With more than 90 countries under lockdown and around 4 billion people sitting inside the four walls of their houses, there has been a rise in cases of domestic violence against women. The United Nations Organization has referred to it as the shadow pandemic. While the strategy to prevent spread of the virus is to Stay Home and Stay Safe, are all women really safe is a question to be considered. Having the abuser and victim locked together has posed problems to some women.
Violence need not be only physical, verbal or psychological. It also includes withholding of finances. The Secretary General of the United Nations has called upon governments to take necessary steps for prevention and redressal of violence against women as a key part of their national response plans for the pandemic. With the police force already overburdened due to the current situation, what are the remedies available to women who face violence?
Advocate and social activist Adhilakshmi Logamurthy says “ domestic violence is common to all sections of society but it has raised it’s ugly head more among the lower strata as many of the families are unable to get even the essential items required for daily life. Added to this, some men who are addicted to alcohol are not able to get their quota of liquor and take out their frustration on their wives. Moreover, womenfolk are overburdened with extra house work as they have to manage without the help of maids. All these issues snowball into a pressure cooker situation”.
Adhilakshmi recommends counseling in these situations. Online counseling is being done by counselors connected to Women’s Commission and Legal Service Authorities. According to her, after the passing of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act in 2005, Protection officers and service providers are playing a major role.
M. Ravi IPS, ADGP for Crimes against Women and Children says that they have received around 3250 calls on domestic violence during this lockdown period and all these cases were settled by women police through counseling and cautioning. Twelve FIR’s were registered and action has been initiated. Women can contact toll free numbers 112 and 1091 which are available round the clock. In each district, there is an officer in the rank of an ADSP who has been nominated as a nodal officer to monitor and address the grievances of women.
He further says that the National Commission for Women has taken note of the sudden rise in cases of domestic violence during this lockdown period and has launched a special whatsapp alert helpline number 7217735372. Incidents of violence can be reported to this number. So far, 5187 complaints have been received for the current year. There have been 35 complaints from Tamilnadu that have been registered under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. There is another helpline number 181 which is a One Stop Centre for women in distress. Here victims of violence are provided with shelter, legal and medical assistance and counseling too. These numbers can be made use of by women in distress.
Basically women need to know how to handle tricky situations and how to safeguard themselves. They should not hesitate to seek help when the situation demands it. In the words of Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, “Together, we can and must prevent violence everywhere, from war zones to people’s homes, as we work to beat Covid-19.
Juliana Sridhar
