DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The author of this article is Mr. Yashpriya Sahran who is currently pursuing B.A. LL.B. from Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida. He is an avid reader and writer. His area of interest is ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) and social welfare.

The whole country is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic whereas women at homes are enduring violence by their intimate partner. Lockdown all over the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic has desecrated not just lives but livelihood also, due to which there is a gradual spike in Domestic Violence cases by the intimate partner during the lockdown.

This seems to be awkward how livelihood is resulting in a gradual increase in the cases of violence against women. Before that, we shall look at some of the drawbacks of lockdown which ultimately give a gist about why there is a gradual increase in domestic violence and harassment cases in the past few days since the lockdown.

Lockdown has resulted in several complications for individuals who had adversely impacted our economy, food, and livelihood. People are being stuck in their homes making them impatient and annoying. People who used to go to pubs and bars had started drinking at their homes which does not bode well for children and partners. Individuals who go out for fresh air are incapable to fresh up their minds due to the lockdown. Many people are tensed about their businesses which have been shut down and they have no other resources to pay the rents of their house and offices. Lockdown gradually changed our lifestyle due to which the people are becoming mentally sick resulting in hypertension, irritation, and depression, etc. The World Health Organisation (WHO) also says that the chance of insinuating accomplice violence is likely to extend, as separating measures are put in place and individuals are encouraged to stay at home.

The lockdown has made everyone chained in their house due to which there has been a twofold rise in the cases of domestic violence. The National Commission of Women (NCW)[1] filed almost double the number of complaints during the lockdown as compared to the pre-lockdown days. The complaints received from March 23 to April 16 were 239 whereas in the previous 25 days survey it was just 123 complaints as recorded by NCW. 

There had been seen a great change in the number of domestic violence cases in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal according to the state-wise report of the complaints received by NCW, along with this there is a decrease in some states like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh.

It had been seen in the reports that in Uttar Pradesh there is a gradual decrease in the number of cases of domestic violence from 699 cases in March to 159 cases in April and the same is with other states like in Haryana where the cases have decreased to 40 in April as compared to around 80 in March. Similarly, in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi This indicates that the incidents of domestic violence amid the lockdown depend upon the capacity of causalities to form complaints whereas they share residential spaces with the culprits. Inspector-General of Police (Women Safety) Telangana, Swati Lakra also mentioned that earlier there used to be 400 complaints regarding Domestic Violence everyday pre-lockdown but the number of complaints had fallen to around 150-200 since the lockdown started[2]. It is truth amid lockdown that domestic disputes have expanded a lot but if you inquire the data it would be lesser.

There are various helpline numbers and shelter homes accessible for women regulated by the state as well as by non-governmental organizations and various other provisions are there for women in the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005[3], but these all had been curtailed due to the coronavirus lockdown.

During the lockdown, the women cannot go to the police station for filing FIRs and social workers are also abandoned to reach them or manage for their travel; the police are already overburdened with COVID-19 obligations and visiting homes for investigating domestic disputes is frequently not considered a need. At present, the courts are only open for emergency hearings.

Apart from domestic violence, lockdown had imposed more challenges to women. Women are being overburdened with the increase in households' works also. Along with this women are being disrupted from the support system, and restricted from access to proper sexual and reproductive health issues. There has been a lack of access to crisis centers, shelters, legal aid, and protection services guaranteed under various laws.

The National Commission for Women had started taking complaints regarding domestic violence on women by sending alert to WhatsApp number (+91 7217735372)[4] which is tentatively only for the period of COVID 19 lockdown.

To prevent the women from Domestic Violence during lockdown is to spread awareness among the victims of Domestic Violence sufferers that they still report the crimes. Other than this, the Police and NGOs should set up well-published helplines and also offer a range of services from counseling to shelter and medical support. In this pandemic situation, different communities should take some respective measures to support women survivors.

Women Should be provided some transportation facilities to get out of the house to seek security and safety either in shelters or homes of family or friends. Some provisions should also be made for institutional quarantining of perpetrators of Domestic Violence with a known history of abuse. Women should be provided with easy access to police assistance to file non-cognizable reports or FIRs and access to courts for serious cases. Appointment of protection officers and service providers as given under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act and if protection officers are not appointed due to lockdown then, some temporary officers should be appointed for protecting women. There should be broad media outreach that endorses Domestic Violence would empower the victim with survival strategies and there will be an attitudinal change in perpetrators as a result. Some major and prospective steps should be taken by the counselors, trained mediators, lawyers, psychiatrists, social workers, and anyone who could help must come forward towards helping the women in need through various sources like video conferencing, WhatsApp or any other social media platform.

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[1] The National Commission for Women, India, available at http://ncw.nic.in/ncw-cells/complaint-investigation-cell (last visited on May 1, 2020).

[2] Dhamini Ratnam, "Domestic violence during Covid-19 lockdown emerges as a serious concern", Hindustantimes, Apr. 26, 2020.

[3] The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, India, available at http://ncw.nic.in/sites/default/files/TheProtectionofWomenfromDomesticViolenceAct2005_0.pdf (last visited on May 1, 2020).

[4] Id.

[5] Titan M. Alon, Matthias Doepke, Jane Olmstead-Rumsey, and Michele Tertilt, “The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality”, National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 26947 April 2020 JEL No. D10,E24,J16,J22

[6] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, available at https://en.unesco.org/news/mapping-online-articles-covid-19-and-gender (last visited on May 2, 2020)