Double Pandemic – Domestic Violence During Lock Down

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‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’ is the battle cry to protect everyone from the COVID-19 pandemic that is wreaking havoc on the world. Although the home may be considered as a haven for some, it is not the safest place for all.

Most Governments have taken the path of lock downs and stay-at-home orders to facilitate physical distancing which is imperative to deteriorate the impact of the malady. Due to this, victims of domestic violence are now caught vulnerable to a frighteningly new degree of violence and abuse. 

Some Stats and Data 

National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4) (2015-16) suggests that around 30% of women in India, in the age group of 15-49 have experienced physical violence of some kind since the age of 15. The report further reveals that 6% of women in the same age group have experienced sexual abuse at least once in their lifetime. About 31% of married women have at some time, experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence by their spouses. The most telling statistic from the data is perhaps that 52% of the surveyed women and 42% of the surveyed men think that there is at least one valid reason for beating the wife.

In 2018, the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) suggested that globally, the home was the most unsafe place for women. According to the report, of all female murders, a massive 82% happen in their marital homes and are committed by an intimate partner or a family member. The toll equates to 137 women killed every day, or six killed every hour, by people they know.

The National Commission for Women (NCW), the government body that receives complaints of domestic violence in the country, has recorded more than twofold rise in gender-based violence during the ongoing lock down. During the first four phases of the Coronavirus-related lock down, Indian women filed more domestic violence complaints – 311,477 – than recorded in a similar period in the last 10 years. About 86% of women who experienced violence never sought help, and 77% of the victims did not even mention the incident(s) to anyone.

Among the few victims who sought help, only 7% reached out to relevant authorities — the police, doctors, lawyers, or social service organizations while more than 90% of the victims sought help only from their immediate family. 

Why Does Domestic Violence Happen? 

Domestic violence involves a pattern of psychological, sexual, physical, financial, and emotional abuse. Acts of threats, humiliation, and intimidation are also considered acts of violence. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, “Domestic violence and abuse stem from a desire to gain and maintain power and control over an intimate partner. Abusive people believe they have the right to control and restrict their partners, and they may enjoy the feeling that exerting power gives them.”

“They often believe that their own feelings and needs should be the priority in their relationships, so they use abusive tactics to dismantle equality and make their partners feel less valuable and deserving of respect in the relationship.” The Hotline clarifies that abuse is not a disorder but a choice that is learned from various sources like one’s own family, relatives, or popular culture. Even though drug and alcohol addiction does not cause the abuse they have a propensity to escalate them. During the time of lock down, all the ingredients for domestic abuse have come together in a malign brew. 

Health Risks for Women 

According to reports in The Hindu, women in India are stuck with their abusive and short-tempered husbands and in-laws and have no choice but to put up with it. With stringent lock down measures still in place in most regions, these women can’t move to safer places, are cut off from their friends, and can’t call and complain because their perpetrators are with them most of the time. Moreover, many women, who are safe so far, fear that if their husbands were to get pink slips from their employers, they will become the easy target for them to vent out their ire and frustration.

The NCW had flagged the spike in complaints when it received 257 of them online between March 23 and April 1 (the first lock down phase). Since then, it has received calls from distraught women as well as their children who have seen their mothers suffering because of their alcoholic fathers. The lock down has also made it difficult, for the NCW and various NGOs to redress these problems. Amidst restrictions on the movement, they are not able to reach out to the needy women personally, while the local doctors, psychologists, and police are mostly busy in dealing with the other health-aspects of the pandemic.

Along with the violation of their human rights, women in India are at risk of other major health problems. These include chronic disease, depression, sexual disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse. 

What Can Victims Do? 

There are myriads of websites and applications available online which can provide a step-by-step guide to help the victims of domestic violence. For starters, the victims should not blame themselves for their situation, because whatever the reason, domestic abuse and violence are absolutely unwarranted and unjustifiable.

Further, as advised by a Psychologist and Mental Health. MSc City, the University of London in The Indian Express:

1.  “The option of reporting domestic abuse to the police is always available. However, if the victim does not intend on that course of action, they can create a safety plan for themselves, with a safe word to alert people they live with when faced with a threatening situation”.

2.  “It is advisable to keep a friend, family, neighbor or someone in proximity informed in case of escalating risk. It is also helpful to discuss this with a trusted family member/s or friends and build perpetrator accountability. There are also several help-lines for domestic violence and free online counseling websites that victims can use for relief.”

The NCW has recently launched a WhatsApp number, 7217735372, to assist the women who are facing domestic violence to add to the helpline number 181 and other central and state help-lines.

Government’s Response 

The Indian government’s response to the issues of domestic violence and abuse has been the one of indifference. Contradictory to recommendations of various courts, no advisory has been issued at the national level till now to declare domestic violence as an emergency. Nor, any significant step has been taken to ensure that domestic violence and health services remain functional during the lockdown. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is silent on the whole issue of domestic violence and also has not taken any action whatsoever to provide medical or other support to women migrant workers delivering babies on roads. 

The government has also failed to provide any arrangements of shelter homes or specific message chains to help the victim alert the administration. The first step, the state took to ease lockdown, despite an increase in incidences of domestic violence, was the decision to open alcohol shops after 40 days of lockdown in all, red, orange, and green zones. Within a day, a woman was reportedly killed by her husband in the U.P. because she refused to sell her jewelry to buy him alcohol.

To add to the injury, Chairperson of the NCW, Rekha Sharma, glaringly denied the surge in violence by saying that “the increase in domestic violence complaints shows a spike in reporting, not necessarily a rise in such incidents or crimes” and most of the cases being reported during the lock down are “not new cases.” 

Lessons to Learn 

The French government has announced a EUR 1 million relief fund to organizations working against domestic abuse, to help them cater to the increased number of requests for help. It has also opened up pop-up counseling centers and promised to pay for hotel rooms for domestic violence victims. Victims in Spain and France have also been encouraged to seek help at pharmacies discreetly using specific alert-words.

In Italy, the government has launched an app that enables victims to seek help without making a phone call. In March, the Scottish government had promised support for victims of domestic violence during the outbreak and announced grants of over GBP 1.5 million for over six months to ensure that access to support services is maintained.

Learning from its counterparts, the least Indian government could do is to acknowledge the prevalence of domestic violence in our society and work to reduce the stigma attached to the victims of such violence. Like the West, extensive awareness-building programs and ground-level measures should follow. Other than asking the women to contact their nearest police stations and State Women’s Commissions for support, the NCW with help of government can provide increased monetary and nourishment benefits to the vulnerable sections of the society to absorb the effect of their plummeting incomes.

India has a huge base of NGO’s and small organizations with wide networks and ground-zero awareness, these organizations should be roped in to help our women fight domestic-violence. The pandemic is a watershed moment in modern history for a lot of reasons and its impact could go either way. Ergo, it is an opportunity to eradicate the evil of domestic violence from its very roots, and come out as a nation, stronger than ever.

Written by - Rudransh Khurana

Edited by - Arnav Mehra