BREAK THE CYCLE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
In India, the issue of domestic violence is one of the common and most prevalent topics to talk about. Understanding violence against women is in itself a precarious issue. Several explanations emanating from different standpoints are on offer regarding this phenomenon. The forms and extent of violence may vary from one society and culture to the other. Awareness, perception and documentation of domestic violence differ from country to country and from area to area. In India, violence against women is a major social problem that still requires considerable attention, as it entails severe physical, psychological, social and emotional consequences for women. Despite the seriousness of the problem from the perspectives of women and basic human rights, there is a lack of depth of contemporary knowledge on the extent, nature and the context of Violence against Women (VAW) today across the region.
Figure: Kinds of violence at each stage
Studies on domestic violence in
India, or in any other society for that matter, assume significance even today
for two reasons. First, it is rampant and pervades across all sections of
people despite repeated attempts at curbing this menace. Second, domestic
violence continues to be largely unreported in India, for crimes are committed
by and with familial relations. However, women are not mere objects who endure
violence against them passively. They may negotiate and resist domestic
violence at various levels in their everyday life. They may employ various
strategies overtly or in subtle ways when violence is committed against them by
family members. Therefore, the extent and nature of domestic violence
constitute the fundamental problem of the study. Also, another focal point of
the study is the manner in which women negotiate or resist domestic violence in
their everyday life.
Even after years of efforts to
integrate women into the mainstream development processes, the effectiveness of
the same remains to be questioned owing to a multitude of factors which aid the
continued marginalization of women. Women’s access to education, health,
employment and political spaces still remains a distant goal in many nations of
the world. One of the most serious impediments to women’s development is the
phenomenon of continuing and increasing violence against them.
The term violence against women has
been defined as the range of sexually, psychologically, and physically coercive
acts used against women. It is the most pervasive yet least recognized human
right abuse in the world. Violence basically manifests itself in various forms
– female foeticide and infanticide, sexual abuse, molestation, sexual
harassment at work and on the streets, marital rape, domestic violence in the
form of wife assault and woman battering and so on.
As evident during fieldwork,
domestic violence is considered a private matter in Haryana and Himachal, as it
occurs in the family, and therefore not an appropriate issue for assessment or
intervention. Women have to face discrimination and violence on a daily basis
due to the cultural and religious norms that these two states have. Various
forms of domestic violence in these two states include physical, mental, and
emotional abuse. Some common types include everyday harassment, drunken
violence, honour killing, spousal abuse including marital rape etc.
Haryana[1] is economically developed;
but socially, it seemingly remains backward and patriarchal. In Haryana, where
women are considered lower than men, crimes against women are likely to be
higher than that of Himachal. The Reflection of patriarchy and its effect on
society at large are very evident in our statistics. In Haryana, many women are
unaware of their own agency, their power and how important they are for
society. As is evident during fieldwork, several women completely accept
whatever is being given to them irrespective of their will. For them their
choices do not matter; it is only their “Husband’s/ father’s” choice that
matters. Male dominance is easily visible in every other household in Haryana.
There are many among women who naturalize violence against them and there are
many who find it extremely difficult to resist owing to several familial and
societal constraints despite their willingness. Women face violence as
daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, or partners but they rarely resist; also,
some types of violence they do not recognize as violence because they have been
naturalized like being slapped by the husband. Therefore, they subject
themselves to a lifetime of violence. Moreover, the reported cases are much
smaller than the actual numbers, because bringing certain crimes into the
notice of authorities will tarnish their image and the reputation of their
families. On the other hand, the condition in Himachal Pradesh is far better
than in Haryana. Here women are aware of the rights, agency and have the
potential to fight for themselves if anything wrong happens. Even though the
number of reported cases here are far less than Haryana, women in Himachal too
face discrimination in one way or the other. Therefore, it is necessary to
break the cycle of violence and silence that women face at every stage of their
life to empower themselves and others to take steps towards their development, independence
and freedom.
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