. In India, about 10,000 more men commit suicide than women due to domestic violence where as more women attempt suicide. (About, 65880 men and 42120 women committed suicide last year.) Men remain inside abusive relations just for the same reasons that women live in abusive relations. They continue because they do not want to be on the street, they do not want their children to suffer. The domestic violence law (DV law) should have provision for at least a legal warning against an abusive wife/woman if not any other punishment or fine. It clearly establishes that the present law is drafted with purely misandrist premises. One month back, a man approached me for some legal help in our counselling center. He told us how his wife has beaten his elder brother that morning. He is a muslim guy. Few months back, he was beaten brutally by his wife and her brothers. He was bleedly profusely. He went to police and police ordered his bothers-in-law not to hit him. But, that did not stop the physical and emotional abuse by his wife. In fear, his bother’s family moved out of the house. He wanted our advice on how he can send a legal notice for stopping all this abuse on him. At the same time he was damn concerned about our safety when we offered to send a letter to his wife to come to our counselling center. He was also telling us he is afraid of family prestige. |