|
The study reveals that dowry remains a major reason for marital discord, and often leads to violence. A huge 54% of victims said that the dowry demands began with violence
Victims of domestic violence endure the abuse for an average of 4.2 years before filing a police complaint against the perpetrators, says a new study conducted in the Indian capital New Delhi. Despite decades of strict laws against it, the practice of dowry is cited as the chief reason for physical violence by husbands and in-laws, says the five-year study of 1,805 women who approached the Delhi police’s Crimes Against Women Cell for help. “The situation could be much worse in north India’s smaller towns where the police often treat domestic violence as a family matter, where the social dice is loaded against women lodging a protest, and where support services such as short-stay homes or women’s organisations are either rare or absent,” says Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research that carried out the study from 2002-2005. The study reveals that dowry remains a major reason for marital discord, and often leads to violence. A huge 54% of victims said that the dowry demands began with sudden violence. Women’s rights activists believe that with India’s booming economy, rising consumerism among an aspirational middle-class has led to a tremendous upsurge in material expectations from marriage. “Now, a TV (as dowry) is not enough. The demand is for a plasma TV. Long after the wedding is over, dowry keeps manifesting itself on family occasions. When expectations are not met, arm-twisting is resorted to. The bride becomes a soft target,” says Kumari. An overwhelming 78% of victims said they experienced aggressive behaviour in front of their in-laws, children and in public. Around 74% said their abusive husbands had been apologetic the following day, swearing they would not behave that way again -- a promise that was never honoured. About 22% of victims of domestic violence reported that their husbands appeared to have planned the violence. “In an overwhelming number of cases, the violence took place at night -- between 10.30 pm and 12.30 am,” says consultant psychologist Rajat Mitra of Swanchetan, an NGO that counselled the women who approached the police for help. Another 36% of victims reported having had suicidal thoughts as a result of the abuse; of them, over 50% made unsuccessful attempts to end their lives. Those who felt like committing suicide but did not attempt to do so confessed that the future of their children, especially their daughters, prevented them from taking the step. In a comment on the widespread social sanction for domestic violence, which overrides familial bonds, only 17% of abused women said their parents supported them after they were thrown out of the house by their abusive husbands or in-laws. And, in a worrying pointer on the fallout of domestic violence on children, 60% of the women surveyed said they looked to their children for support against the violence; in the process, 17% of children ended up becoming human shields. Vimla Mehra, a senior police official who helped initiate the counselling programme back in 2002, says that in several cases of domestic violence, the victims don’t want police action. “Offering them counselling is one way of providing help. It helps them decide what they want. The problem is enormous. But we feel we have made a dent.” Psychologists concluded that 1,531 of the women faced constant domestic abuse, while 274 cases were overstated. In nearly 19% of cases, husbands tried to prove that their wives were mentally ill, mentally challenged or depressed. In one particular case, the prescription was tampered with. “From NAD (no abnormalities detected), it was changed to MAD by the husband,” says a consultant psychologist. “The study also shows that social laws such as the Dowry Prohibition Act and the more recent Domestic Violence Act have not helped much in reducing violence against women,” says Mitra. As of August 2007, the latest date for which figures are available, more than 500 complaints have been reported under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, in New Delhi this year. Since January, a total of 534 complaints have been received by protection officers, service providers, the police and magistrates. While the Delhi government’s department of social welfare received 71 complaints under the Act during January-March this year, the number went up to 89 during April-June. Source: www.googlenews.com, October 22, 2007
The Hindu, August 15, 2007
|
