Locked down with a predator

|
  • 2

Locked down with a predator

Friday, 10 April 2020 | Simi Mehta Balwant Mehta Arjun Kumar

Locked down with a predator

In its bid to flatten the COVID-19 curve, the Govt overlooked the need to formally integrate domestic violence/abuse into the public health preparedness and emergency response plan

In the run-up to the announcement of a nationwide lockdown starting from March 25, there were several areas where the Government failed to craft a strategy to address its possible fallout. One such aspect that was completely ignored was the way to deal with incidents of domestic violence (DV) against women and children in the country during the 21-day shut down. The checks and balances that needed to be in place for victims of DV to resort to in their hour of need were unheeded.

The term “domestic violence” (DV) is used in many countries to refer to intimate partner violence (IPV) but it also encompasses child or elder abuse, or abuse by any member of a household. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in every three women across the globe experience physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence by any perpetrators in their lifetime: At least 30 per cent of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner.

It has been seen that violence against women tends to increase during every type of emergency, including epidemics. So, not surprisingly it has increased globally during the lockdowns enforced by governments to combat the spread of COVID-19. It is fuelled by social distancing, economic uncertainties and anxieties caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

For instance, countries like China, the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Brazil, Tunisia, France, Australia and many others have reported cases of increased DV/IPV. India is also showing symmetrical trends, especially when it is infamous for being the fourth-worst country (after the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) for gender equality (ranked by perception).

According to the Crime in India Report, 2018, published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), every 1.7 minutes a crime was recorded against women in India, every 16 minutes a rape was committed and every 4.4 minutes a child is subjected to domestic violence.

Within a few days of the lockdown, the National Commission for Women (NCW) noted a rise in the number of DV/IPV complaints received via e-mails. The NCW Chairperson believes that the real figure is likely to be more since the bulk of complaints comes from women in the lower strata of society, who send their complaints by post. In March and up to April 5, the NCW received 310 grievances of DV. During this period, a total of 885 complaints were received by the NCW for other forms of violence against women (example: Bigamy/polygamy; denial of maternity benefits to women; dowry deaths; harassment of married women/dowry harassment; outraging the modesty of women/molestation; rape/attempt to rape; right to live with dignity; sexual assault and sexual harassment). Several women’s rights organisations have also been receiving numerous DV complaints since the enforcement of the lockdown.

The number of cases reported might not be proportional to the actual rise in the number of DV/sexual abuse cases. This is because the woman/child locked down with the abuser does not get access to a mobile phone or the space and time, with limited access to financial resources and social networks or even the courage when s/he could call up for help. In other words, all options of escape for the former from their situation of despair are impaired. 

Thus, the intensity of the impediments s/he would normally face has been exacerbated by the pandemic and the lockdown.

While the NCW Chairperson has urged women to contact the police or reach out to State Women’s Commissions if they face DV or their children are being abused, it must be noted that there might be chances where the police are delayed in such rescues. This is because they are already handling challenges of enforcing the lockdown, ensuring delivery of essentials to vulnerable sections and in several places assisting health workers in the discharge of their duties. Further, women have felt additionally unsafe in approaching the police because they think that if their husbands are arrested, they could be harassed by in-laws, or once their husbands return, they or their children would be tortured even more.

With partners and children potentially trapped at home during the COVID-19 lockdown, the rate and intensity of abuse could get even worse and extend to child abuse. Repeated acts of physical violence, such as slapping, hitting, kicking and beating; sexual violence, including forced sexual intercourse and other forms of sexual coercion; emotional (psychological) abuse, such as insults, belittling, constant humiliation, intimidation (e.g. destroying things), threats of harm, threats to take away children; controlling behaviour, including isolating a person from family and friends; monitoring their movements; restricting access to financial resources, employment, education or medical care, often result in depression, panic attacks, other anxiety disorders and even suicides.

It often has lasting impacts on the survivors as research suggests that the memory of abuse persists long after the violence has stopped. This often results in chronic health problems and developing risks of many diseases that arise from prolonged stress.

In the critical situation of trying to combat a pandemic, an increased number of women/children are faced with the plague of DV within their households. It must not come as a surprise because DV topped in the category of violence against women/girls in 2018. As per the data, a total of 89,097 cases related to crimes against women/girls were registered across India in 2018. The figures indicate that not much has improved when compared to the figure of 86,001 cases registered under this head in 2017.  The crime rate per lakh women/girl population was 58.8 in 2018 in comparison to 57.9 in 2017.

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16 highlighted that 30 per cent of women/girls in India in the age group of 15-49 experienced physical violence since the age of 15.

Among married women experiencing physical, sexual or emotional violence, an alarming 83 per cent claimed that their husbands were the main perpetrators of such forms of abuse, followed by abuse from the mothers (56 per cent), fathers (33 per cent) and siblings of the husbands (27 per cent). The major crimes reported by women in India are — cruelty by husband or relatives (32.6 per cent), assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (25 per cent), kidnapping and abductions (19 per cent) and rape (11.5 per cent).

The above crime statistics are unable to capture the data on violence against women in its entirety. This is primarily due to the prevalence of orthodox social norms and the stigma that is placed on survivors of DV/sexual abuse which leads to such cases being grossly underreported. The report also shows that unemployment and alcoholism of the male partner are highly associated with DV/sexual abuse on women/girls.

In addition to the direct health threat posed by the Coronavirus, the pandemic and restrictions aimed at checking its spread have heightened anxieties, right from apprehensions of catching the disease, to financial worries, to social concerns. There is also a concern that DV/sexual abuse would further increase with job losses and other economic pressures. An added challenge has been the importance of intertwined negative psycho-social impact on mental health of women/girls.

In the attempt to flatten the COVID-19 curve, women’s equality and physical and mental health seem to have suffered a collateral damage. The Government overlooked the need to formally integrate DV/sexual abuse and mental health repercussions into the public health preparedness and emergency response plans against Coronavirus. In fact, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) that seeks to “eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women in the public and private spheres and to undertake reforms to give them the same rights to economic resources and access to property by 2030”, is being enormously compromised.

Members of the community must be made aware about the increased risks to women’s/girls health and life in the lockdown days. They must develop the ethos to condemn violence and shoulder the responsibility of offering all possible assistance to ensure their safety. In its efforts against COVID-19, the Government must allow civil society organisations, counsellors, mental health organisations and providers to come to the rescue of the women/girls facing DV/sexual abuse. Reaching out to women/girls in distress and the need to address the various forms of violence against them need to be classified as an “essential service” by the Government. Finally, the perpetrators of DV/IPV/sexual abuse must be brought to trial and repeat offenders must be dealt with strictly as per the provisions of law.

(Simi is CEO and Editorial Director, IMPRI, Balwant is Fellow at IHD, Co-Founder and Visiting Senior Fellow, IMPRI and Kumar is Director, IMPRI)

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda