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Although home is a safe place for some, it is not a safe space for all. In fact, with COVID-19 lockdown in place, there has been a surge in instances of domestic violence.
India has a patriarchal set-up wherein it became an acceptable norm to abuse women. The cause for the crimes against women are many, but the occurrence of domestic brutality begins from the patriarchal set-up in society. Patriarchy has sunk in so deeply within our roots that women often take the blame for themselves when being subjected to violence. Their first course of action is correcting themselves rather than raising voices against the violence they're being subjected to.
All over the world, victims of domestic abuse are more vulnerable and at risk of brutal attacks due to the pandemic. Corresponding to the National Commission for Women (NCW), which receives complaints of domestic attacks from across India, the number of registered gender-based attacks have witnessed a more than two-fold rise during the nationwide pandemic lockdown. According to NCW Chief Rekha Sharma, “the prime reason for the rise of domestic violence is that men are at home and are taking out their frustration on women. Women, too, are confined within the four walls of the house and cannot share their grief with anybody...”
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act is a commendable legislation. It recognises and addresses various forms of violence against women. Before this act, all other instances of domestic violence within the household were dealt with under the offences of violence and were constituted under the IPC with no regard to the gender of the victim. This posed a problem where the victims were either children or women and were often dependent on the assailant.
According to the statistics released by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), Uttarakhand recorded the largest number of domestic violence cases in the last two stages of the initial lockdown. Haryana ranks in second rank and Delhi on third. However, the situation of an increase in cases of domestic violence is not unique to India. The lockdown has brought the world to a standstill. The lives of women across the globe, who are in abusive relationships, have come to a halt. The contributory factors for this issue include - stress, unemployment, reduced income, limited resources, alcohol abuse and limited social support.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) had estimated that there would be 31 million more incidents of domestic violence worldwide if lockdowns continue for another six months. All individuals must be protected in the present and the future. For this, various NGOs and institutions all over the world are working constantly to handle this issue. For example, Invisible Scars, an NGO trying to help domestic violence victims, has observed a surge in complaints. The organisation guides victims on how to register a complaint with the police. This is done after considering the details of the abuse in past and the present. Mpower 1 on 1, a helpline in Mumbai to report domestic abuse, is another example. Dr Ambrish Dharmadhikari, head of medical services at Mpower says” The team counsels victims and encourages them to report to the police if the counselling doesn’t help. But the tragic part is, the police are busy enforcing the lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus.”
In Spain’s Canary Islands, the Institute for Equality has launched a campaign called Mascarilla-19 (Mask-19), stressing that escaping abuse is a valid reason to leave your home. Pharmacies are widespread and among the few places, people can still freely visit. ”When a woman experiences violence at home or sexual assault, she can go to the nearest pharmacy and request Mask-19 – the mask that will save her life,” says Kika Fumero, who came up with the idea. The pharmacy staff will note down the details of the woman such as name, address and phone number and alert the emergency services. She can either go back home or wait until police and support workers arrive.
Such campaigns can be launched in all countries to establish a safe system for individuals who require help and lack the measures to seek it. People with prior abusive, aggressive tendencies, anger management problems must work on keeping their stress as low as possible. Practising self-care like meditation, limiting media exposure, taking up online impulse control programs or seeking guidance and support through counselling can put them in a better place.
Look around yourself. Your maid, your friend, your siblings or even your mother, anyone can be the victim of domestic violence, and there may be times when they do not even know about it. Educate them and inform them to know better and to do better. Times like these enable us to develop creative measures to handle situations and identify alternative solutions. The pandemic seems like a long battle, but domestic violence has been a longer one and we, indeed, have a long way to go.
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