ABSTRACT
Domestic violence is one brutal aspect as well as a form of violence that occurs within households that is in the domestic arena. It is something that we can see in most of the domestic households. It is generally associated with violence against women or housewives but is it all that it should include? Shouldn’t the aspect or the arena of the violence like domestic violence also include men or even children. Domestic violence must also include children because they are too exposed to the risk of domestic violence. The children who have seen domestic violence or have been exposed to it have high chances of mental trauma or even long-term mental health issues. It might also happen that the children who witness this form of violence might get violent in their future relationships as well. Coming on the aspect that the ambit of this brutal form of violence include men as well as because of the fact that it’s not just women who face this, but it also includes men who are subject to such cruelty. Violence here not only includes physical harassment, but the scope is much wider. The act of domestic violence also includes verbal or oral and mental cruelty which is thus again under the ambit of domestic violence. The core question that arises here is that does violence goes against women only or it has a broader perspective which includes men as well?
WHAT IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?
When we talk about domestic violence, we consider it as a form of violence. A sudden thought that comes to our mind is about cruelty, violence and fear in the arena of a household as the term suggests. The intensity of this can range from verbal abuse to physically harming or harassing the other brutally. This form of violence and cruelty is well defined under the Indian Penal code which is mentioned under section 498-A as well as a separate act is devoted to this due to the sudden upraise of cases. Also, The Domestic Violence Act, 2005 deeply elaborates the very same cause. Under the Indian Penal Code, section 498-A says that” either the husband or any close member of the family be it the relative tries to pressurize or create a burden on the wife which is a subject to cruelty will constitute an act of domestic violence. In case, this cruelty happens the accused is liable for fine and punishments.” Thus, it is clear from the mentioned section of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 that either the husband or any close member of the family does any cruelty or violence against the wife either was mentally or physically will be liable for the act of domestic violence. The accused will be subjected to 3 years imprisonment or fine or both as punishment under the statute. This statute has helped and empowered several women to raise their voice against this inhumane act and make the accused liable for the same.
THE AMBIT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 2005. DOES IT NEED TO BE BROADEN?
The important question and the main aspect of this blog is to question the ambit of the domestic violence act. It is not just gender but also a greater aspect to this. It is not just the women who face this extreme form of cruelty but its men as well who as exposed to this form of violence. Violence against men is not considered as a serious or heinous offence because of traditional rather orthodox thinking of society thinking that men cannot be subjected to violence. But this is not the case all the time. It is seen that most of the violence cases against men go unreported because of the societal stigma that men are strong. In many parts of the world, men have faced domestic violence. Let’s consider an illustration- Anuj and Amya are married over the period of 7 years. Anuj starts becoming violent and harasses Amya over petty issues. Now, under the given scenario, Amya can approach the court of law under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 for the cruelty done against her. The court, if found, Anuj guilty will punish him accordingly.
In another illustration of the same couple, the case becomes different. Now, Amya uses violence and cruelty against Anuj. Under this case, Anuj firstly cannot speak for himself because of the societal stigma that considers men to be strong. Another point here to understand is that in either of the statutes there is no provision regarding domestic violence against men. Even, in the constitution of India there is no such provision mentioned. Thus, the ambit and the arena of the Indian statutes especially the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 should be broadened to include both men and women and there should not be any biases between the two genders. This is clearer from the given statistics-
The Office for National Statistics reveals numbers showing every year that one out of every three victims of domestic violence are male equating who equates to 699,000 men in the year 2021 and 2022.66% of the men who call the Mankind Initiative helpline never spoke to anyone about the abuse they are face and 64 percent would not have ever called the helpline had it not anonymous.
In a study conducted by many NGOs, of 1000 married men in age groups ranging from 21-49 years in the rural villages of Haryana, 52.4 percent of males experience gender-based violence in India itself. 51.5percent of males have experienced torture or violence from their spouses.
CONCLUSION
To conclude, the above data published shows that it is not just women who have been the victims of domestic violence but also the men who have faced the same. But their cases go unnoticed and unattended due to society and the statutes we have and thus, there comes the need to bring amendments, certainly in this aspect as well. There is also a need to bring laws for men in the same regard.
Author: MAANYA JAIN , a Student of VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES