Some of my blogger friends feel that I indulge in male bashing :), which is, of course, completely untrue. This post of mine tries to bring forth the agony which men face due to the draconian Domestic Violence Act of 2005. Hailed at that time as landmark by women’s organization, the Act has proved an anathema for men and their families. The Act has many loopholes and allows massive leeway for misuse on the part of a woman. It is a known fact that domestic violence or abuse is a reality. It is also true that in most cases, the women are at the receiving end of it. But to have an Act, which very loosely defines domestic violence, assumes that only men perpetrate it, and gives sweeping powers to women to misuse it was clearly poor legislation.
To assume that there are no women who would misuse this Act would be like living in a fool’s paradise. A few instances of misuse are that a woman just needs to file a First Information Report (FIR) at the nearest police station to get her husband or any of his family members arrested. Her testimony takes precedence over everything else and is treated as the whole truth without any evidence. I have read cases about how a woman and her family have blackmailed her husband for money or property threatening to get them arrested, in case, their demands are not met. It is a sad state where the husband and his family have to live in fear of having their lives destroyed. Many have spent years on end in jail, despite nothing being proven.
Injustice is gender neutral, and any law must aim to be as neutral and misuse-free as possible. This legislation clearly did not consider all these consequences. By bending forward to stop the injustice being done to women, which is still very much needed for genuine women victims, it has created a monster by which innocent men can be and are harassed. I really hope that this Act is amended before it ends up haunting the institution of marriage and husband-wife relationships in India.
PS: pic courtesy Filomena Scalise
i expect more such legislations when the 33% quota becomes a reality
btw can domestic violence be eradicated by legislation???
dowry couldn’t be…and those who suffer from d.v wouldn’t have the guts to go to a police station
If she had enough guts/spine she would have walked out the first day
@Jon No, of course, domestic violence cannot be eradicated by formulating laws. And, you have made the right point. Those who are suffering from dv most often do not have the guts to complain. Sometimes, they lack financial or family support. Those who misuse the Act blatantly are the ones with the resources.
Agreed. But there’s no such think as loop-hole free or misuse-free legislation, is there?!
No amount of violence can be stopped by bringing in silly laws.What is needed is education at both ends and need to get the laws changed through some NGO supported by a lawyer.
I agree with u. There should be use and not misuse.
Right on.
@RGB Yes! But, this law has glaring ones. They have kept the ambit of domestic abuse and harassment so ambiguous that almost all situations in a marriage could fall here. The less you categorize, the more things are open to discretion and misinterpretation.
@BKChowla You are absolutely right. But, laws are there to defend our rights. Though, nobody denies that domestic violence needs to be punished. But, the law should be fairer to both the sexes.
@Chandrika and Agnes Thanks!
for the right price any law can be misused.
We had a warrant taken out against Dr.Kalam but that doesn’t mean warrant system should not exist.
Economically a big % of Indian women are not independent. Its one thing to have a law and quite another to persuade police officers to file a case.
I am quite sure the percentage of women who face violence would be far far higher than the percentage of women who would abuse the law.
And the woman who abuse the law, would abuse the family in other forms even if the laws didn’t exist.
The solution is
1.Having a social security for abused women.
Building good shelters and having the state give financial aid to women (We spend crores on so many stupid things, why not for poor and middleclass women. right now for destitute old women its few 100s i think)
2.Having fast track courts.
The current legal system is a whirlpool which just sucks you in.
That would help all of the parties involved.
3.Having stringent punishments for those lodging false complaints.
4.Take into account men face abuse too even if the percentage is small. And men might not complain because we teach our boys its weak to be perceived weak.
I have just seen too many women who suffer abuse and threats. It might not be physically violent but many many married woman are treated as second class citizens in their married homes. and they have a silly sense of izzat that keeps them from walking away from the abusers.
It would help if we spent less on weddings. many think of it as an investment that they should not move on from.
And it would help more if couples are convinced to have kids after 2-3 years atleast. (In parts of Maharashtra they had a honeymoon package or something like that from the govt which convinced couples to postpone children. I mention this because many women live with abusers for financial security of children. and its not good for children either to watch their mothers get abused. it tells them abuse is ok and normal.
And last for every soap and movie that shows a man or woman slapping each other as a solution to a family problem, keep a fine. Let artistic freedom come at a price and with responsibility.
@wise donkey Yes, in India anything can be bought law or no law. Women are suffering that is true. But, will changes in society or laws actually bring about a tangible change. Also, I don’t agree with the point that the women misusing it will be very few. We cannot base laws on that fact. Any innocent man punished for no fault of his is a failure of the law. There are other heinous crimes like rape. Do you think that the law should just accept a woman’s word, because very few women will abuse it.
There is one thing when the system is misused. There is another when wrong laws are enacted. The same had happened in the case of POTA. Why do you thing that AFSPA Act needs to be repealed. Because too much power concentrated in some hands is bound to abuse the rights of another.
All your other points are valid. I wish, we could have fast-track courts for almost everything. But, they somehow feel like pipedreams given that there is no will to change the status quo from any quarter.
I agree with your last comment!
Every law has a loop hole.And every law is being misused,without exceptions.
What kind of violence is being controlled? None. The whole world is being screwed up with violence and more violence.And there are lawyers to protect every criminal,including terrorists.
Come on, what we need is a change in attitude.
you are so right.. domestic abuse is both ways and because of my work i know for sure that though the number of woman being abused is more but there is a significant number of MEN also who suffer this ..
the worst with men is that sometimes police does not beleive them which is also a problem
also the ego comes in between…
Now here in uk its in the legislation and law is changing a bit in favour of MEN too especially in divorce cases etc cause women were given too much …
now its equal..
good article
laws are suppose to be for us to get justice….and not misused. but sad to see things other wise.
@Girish Thanks!
@dr. anthony Thank you for visiting my blog and for your comment. Yes, we need a change in attitude to eliminate all evils. But, don’t you think that it is important to be careful when drafting such laws.
@Bikramjit Yes, we are on the same page here. Women might be suffering more, but a lot of innocent men are getting victimized due to this Act, which is very sad. Thanks!
@nituscorner Yes, really sad.