Domestic Violence and the Law: A Study of Complaints Under the Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act,2005 in Maharashtra,India

Abstract

Violence against women is a complex phenomenon that is deeply embedded in Indian society. In this mixed methods article, court records data (2005–2010) from two sites in Maharashtra, India along with in-depth interviews with stakeholders were analyzed to examine the implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA). Out of 77.28% married women who filed a case under the PWDVA, 60.28% of them reported dowry-related harassment. Maharashtra has the social infrastructure in place to implement the law, although optimal use needs to be ensured for speedy delivery of justice.

Keywords

domestic violence intimate partner violence protection of women from domestic violence act (2005)Maharashtra legal process court records data

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Agnes

D’Mello

(2015). Protection of women from domestic violence. Economic and Political Weekly, 50(44), 76–84. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44002806

Agnihotri

Mazumdar

(1995). Changing terms of political discourse: Women’s movement in India, 1970s-1990s. Economic and Political Weekly, 30(29), 1869–1878. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4403023

Ahmed-Ghosh

(2004). Chattels of society: Domestic violence in India. Violence Against Women, 10(1), 94–118. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801203256019

Centre for Social Research. (2005). A Research study on the use and misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. https://awomaninindia.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/csr-report-summary.pdf.

Gangoli

Rew

(2011). Mothers-in-law against daughters-in-law: Domestic violence and legal discourses around mother-in-law violence against daughters-in-law in India. Women’s Studies International Forum, 34(5), 420–429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2011.06.006

Ghosh

Choudhuri

(2015). New protection against domestic violence in India. Indian Journal of Development Research and Social Action, 11(1–2), 111–128. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Biswajit-Ghosh-3/publication/276267862_’New_Protection_against_Domestic_Violence_in_India’/links/555432c408ae6fd2d81f3a54/New-Protection-against-Domestic-Violence-in-India.pdf .

Indian Institute for Population Sciences. (2015). National Family Health Survey - 5 2019-20. State Fact Sheet, Maharashtra, 1–6. https://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-FRIND3-DHS-Final-Reports.cfm

Ishpal Singh Kahai v. Ramanjeet Kahai. (2011). https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1829986/ .

Jaising

(2014). Concern for the dead, condemnation for the living. Economic & Political Weekly, 49(30), 34–38. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24479736 .

10.

Jejeebhoy

S. J.

Cook

R. J.

(1997). State accountability for wife-beating : The Indian challenge. The Lancet, 349, S10–S12. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(97)90004-0

11.

Katzenstein

M. F.

(1989). Organizing against violence: Strategies of the Indian women’s movement. Pacific Affairs, 62(1), 53. https://doi.org/10.2307/2760264

12.

Kishor

Gupta

(2009). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3). Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in India.

13.

Lawyers Collective. (2009). Staying alive: Third monitoring and evaluation report 2009 on the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Field Office ESEAsia/Docs/Publications/2015/southasia/reportstudies/01_evaw/Staying-Alive-Third-ME-Report-2009-final.pdf.

14.

Mukhopadhyay

(2019). Found and lost in translation: Exploring the legal protection of women from the domestic violence act 2005 through the social public space of Kolkata. Social & Legal Studies, 28(3), 349–369. https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663918769473

15.

National Crime Records Bureau. (2020). IPC Crimes against Women −2020. In Crime in India. https://ncrb.gov.in/sites/default/files/crime_in_india_table_additional_table_chapter_reports/TABLE 3A.2.pdf.

16.

Oxfam India (2015). Implementing the PWDVA: Safeguarding women from domestic violence .

17.

Parekh

Tagat

Kapoor

Nadkarni

(2021). The effects of husbands’ alcohol consumption and women’s empowerment on intimate partner violence in India. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(13–14), 088626052199130. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260521991304

18.

Perappadan

B. S.

(2015, December 23). Implementation of PWDVA Act needs more teeth. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/implementation-of-pwdva-act-needs-more-teeth/article8019558.ece.

19.

Sen

(2000). Toward a Feminist Politics? The Indian Women’s Movement in Historical Perspective .

20.

Sinha

A. S.

Padalkar

Sahastranaman

(2016). Domestic violence and effectiveness of law enforcement agencies: A panel data study. Economic & Political Weekly, 51(3), 63–70. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44004206