RISE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE!!!

- BY CHETANA CHAUDHURY

Rise of domestic violence during lockdown

Add another public health crisis to the toll of the new coronavirus: Mounting data suggests that domestic abuse is acting like an opportunistic infection, flourishing in the conditions created by the pandemic.

Billions of people are subject to some form of stay-at-home orders across the globe, and experts say women and children are most vulnerable to abuse.

Any kind of traumatic experiences done by it,

 lead to impaired activities of daily living and make

 it impossible to meet the daily needs. Domestic

 violence purportedly only has one intention: to

control over and to make the person feel inferior.

In April, 89% of the total number of cases registered were of domestic violence.

The numbers would support the current research world-wide about the increased risk of violence within the home because of the lockdown, said Prof U Vindhya, Sakhi OSC Project Leader and Deputy Director, (TISS, Hyderabad). On an average, the police registers one case of

domestic violence every minute. 1 in every 4 women

 will be victim of domestic violence in their life time

 and on an average two women a week are killed by

a current or former male partner according to National Commission of Women (NCW) which has seen up-rise in the mid-April records evidently around the time of lockdown in general. "Earlier, we used to get 900-1000 calls per day of domestic violence, eve teasing, molestation and ever since the lockdown we get around 1000-1200 calls per day, mostly of domestic violence," DCP (Operations and Communications) SK Singh told Mail Today Magazine earlier.

It is very important to first understand, the root cause of the problem and ponder why domestic violence cases have increased in a closet and confined space more than evidently from normal life or before lockdown life?  The situation of lockdown, that is to stay in isolation has fuelled up more problems amongst the couples living together. A lot of it depends on the type of family you live in like joint family, small, nuclear etc. This compounded with stress may lead to the perpetrator projecting frustration onto the victim to a higher degree.

Some women can bear abuse to some

extent and then respond in acceptable way of life

but on the other hand some are very sensitive with

inadequate coping mechanism and can respond in

life threatening ways i.e. suicide, damage of

property, loss of mental balance, impaired physical

as well as mental health, showing symptoms of

PTSD, harm to other human being (homicidal act)

and showing cruelty towards animals which takes the violence done to an another level. The pain it transfers to a person's soul is unimaginable! It is also reported that in many part of country

domestic violence is taking a face of social dignity,

justice, honor and self esteem etc and considered

as a part of cultural and historical matter that include

lot of bitter experiences like honor killing, girl/

women trafficking, genital mutilation of women,

and violence against women in conflicted situation.

Forms of domestic violence are sexual, physical, psychological, emotional and can affect women or even men on varied degrees. Even youth gets drastically affected by it, be it young boys and girls living in abusive families, families who are not ready to adjust with their children's thought process and behaviour. But domestic violence is one of the heinous crime which gets unnoticed even after a complaint is registered because of lack of any further investigation and fragility on part of law. Strict actions are prohibited due to long going oppression on the women. Many of the reasons are also the ancient condition of women which is still a transistery flow and still prevalent in our society.

Domestic violence is spreading like communicable disease. It is a sin for society as well as

country. It is just a way of showing the man’s

dominant status on women. There is much work

going on like training, education, research,

education of people regarding this issue by different

agencies and organizations like WHO, NGO’s etc.

Now to think why domestic violence occurs at a high rate during lockdown as past research has shown that domestic violence cases rise significantly as mobility restrictions foster more tension and strain in the household over security, health, and job losses.  As the pandemic worsens India’s unemployment problem, women will often be the first to let go when firms start cutting costs given cultural norms devaluing women’s work and also because women are less likely to work in sectors where telecommuting is possible.

There is a dire need for a policy, like the one in France, where the government provides abuse victims with a place to stay away from their abusers. Additionally, reaching these women in distress has to be constituted as an “essential service” in India.

Now there is issue of the additional burden of care -  One of the primary reasons that women leave the workforce or do not enter it in the first place is their unpaid caregiving responsibilities at home. Longstanding patriarchal social norms and cultural expectations have put the burden of caring for children, the elderly, and the household on Indian women. In India, according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), women perform nearly 6 hours of unpaid work each day, while men spend a paltry 52 minutes. This burden is likely to increase amid the lockdown as Indian men continue to not help in the household.

These are just a few examples of how pandemics often heighten gender inequities and affect men and women differently. Disasters expose and intensify the systemic and structural cracks in the current system and lockdown has shown that gender-blind policies could worsen these issues and leave women and girls more vulnerable than ever. Victims must not make excuses for the actions of the perpetrators, as there are none. Acceptance of such actions may lead to a vicious cycle of abuse. As the lockdown begins to be lifted or partially lifted around the country, India urgently needs gender-sensitive policies addressing the increasing violence against women, the widening gender disparities in labor force participation, rising school dropouts and malnutrition among girls, and women’s disproportionate unpaid work and caregiving responsibilities.