Domestic Violence against Women

Domestic Violence against Women

Why in news?

The National Crime Record Bureau’s recent report reveals a significant increase in violence against women in India, encompassing dowry deaths, sexual harassment, torture, rapes, and domestic violence.

 

Violence against Women

• The United Nations defines violence against women as any gender-based act causing physical, sexual, or mental harm, including threats, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, occurring in public or private life.
• Violence against women spans social, economic, developmental, legal, educational, human rights, and health issues, contributing to preventable morbidity and mortality throughout a woman’s life.

 

What is Domestic Violence?

• Domestic violence can be described as the power misused by one adult in a relationship to control another.
• It is the establishment of control and fear in a relationship through violence and other forms of abuse.
• This violence can take the form of physical assault, psychological abuse, social abuse, financial abuse, or sexual assault.
• The frequency of the violence can be on and off, occasional or chronic.

 

Facts and Findings

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1 in 3 (35%) women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.
• Violence against women, particularly intimate partner and sexual violence, poses a major public health problem and violates women’s human rights.
• Globally, 38% of murders of women are committed by a male intimate partner.
• Violence negatively affects women’s physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health, increasing the risk of acquiring HIV in certain settings.

 

Predisposing Factors

• Men are more likely to perpetrate violence with low education, a history of child maltreatment, exposure to domestic violence against their mothers, alcohol misuse, unequal gender norms, and a sense of entitlement over women.
• Women are more likely to experience intimate partner violence with low education, exposure to mothers being abused, childhood abuse, and attitudes accepting violence and male privilege.

 

Mission Shakti: It is a scheme of Ministry of Women and Child Development aimed at strengthening interventions for women safety, security and empowerment. It seeks to realise the Government’s commitment for “women-led development‟ by addressing issues affecting women on a life-cycle continuum basis and by making them equal partners in nation-building through convergence and citizen-ownership

 

 

Causes

1. Gender Disparity: Rooted cause putting women at risk.
2. Discriminatory Gender Norms: Result in structural inequality.
3. Psychiatric Morbidity: Associated with alcohol consumption, affecting women’s mental health.
4. Sociodemographic Factors: Patriarchy, economic status, and traditional practices contribute.
5. Family Factors: Exposure to harsh discipline and witnessing parental abuse.
6. Traditional and Cultural Practices: Female genital mutilation, acid attacks, honour killings, early marriages.
7. Judiciary and Law Enforcement Machinery: Inefficiency and insensitivity in addressing crimes.
8. Sociocultural Factors Disfavouring Women: Gender stereotypes persist.

 

Consequences

1. Health Issue: Affects physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health.
2. Economic Issue: Impacts household and national economy.
3. Development Issue: Hampers women’s participation in development.
4. Rights Issue: Hinders realization of fundamental rights.

 

Concerns

1. Underreporting: According to WHO estimates less than 40 percent of the women who experience violence seek help of any sort.

• Among women who seek help, tend to approach family and friends and very few look to formal institutions and mechanisms, such as police and health services.
• Less than 10 percent of those women seeking help for experience of violence sought help by appealing to the police

1. Erring Laws: Many laws aren’t compliant with international standards.
2. Dearth of Data and Statistics: on crime against women.

There is a need of a comprehensive and systematic research and analysis on crime against women at Central, State, district and block level.

1. Accused are Known Persons: from the family or neighbourhood. Women are not safe among the people they know well and may be unsafe with dear and near ones.
2. Improper Implementation: Although many laws and legislations are existing but their full implementation in terms of legal literacy, training officials responsible for administering legislation, legal support services is not up to the mark.

 

Various Initiatives by government:

• Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.
• Maintenance of law and order, protection of life and property of citizens including prevention of domestic violence against women is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations.
• The Government has ensured that their schemes of One Stop Centres (OSCs), Universalisation of Women Help Line (WHL), Ujjawala Homes, SwadharGreh, Emergency Response Support System (112) and various authorities under women-centric laws such as ‘The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005’, ‘The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961’, ‘The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006’, etc. remain operational and available for providing assistance to women.
•  The Government has also undertaken sensitisation programs for the concerned officials of States and UTs for this purpose

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005   ·         It came into effect in October 2006 and aims to provide protection and support to victims of domestic violence. ·         The State Governments are required to appoint Protection Officers, register Service Providers and notify shelter homes and medical facilities for implementation of the Act. ·         It is a Civil law meant to protect and provide support to victims of domestic violence. ·         Under the Act, the aggrieved woman can seek various reliefs such as a protection order, residence order, custody order, compensation order, monetary relief, shelter, and medical facilities. ·         The aggrieved woman can also file a complaint under Section 498A of IPC, where ever relevant

 

Way Forward

1. Gender-Based Legislation: It is important to enact and enforce legislation and develop and implement policies that promote gender equality by ending discrimination against women in marriage, divorce and custody laws, inheritance laws and ownership of assets
2. Financial Independence: Enhance women’s access to paid employment.
3. Developing and resourcing national plans and policies to address violence against women.

Improve system of collecting crime surveillance data on violence against women

1. Improve Data Collection: Enhance systems for crime surveillance data.
2. Capacity Building: Train service providers and law enforcement officers.
3. Male-Mediated Initiatives: Involve men in devising programs against abuse.
4. Prevent Recurrence: Through early identification of women and children who are experiencing violence and providing appropriate referral and support
5. Promote Egalitarian Norms: Include in life skills and sexuality education.
6. Gender-Based Surveys: Generate evidence on what works and on the magnitude of the problem by carrying out population-based surveys, or including violence against women in population-based demographic and health surveys, as well as in surveillance and health information systems.

 

Central Bureau of Investigation

Why in news?

Tamil Nadu announced that it has withdrawn the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, allowing the agency to investigate cases without its permission in the State.

 

About

• The CBI came into being during World War II, when the colonial government felt the need to probe cases of corruption in the War and Supply Department. A law came in 1941. It became the DSPE Act in 1946.
• It was set up in 1963 by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs but now it works under Ministry of Personnel, Pension and Public Grievances. CBI was recommended by the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption.
• CBI is not a statutory body. It derives its power to investigate from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
• CBI is headed by a director and assisted by a special director or an additional director.
• CBI Director is appointed by search committee headed by the Prime Minister and comprising Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India (CJI) or his representative. It was prescribed by Lokpal Act 2013.
• Superintendence of CBI rests with CVC in corruption cases and in other matters it rests with Dept of P&T.
• It is exempted from the purview of Right to Information Act
• Three divisions of CBI:
  • Economic Offence Division
  • Anti-Corruption Division
  • Special Crime Division
• The CBI is required to obtain the prior approval of the Central Government before conducting any inquiry or investigation into an offence committed by officers of the rank of joint secretary and above in the Central Government and its authorities.
  • However, in 2014, the Supreme Court held it invalid and held that Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, which granted protection to joint secretary and above officers from facing even a preliminary inquiry by the CBI in corruption cases, was violative of Article 14.

Consent of State

• Section 6 of the DPSE Act authorises the central government to direct CBI to probe a case within the jurisdiction of any state but only with the consent of the concerned state government. SC and HC, however, can order CBI to investigate such a crime anywhere in the country without the consent of the state.
  • Section 6: Nothing contained in section 5 [titled ‘Extension of powers and jurisdiction of special police establishment to other areas’] shall be deemed to enable any member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise powers and jurisdiction in any area in a State, not being a Union territory or railway area, without the consent of the Government of that state.
  • While National Investigation Agency has jurisdiction all over India.
• CBI can suo-moto take up investigation of offences only in the Union Territories.
• There are two types of consent for a probe by the CBI. These are: general and specific.
  • When a state gives a general consent to the CBI for probing a case, the agency is not required to seek fresh permission every time it enters that state in connection with investigation or for every case.
  • When a general consent is withdrawn, CBI needs to seek case-wise consent for investigation from the concerned state government. If specific consent is not granted, the CBI officials will not have the power of police personnel when they enter that state. However, CBI can continue to investigate cases in a state registered prior to the withdrawal of general consent.

Calcutta HC Order: High Court, in a case of illegal coal mining and cattle smuggling being investigated by the CBI, ruled that the central agency cannot be stopped from investigating a central government employee in another state. High Court observed that corruption cases across the country must be treated equally, and that central government employees could not be exempt from investigation on the grounds that their offices were located in states that had withdrawn general consent.

 

Issues faced by CBI

• Political involvement: The current administration’s political intervention and influence have harmed the integrity and independence of the CBI. For instance, concerns about political influence were raised in 2018 when CBI head Alok Verma was fired.
• Lack of transparency: It has been criticized for operating in an opaque manner and for lacking transparency in its inquiry process. For instance, the 2015 Vyapam scam investigation’s management came under fire for its lack of transparency.
• Efficiency: Slow in wrapping its investigations and bringing charges against the accused. For instance, the inquiry into the 2020 AgustaWestland fraud was condemned for moving slowly and being ineffective.
• Corruption: The CBI has been the target of several charges of corruption, and its employees have been charged with accepting bribes. In May 2022, CBI arrested its four officials for corruption charges.
• Lack of resources: It lacks the facilities and staff necessary to conduct investigations efficiently.  Lack of adequate housing discourages officers from states to join the CBI which is facing a staff crunch, a parliamentary panel report stated in 2017.
• Legal issues: The CBI has encountered legal issues that have questioned its integrity, including claims of prejudice and erroneous arrests. For instance, the CBI’s probe into the Malegaon bombings in 2008 came under fire for making erroneous arrests.
• The appointment of CBI directors has become politicized, which harms the agency’s reputation and independence.
• Lack of accountability: lack of oversight procedures, and employees being charged for acting outside the bounds of the law. For instance, the way the investigation into Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in 2020 was handled was condemned for lacking accountability.
• Poor coordination: CBI’s coordination with other law enforcement agencies is poor, which causes delays and inefficiency in investigations. For instance, the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case handling received criticism for lacking collaboration.
• Concerns are raised about CBI due to its inconsistent approach to investigations and prosecution. One instance of inconsistent handling was the disproportionate asset lawsuit against former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

 

Steps need to be taken:

• Non-Intervention: The central government should refrain from meddling with the CBI’s investigations and operations in order to stop the central bureau of inquiry in India from losing credibility. The Supreme court also asked the government to give the CBI additional autonomy in 2019.
• Process of appointment: The CBI director’s appointment procedure has to be more open and merit-based.
• Adequate funding: The central government must give the CBI enough money to cover the cost of its facilities, staff, and other resources. For instance, the CBI received funding for a new headquarters building in 2018.
• Accountability: The national government must make sure that any misbehaviour by CBI agents is punished.
• Legal framework: To ensure the CBI’s independence and openness, the central government should tighten its laws. As an illustration, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, which created a separate anti-corruption authority, was passed.
• Process streamlining: To avoid delays, the CBI should be encouraged to streamline its investigation and prosecution procedures.
• Specialized training: To improve the skills and capabilities of CBI officials, the central government should offer them specialized training. The CBI should start an ongoing online training program for its officers.
• Collaboration: The central government should promote better CBI-other law enforcement agency coordination.
• Public confidence: The central government should endeavour to restore public confidence in the CBI by guaranteeing accountability and transparency. For instance, the CBI should start a fresh campaign to educate the public about corruption and related crimes.
• Implementation of recommendations: To enhance effectiveness, the government should implement the recommendations of various committees and commissions into practice.