By: Ashikin
19.4.2020
As world's largest coronavirus lockdown is extended to May 3, National Commission for Women reports spike in complaints.
In Chennai India, things were different when nation-wide corona virus lockdown happen. As Rukmini (2020) reported, many of Indian women were surged in domestic violence by their husband at home. There are several report about women in Indian had physical abuse from their unemployed, alcoholic husband since the early years of their marriage.
Credit Photo: Daily News
NCW Reports Rise in Cases
India's National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday said it registered 587 domestic violence complaints between March 23 and April 16 - a significant surge from 396 complaints received in the previous 25 days between February 27 and March 22.
One in six new complaints of domestic violence was made over a re-launched What’sApp number.
That What’sApp number had been out of use for some time, an NCW official told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, suggesting there could have been more complaints that never got through.
The NCW relies on women to report domestic violence on its fixed helpline numbers and through the post, two modes of communication that have been closed since the lockdown.
The Commission then publicized the email address of its members and began receiving complaints on social media and through its online portal. This in a country where only one-third of women have access to the internet.
Feminist economist Ashwini Deshpande analysed NCW data for the months of March and April in 2019 and 2020.
She calculated the average complaints per day and found that "there is already a jump in complaints related to domestic violence and the right to live with dignity, and a smaller increase in rape or attempt to rape and sexual assault", all within the home.
Even in normal times, women facing domestic violence in India rarely turn to the police.
One-third of women in India's 2015-2016 National Family Health Survey (NFHS) said they had experienced domestic violence, but less than 1 percent of them sought help from the police.
Their neighborhood or community is also not always a refuge for women facing abuse.
According to the NFHS study, 52 percent of women and 42 percent of men believed that a husband is justified in beating his wife. Showing disrespect towards the in-laws topped the list of reasons respondents deemed it acceptable to subject a wife to a beating.
And these are not normal times.
“Horrifying Global Surge”
Most countries globally are seeing a surge in domestic violence, leading to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealing to governments to pay attention to and prevent a "horrifying global surge in domestic violence" amid lockdown measures.
But in other parts of the world, mechanisms to protect women from being locked in with their abusers have evolved to take into account lockdowns and social distancing.
The French government has promised to open pop-up counselling centres and pay for hotel rooms for domestic violence victims, who have also been encouraged to seek help at pharmacies.
In Italy, the government has launched an app that enables domestic violence victims to seek help without making a phone call.
In India, the response has been one of playing catch-up.
Lockdown Measures
Some women's groups were more prepared, anticipating the surge.
Before the lockdown came into force, the Chennai-based International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care diverted calls from its landlines to counsellors' mobile phones, helped women submit documents they needed to save to a cloud-based service, and started a WhatsApp service.
For the first week, the number of calls they get fell, and they believe this is because women were basically locked in with their abusers. Rukmini (2020).
Soon after, however, women began to call late at night or from their children's rooms, and the numbers began to climb.
The stress of confinement, financial constraints and the lack of access to alcohol were exacerbating factors, Rukmini said.
In Tamil Nadu, protection officers, appointed by the state, are allowed movement during the lockdown, and Shankar said some women in dangerous situations were rescued and moved to shelters.
This is not the case everywhere, federal officials told Al Jazeera. In many states, only the police are allowed to move, and requisitioning a vehicle from them was difficult.
Nearly one-third of India's women say they have experienced domestic violence. Source: Al-Jazeera
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SOURCES:
Rukmini. S. (2020). Locked Down With Abusers: India Sees Surge In Domestic Violence. Retrieved from: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/locked-abusers-india-domestic-violence-surge-200415092014621.html