As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps through the globe, there is an alarming upshot in domestic violence. Comment

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As more and more countries have entered lockdown, globally there is an alarming upshot in domestic violence related distress calls to support helplines and response shelters. Domestic violence has serious economic, social and health consequences – not only for women and children, but also for the wider family. It is an acute problem in India.

Tale of domestic violence:

• Domestic violence is not physical violence alone. Domestic violence is any behavior the purpose of which is to gain power and control over a spouse, partner, girl/boyfriend or intimate family member.
• Abuse is a learned behavior; it is not caused by anger, mental problems, drugs or alcohol, or other common excuses.
• Type of domestic violence include:
  • Stalking
  • Common Stalking Behaviors
  • Stalking Victim Recommendations
  • Domestic Violence and Arizona Law
  • Some Common Ways Abusers Control Victims
• In India, the National Commission of Women has recorded 291 complaints of domestic violence in March and is now only receiving complaints via email.
• Alarmingly, the hotlines run by NGOs and volunteer organisations, that are usually the avenues for women to report such attacks are eerily silent.
• This drop probably reflects the continuous presence of the abuser at home during the lockdown.
• With curtailed mobility and a police force that is more than apathetic towards gender-based violence, women are losing even the avenues that could have saved them from abuse, and in extreme cases, death.

Why this lockdown is more challenging for women?

• Currently, around 67 percent of the world’s healthcare workers are women, they are naturally more prone to infection.
• Women are already burdened with three times more unpaid care work than men. During lockdowns the burden increases manifold.
• As the lockdowns impose stricter control on one’s mobility, they put women in abusive relationships at extremely high risk of damage from physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
• As government directives close schools, colleges, universities globally and the workforce largely switches over to working from home, women and girls are left more vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse.
• In 2018, a United Nations study suggested globally, home was the most unsafe place for women.
• Of all female murders, an overwhelming 82 percent happen in their marital homes, and are committed by an intimate partner or a family member.
• As special cases, the dowry related death and honour killings have found special mention in the report, where the natal home of a woman also frequently becomes a dangerous place for her.
• 6 percent women in the same age group have experienced sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.
• About 31 percent of married women have experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence by their spouses.

Constitutional provisions to curb violence (in India):

• The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution in its:
  • Preamble
  • Fundamental Rights
  • Fundamental Duties
  • Directive Principles
• The Constitution not only grants equality to women but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favor of women for neutralizing the cumulative socio-economic, education and political disadvantages faced by them. 

 Impact of Violence: 

• Violence against women continues to be an obstacle to achieving equality, development, peace as well as to the fulfillment of women and girls’ human rights. 
• All in all, the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - to leave no one behind - cannot be fulfilled without putting an end to violence against women and girls.
• Due to the patriarchal traditions, women continue to pay the highest price as a result of gender inequality, discrimination, and negative stereotypes. They are also the most likely to be killed by intimate partners and family.
• Gender-based violence can pose a danger to a woman's reproductive health and can scar a survivor psychologically, cognitively and interpersonally. 
• A woman who experiences domestic violence and lives in an abusive relationship with her partner may be forced to become pregnant or have an abortion against her will, or her partner may knowingly expose her to a sexually transmitted infection.
• A child who has undergone or witnessed violence may become withdrawn, anxious or depressed on the one hand; on the other hand, the child may become aggressive and exert control over younger siblings.

What needs to be done?

• Human rights & intersectional based approach: Governments must utilise a human rights and intersectional based approach to ensure that everyone, including the most marginalised, has access to necessary information, support systems and resources during the current crisis.
• Extending help & publicising: The state governments need to declare helplines as “essential services” that should remain open during lockdowns. Disseminate information about gender-based violence and publicise resources and services available.
• Resourcing NGOs: Increase resourcing for NGOs that respond to domestic violence and aid — including shelter, counselling, and legal aid — to survivors, and promote those that remain open.
• Equitable sharing of domestic tasks: Encourage the equitable sharing of domestic tasks at home.
• Uninterrupted healthcare services: Provide for the continued provision of healthcare services based on medical research and tests — unrelated to the virus — for women and girls.
• Timely access to health service: Ensure women’s timely access to necessary and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services during the crisis, such as maternal health services, safe abortion etc.

Conclusion:

Gender-based violence is heavy a health burden for all and especially for women of ages 15-is as that posed by HIV, tuberculosis, and infection during childbirth, cancer, and heart diseases. The government should take strict action to curb domestic violence.