Protecting women from domestic violence

Gopal Sengupta In the absence of whole-hearted steps to implement its various provisions effectively, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act is falling short of expectations. The law was introduced to protect women and their children from the violence they are subjected to. But it has remained a non-starter for various reasons. As rightly said, it is time for the government to review the effectiveness of the Act. When it came into force, the Act was welcomed as an extraordinary piece of legislation to protect women from domestic violence. But like all other laws aimed at protecting and empowering women, it too suffers from poor implementation, reflecting the societal bias against women. Despite making fabulous achievements in every sphere of human activity, women in Bangladesh have continued to suffer violence of different forms in silence. The fear of reprisal and ostracism deters many women from filing a complaint against their husbands. Unless women free themselves from their submissive attitude, no legislation meant for their welfare will have the desired impact. Domestic violence seems to have been accepted as one of the hazards of life by the Indian women in general and illiterate women in particular. Hundreds of cases go unreported as women fear being thrown out of their homes and exposed to the vagaries of life. The state should provide protection, rehabilitation and training to victims to make them self-reliant. We can follow the U.K. or the Canadian model and train personnel for implementing the Act and also have fast-track courts for speedy justice. Domestic violence is indeed one of the most atrocious and pervasive human rights violations. It destroys the victims' sense of self-worth. But it is not enough to make laws with noble intentions. The key to justice lies in their effective implementation. While it is important to educate women about the provisions of the law, there is an urgent need to make it gender-neutral. There are instances of women misusing the law. Moreover, before filing a complaint against her husband and his family under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, a woman should consider its impact on her and her children. It is no doubt an admirable piece of legislation with the intention of empowering women. But law alone cannot ensure gender justice and erase the fault lines in our society. Community intervention can also play an effective role in preventing domestic violence. If neighbours step in to save women from being abused and assaulted, it will not only come as an assurance for them but also make the guilty fearful of the consequences of their crime. There is no use having a law that is meant for the whole country when there is no one to implement it. Until full-time and properly-oriented protection officers are recruited - which seems to be an unattainable target now - a more practical way would be to prescribe summary disposal of cases through weekly courts organised at the ward level. The protection officer's responsibility should be confined to giving a report before a mobile magistrate, citing two witnesses from the neighbourhood. For every case where a protection order is issued, the protection officer and the witnesses should be compensated, in recognition of having successfully brought forward the case for intervention. At the village level, the Union Councils as well as the health, education and social welfare field workers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) could be permitted to voluntarily take on the role of protection officials, to be compensated for every case that ends in favour of a battered woman. Whether it is civil or criminal in nature, reprioritisation of domestic violence cases in the judicial magistrate courts is necessary. Such courts are already overcrowded and deal with a wide range of pressing matters including bail applications, permitting adjournments for the asking by the lawyers of the male defendants and using court proceedings, especially during cross-examination, for further harassing the complainants, entertaining unlimited interim applications and acceptance of appeals by higher courts including the High Court and in some instances even by the Supreme Court of matters pending in the trial court. It is, therefore, not surprising that cases under the Act which require a fast-track approach in most instances tend to drag on, not only for months but years as well, resulting in women giving up because they find the court procedures and delays a further form of harassment or because of their inability to finance the never-ending litigation. The writer who is based in Canada can be reached at e-mail : gopalsengupta@aol.com