Category Archives: Domestic Violence

Why Does She Stay?

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The Navhind Times [1] reported that a man named Motiar was sentenced to just eight months in jail for attempting to murder his wife, Tumpa Bibi, ostensibly because she pleaded that he be let off and the court believed that there existed the possibility of their living a happy life together. He had set her on fire and left her with 36% burns just 28 days into their marriage according to the paper.

Personally, I think that every time a woman decides to stay with an abusive man, it’s an example of hope triumphing over experience (though not in the sense Dr. Johnson meant it). In one of the books in the Princess series, Jean Sasson and her anonymous collaborator had said something to the effect of: Once a dog’s let you see its tail crooked, don’t expect it to straighten it out because it won’t. I couldn’t agree more.

In an article by Evan Stark called ‘The Entrapment Enigma‘ [2] in the OUP USA blog, the author said:

“The psychiatric establishment in the 1970s believed women brought abuse on themselves because they were “masculine,” “frigid,” “overemotional” with “weakened ties to reality,” or had “inappropriate sexual expression.” But by the late 1980s, the “myth of masochism” and other transparent accounts that blamed the “wife-beater’s wife” for her abuse had been widely discredited, in no small part because of the work of feminist mental health professionals . Empirical work by psychologists and social workers had demonstrated that battered women had a better sense of reality than their assailants and, compared to nonbattered women, were actually more “social,” more “sympathetic,” less “masculine” though not necessarily more feminine, exhibited greater ego strength, and employed a greater range of strategies to change their situation than nonbattered women in distressed relationships.”

The question which has remained, however, is why battered woman stay in an abusive relationships. In her book ‘Trauma and Recovery’, Judith Lewis Herman wrote, “Prolonged, repeated trauma, by contrast, occurs only in circumstances of captivity. When the victim is free to escape, she will not be abused a second time; repeated trauma occurs only when the victim is a prisoner, unable to flee, and under the control of the perpetrator.”

Being unable to flee, to use the author’s words, I suspect, is a result of four factors:

1. Practical Difficulties

such as being financially dependant on the abuser and having nowhere to live

2. Social Conditioning

such as believing that a woman’s value as an individual is derived from her ability to ‘keep’ a man which is reinforced by living in a societies where women will be looked down on for supposedly failing to do so

3. Personal Beliefs

such as those where a woman is unable to believe that she is worthy of being treated with either respect or kindness as a result of having had her self-esteem torn to shreds by being abused

4. Institutional Responses

such as finding it difficult to convince police to file charges against the perpetrator, not having access to shelters, knowing that courts are unlikely to convict the perpetrator.

Knowing that women may have reasons (which seem entirely sensible) for staying in abusive situations though doesn’t stop me from feeling ill every time I hear about a woman who has actually done so.

Links:
[1] http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=031755
[2] http://blog.oup.com/2007/06/violence/

Domestic Violence in the Press a Century Ago

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After I came across the article about laughter and divorce, I browsed through a few more articles and didn’t really know what to make of them:

In 1881, a Mr Bergh (who had earlier restrained cruelty towards animals) proposed a bill which would punish wife-beaters by flogging them. The article which reported this questioned Mr Bergh’s reverence for the holy institution of marriage and asked how he could denounce honourable and chivalrous men merely because they occasionally knocked down their wives. “What we ought to do,” said the article, “with the person who has inadvertently, or, perhaps in a moment of temporary strength, beaten his wife is to sympathise with him to develop all that is manly and noble in his, and to say or do nothing which can by any possibility lead him to suppose that he has sunk in our estimation. … Moreover, there is reason to believe that a woman does not suffer as much pain form a beating as her husband would suffer were he to be beaten. Most intelligent and trustworthy wife-beaters testify that their wives, when knocked down with a blow of the fist or tapped with a club, rarely make any loud complaint.” [1]

The charge against a German man who was accused of beating his wife with a sledge hammer was dropped in 1897 when he told the Court that, after their marriage, he discovered that his wife was a coloured woman and was not white. I’m not entirely certain how he could have missed noticing that prior to marriage or how it could possibly have justified the assault. Nonetheless, the provocation, such as it was, was held to be sufficient to justify the assault. [2]

The State of Oregon instituted the penalty of the whipping post for wife-beaters for a period of four years before abolishing it in 1911. [3] This was in contrast to an 1883 article which described a battered wife as ‘the real criminal’ and said, “A wife who, when her husband returns home late at night instantly proceeds to be beaten and to awaken with her screams everybody within the radius of a quarter of a mils is simply a nuisance, and in many cases an intolerable nuisance. … Let it be suppressed by intelligent legislation. The law as is now exists clearly recognises that the wife is the offender. The punishment should therefore fall exclusively upon herself, and all attempts to punish her vicariously through her husband should be abandoned. … A wife who is found guilty of being beaten by her husband should be imprisoned for thirty or sixty days according to the gravity of her wounds and if she has any money of her own, she should be compelled to pay a reasonable amount of it to her injured husband.” [4] I’m not sure whether this particular article was meant to satirical or if the author wrote in all seriousness.

Considering that the rights of a gentleman seemed to include wife beating in 1902, the characterisation of abusive husbands as ‘innocent and suffering’ and battered wives as ‘criminal’ may not have been in jest. The author of ‘The Rights of a Gentleman’ contended that ‘killing’ was not the same as ‘inflicting grievous personal injury which, if not interrupted might be attended with untimely fatal consequences’. In this case, a policeman who was informed that a woman was in the process of being killed by her husband and who arrested the husband was described as being over-zealous. After all, as the author pointed out, he acted ‘without stopping to consider whether the provocation might not have been adequate, or the necessity for exemplary discipline sufficiently exigent to make this proceeding entirely proper and commendable.’ [5]

[1] Wife-Beating; February 8, 1881; The New York Times

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=980CEFD91F3AE533A2575BC0A9649C94609FD7CF

[2] A Matrimonial Mistake February 14, 1897; The New York Times
[3] Oregon ‘s Wife Beaters; February 6, 1911; The New York Times

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9901E1DC133EE733A25755C0A9649C946096D6CF

[4] The Real Criminal; March 20, 1883; The New York Times

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9801E3D91631E433A25753C2A9659C94629FD7CF

[5] July 11, 1902; The New York Times

Reacting to Domestic Violence

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What do you do if you know that someone you know is in a violent relationship? I wish I had the answer to that one but I don’t… not unless wishing that you were a multimillionaire so that you could get the person out of that environment counts. I am pretty sure that there are a few pretty straight forward rules:

1. If you’ve got nothing sensible to say, just shut up. Don’t come up with the oh-but-it-takes-two-hands-to clap analogy. No one asks to be abused, ever.

2. If the person being abused has trouble keeping in touch or otherwise seems erratic, bear in mind that it’s not about you; most perpetrators of abuse will do what they can to ensure that their victims are socially isolated. If you want to be a friend, it’s up to you to stick around.

3. Don’t mail them a checklist asking questions so that they can clarify in their own minds whether or not they’re being abused. Chances are that behind closed doors, minus an audience, they know. They may choose not to but that’s another matter.

4. Don’t insist on discussing it if they don’t want to. Tactfully let them know that you know and if they want to, they’ll follow it up. If they don’t, they won’t. Either way, it’s not your decision.

5. If you can help, by all means, help. Be very clear about what you are willing to do and make damn sure that you don’t go back on your word.

6. Don’t say things like, “I wish I could just take you to live at my place” — if that’s what you really wanted to do, that’s what you’d do. And whoever you say that to realises that too (especially in a country like India where you’d make space for your fifth cousin whom you don’t know from Adam without a second thought).

7. Be realistic. Don’t tell them that they should just walk out when you know that they’ve got nowhere to go. You’re just going to make them feel obliged to waste time and energy figuring out how to politely tell you that while they appreciate your concern, you’re an idiot.

8. Don’t be critical. Abuse, especially by someone whom they either do or think they should love, is confusing. And criticism is anyway what they get from the perpetrator. Respect their decisions and just, well, be nice. Don’t start conversations by telling them that the colour they’re wearing looks lousy on them; for all you know it could have taken them half the morning just to garner the will and the energy to get out of bed that day.

9. Help them sort out important documents and keep them in one place so that if need be, they can leave their home in 30 seconds flat. Or better still, offer to keep the documents with you. Clothes can be left behind. A passport cannot. And if you’re willing to, agree on some form of signal or codeword you can use in a telephone conversation which once you hear, will let you know that they need help to leave immediately.

10. Don’t treat the abuse as being anything but serious but don’t spend your time giving the victim stats on how many people die every day because of domestic violence.

Procedure Followed under the DV Act

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The procedure to be followed under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is basically that of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 although a Court may lay down its own procedure for the disposal applications or with regard to interim and ex parte orders.

It is a technical procedure and making one’s way through it may require the assistance of a lawyer. Women may be able to avail of free legal services under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to which they have a right.

Jurisdiction

Under Section 27 of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the Court of Judicial Magistrate of the First Class (JMFC) or the Metropolitan Magistrate, as the case may be, within the local limits of which:

  • the woman aggrieved permanently or temporarily resides or carries on business or is employed
  • the perpetrator of the violence resides or carries on business or is employed
  • the cause of action has arisen

is the competent Court to grant a protection order and other orders under the Act and to try the offences under the Act.

Any order made under the Act shall be enforceable throughout India.

Application to the Magistrate

A woman or a Protection Officer or any other person on behalf of the woman may present an application to the Magistrate seeking one or more reliefs under the Act.

Any person who has reason to believe that an act of domestic violence has been or is being or is likely to be committed may give information about it to the concerned Protection Officer. No liability, civil or criminal, shall be incurred by any person for giving information in good faith of information.

Before passing any order on such application, the Magistrate must consider any domestic incident report received by him from the Protection Officer or the service provider.

The relief sought may the issuance of an order for payment of compensation or damages for the injuries caused by the acts of domestic violence committed by the perpetrator. The woman may also file a separate civil suit for such compensation or damages. If she is awarded any amount as compensation or damages in such a civil suit, the amount, if any, paid or payable under an order under the DV Act is decreased by the amount she has received in the other suit. And the order under the DV Act is executable for the balance amount, if any.

Every application must be in the prescribed form and contain the required particulars.

The Magistrate must fix the first date of hearing which should not ordinarily be beyond three days from the date of receipt of the application by the Court. He is required to try to dispose of every application within a period of sixty days from the date of its first hearing.

A notice of the date of the hearing fixed must be given by the Magistrate to the Protection Officer, who shall get it served on the perpetrator-respondent, and on any other person as directed by the Magistrate within two days or such further reasonable time as may be allowed by the Magistrate. A declaration of service of notice made by the Protection Officer in the prescribed form is proof that the notice was served unless the contrary is proved.

If the Magistrate considers that the circumstances of the case so warrant, and if either party to the proceedings so desires, he may conduct the proceedings under the Act in camera.

Counselling

Under Section 14, the Magistrate may, at any stage of the proceedings under the Act, direct the respondent or the woman, either singly or jointly, to undergo counselling with any member of a service provider who possesses the prescribed qualifications and experience in counselling. If the Magistrate has issued any such direction, he is required to fix the next date of hearing of the case within a period not exceeding two months.

Assistance of welfare experts

Under Section 15, in any proceeding under the Act, the Magistrate may secure the services of such person, preferably a woman, whether related to the woman or not, including a person engaged in promoting family welfare as he thinks fit, for the purpose of assisting him in discharging his functions.

Appeals

Under Section 29, an appeal shall lie to the Court of Session within thirty days from the date on which the order made by the Magistrate is served on the woman or the respondent, as the case may be, whichever is later.

Note

Under the Act any of several possible perpetrators of domestic violence can be dealt with. These perpetrators are referred to as ‘the respondent’ in the statute and have been defined as any adult male person who is or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved woman and against whom she has sought any relief under the Act. The perpetrator may be the woman’s husband or a man with whom she shares a relationship in the nature of a marriage.

‘Woman’ means any woman who is or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act of domestic violence by the respondent and a ‘domestic relationship’ means a relationship between two persons who live or have, at any point of time, lived together in a shared household, when they are related by consanguinity, marriage or through a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption or are family members living together as a joint family.

A ‘child’ means any person below the age of eighteen years and includes any adopted, step or foster child.

Rights, Remedies and Reliefs under the DV Act

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The Domestic Violence Act, 2005, provides a number of reliefs to women who are victims of domestic violence which were not available earlier. For example, it gives a wife or live-in partner a right to live in her marital / shared home whether or not her name is on the title deeds of the property.

In fact, a Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justices Vikramjit Sen and P K Bhasin held that a mistress or a live-in partner is to be treated at par with a wife under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

Under the Act, any of several possible perpetrators of domestic violence can be dealt with. These perpetrators are referred to as ‘the respondent’ in the statute and have been defined as any adult male person who is or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved woman and against whom she has sought any relief under the Act. The perpetrator may be the woman’s husband or a man with whom she shares a relationship in the nature of a marriage.

‘Woman’ means any woman who is or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act of domestic violence by the respondent and a ‘domestic relationship’ means a relationship between two persons who live or have, at any point of time, lived together in a shared household, when they are related by consanguinity, marriage or through a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption or are family members living together as a joint family.

A ‘child’ means any person below the age of eighteen years and includes any adopted, step or foster child.

Right to Reside in a Shared Household

A ‘shared household’ means a household where the woman aggrieved lives or at any stage has lived in a domestic relationship either singly or along with the respondent and includes such a household whether owned or tenanted either jointly by the woman and the respondent or owned or tenanted by either of them in respect of which either the woman or the respondent or both jointly or singly have any right, title, interest or equity and includes such a household which may belong to the joint family of which the respondent is a member, irrespective of whether the respondent or the woman has any right, title or interest in the shared household

Under Section 17 of the Domestic Violence Act 2005, every woman in a domestic relationship has the right to reside in the shared household, whether or not she has any right, title or beneficial interest in the same. This Section overrides anything contained in any other law for the time being in force. The woman cannot be evicted or excluded from the shared household or any part of it by the respondent except in accordance with the procedure established by law.

Protection Orders

Under Section 18, the Magistrate may, after giving the woman and the perpetrator-respondent an opportunity to be heard and on being prima facie satisfied that domestic violence has taken place or is likely to take place, pass a protection order in favour of the woman and prohibit the respondent from:

  • committing any act of domestic violence
  • aiding or abetting in the commission of acts of domestic violence
  • entering the place of employment of the woman or, if the person aggrieved is a child, its school or any other place frequented by the woman
  • attempting to communicate in any form, whatsoever, with the woman, including personal oral or written or electronic or telephonic contact alienating any assets, operating bank lockers or bank accounts used or held or enjoyed by both the parties, jointly by the woman and the respondent or singly by the respondent, including her Stridhan or any other property held either jointly by the parties or separately by them without the leave of the Magistrate
  • causing violence to the dependants, other relatives or any person who give the woman assistance from domestic violence
  • committing any other act specified in the protection order.

A protection order shall be in force till the woman applies for discharge. If the Magistrate, on receipt of an application from the woman or the respondent, is satisfied that there is a change in the circumstances requiring alteration, modification or revocation of any order made under the Act, he may, for reasons to be recorded in writing pass such order, as he may deem appropriate according to Section 25.

Residence Orders

Under Section 19, the Magistrate may, on being satisfied that domestic violence has taken place, pass a residence order:

  • restraining the respondent from dispossessing or in any other manner disturbing the possession of the woman from the shared household, whether or not the respondent has a legal or equitable interest in the shared household
  • directing the respondent to remove himself from the shared household unless the respondent is a woman
  • restraining the respondent or any of his relatives from entering any portion of the shared household in which the woman resides
  • restraining the respondent from alienating or disposing off the shared household or encumbering the same
  • restraining the respondent from renouncing his rights in the shared household except with the leave of the Magistrate
  • directing the respondent to secure same level of alternate accommodation for the woman as enjoyed by her in the shared household or to pay rent for the same, if the circumstances so require

While making an order, the Magistrate may impose on the respondent obligations relating to the discharge of rent and other payments, having regard to the financial needs and resources of the parties.

The Magistrate may impose any additional conditions or pass any other direction which he may deem reasonably necessary to protect or to provide for the safety of the woman or any child of such woman.

The Magistrate may require from the respondent to execute a bond, with or without sureties, for preventing the commission of domestic violence. Such an order is deemed to be an order under Chapter VIII of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and is dealt with accordingly.

While passing an order, the Court may also pass an order directing the officer in charge of the nearest police station to give protection to the woman or to assist her or the person making an application on her behalf in the implementation of the order.

The Magistrate may direct the officer in-charge of the police station in whose jurisdiction the Magistrate has been approached to assist in the implementation of the protection order.

The Magistrate may direct the respondent to return to the possession of the woman her Stridhan or any other property or valuable security to which she is entitled to.

Monetary Relief

Under Section 20 of the Act, while disposing of an application, the Magistrate may direct the respondent to pay monetary relief to meet the expenses incurred and losses suffered by the woman and any child of the woman as a result of the domestic violence and such relief may include, but not limited to:

  1. the loss of earnings
  2. the medical expenses
  3. the loss caused due to the destruction, damage or removal of any property from the control of the woman and
  4. the maintenance for the woman as well as her children, if any, including an order under or in addition to an order of maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or any other law for the time being in force.

The monetary relief granted under this Section shall be adequate, fair and reasonable and consistent with the standard of living to which the woman is accustomed.

The Magistrate shall have the power to order an appropriate lump sum payment or monthly payments of maintenance, as the nature and circumstances of the case may require. He shall send a copy of the order for monetary relief made to the parties to the application and to the in charge of the police station within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the respondent resides.

The respondent shall pay the monetary relief granted to the woman within the period specified in the order.

Upon the failure on the part of the respondent to make payment in terms of the order, the Magistrate may direct the employer or a debtor of the respondent, to directly pay to the woman or to deposit with the Court a portion of the wages or salaries or debt due to or accrued to the credit of the respondent, which amount may be adjusted towards the monetary relief payable by the respondent.

Custody Orders

Under Section 21, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the Magistrate may, at any stage of hearing of the application for protection order or for any other relief under the Act grant temporary custody of any child(ren) to the woman or the person making an application on her behalf. The perpetrator-respondent may be given visitation rights unless the Magistrate thinks that such visits may be harmful to the interests of the child or children.

Compensation Orders

Under Section 22, in addition to other reliefs as may be granted under the Act, the Magistrate may on an application being made by the woman, pass an order directing the respondent to pay compensation and damages for the injuries, including mental torture and emotional distress, caused by the acts of domestic violence committed by that respondent.

Interim Orders

Under Section 23, in any proceeding before him under the Act, the Magistrate may pass such interim order as he deems just and proper.

Ex Parte Orders

If the Magistrate is satisfied that an application prima facie discloses that the respondent is committing or has committed an act of domestic violence or that there is a likelihood that the respondent may commit an act of domestic violence, he may grant an ex parte order against the respondent on the basis of the affidavit in the prescribed form of the woman.

Relief under other Statutes

Relief may also be sought in any legal proceeding, before a Civil Court, family Court or a Criminal Court, affecting the woman and the respondent whether such proceeding was initiated before or after the commencement of the Act.

Any such relief may be sought for in addition to and along with any other relief that the woman may seek in such suit or legal proceeding before a civil or Criminal Court.

In case any relief has been obtained by the woman in any proceedings other than a proceeding under the Act, she shall be bound to inform the Magistrate of the grant of such relief according to Section 26 of the DV Act.

Protection Officers under the DV Act

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Protection Officers are creations of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005. In line with a policy of trying to ensure that the woman is safe and that her rights are protected, under Section 8 of the Act, the State Government must appoint as many Protection Officers in each district as it considers necessary. It must also notify the area or areas within which a Protection Officer exercises the powers and perform the duties conferred on him by or under the Act. The Protection Officers should be women, if possible.

It shall be the duty of the Protection Officer:

  • to assist the Magistrate in the discharge of his functions under the Act
  • to make a domestic incident report to the Magistrate, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, upon receipt of a complaint of domestic violence and forward copies thereof to the police officer in charge of the police station within the local limits of whose jurisdiction domestic violence is alleged to have been committed and to the service providers in that area
  • to make an application in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed to the Magistrate, if the woman so desires, claiming relief for issuance of a protection order
  • to ensure that the woman is provided legal aid under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and make available free of cost the prescribed form in which a complaint is to be made
  • to maintain a list of all service providers providing legal aid or counselling, shelter homes and medical facilities in a local area within the jurisdiction of the Magistrate
  • to make available a safe shelter home, if the woman so requires and forward a copy of his report of having lodged the woman in a shelter home to the police station and the Magistrate having jurisdiction in the area where the shelter home is situated
  • to get the woman medically examined, if she has sustained bodily injuries and forward a copy of the medical report to the police station and the Magistrate having jurisdiction in the area where the domestic violence is alleged to have been taken place
  • to ensure that the order for monetary relief (under Section 20) is complied with and executed, in accordance with the procedure prescribed under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
  • to perform such other duties as may be prescribed.

The Protection Officer shall be under the control and supervision of the Magistrate, and shall perform the duties imposed on him by the Magistrate and the Government by or under, the Act according to Section 9 of the Act.

Under Section 5 of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, a Protection Officer who has received a complaint of domestic violence or is otherwise present at the place of an incident of domestic violence or when the incident of domestic violence is reported to him, must inform the woman:

  • of her right to make an application for obtaining a relief by way of a protection order, an order for monetary relief, a custody order, a residence order, a compensation order or more than one such order under the Act
  • of the availability of services of service providers
  • of the availability of services of the Protection Officers
  • of her right to free legal services under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
  • of her right to file a complaint under Section 498 A of the Indian Penal Code wherever relevant

A woman or a Protection Officer or any other person on behalf of the woman may present an application to the Magistrate seeking one or more reliefs under the Act.

Under Section 4 of the Act, any person who has reason to believe that an act of domestic violence has been or is being or is likely to be committed may give information about it to the concerned Protection Officer. No liability, civil or criminal, shall be incurred by any person for giving information in good faith of information.

Under Section 33, if any Protection Officer fails or refuses to discharge his duties as directed by the Magistrate in the protection order without any sufficient cause, he is liable to be punished with either simple or rigorous imprisonment of for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees or with both although Section 34 says that no prosecution or other legal proceeding lies against the Protection Officer unless a complaint is filed with the previous sanction of the State Government or an officer authorised by it in this behalf.

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding lies against the Protection Officer for any damage caused or likely to be caused by anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under the Act or any rule or order made under it according to Section 35. The provisions of the Act are, however, in addition to, and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law, for the time being in force according to Section 36.

Protection Officers, while acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of the Act or any rules or orders made under it are deemed to be public servants within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.

Note

Under the Act any of several possible perpetrators of domestic violence can be dealt with. These perpetrators are referred to as ‘the respondent’ in the statute and have been defined as any adult male person who is or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved woman and against whom she has sought any relief under the Act. The perpetrator may be the woman’s husband or a man with whom she shares a relationship in the nature of a marriage.

‘Woman’ means any woman who is or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act of domestic violence by the respondent and a ‘domestic relationship’ means a relationship between two persons who live or have, at any point of time, lived together in a shared household, when they are related by consanguinity, marriage or through a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption or are family members living together as a joint family.

A ‘child’ means any person below the age of eighteen years and includes any adopted, step or foster child.

Service Providers under the DV Act

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Service Providers are by and large envisaged as NGOs which can provide assistance in cases of domestic violence.

Under Section 10 of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, subject to the rules as may be made in this behalf, any voluntary association registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 or any other law for the time being in force with the objective of protecting the rights and interests of women by any lawful means including providing of legal aid, medical, financial or other assistance must register itself with the State Government as a service provider for the purposes of the Act.

A registered service provider has the power to:

  1. record the domestic incident report in the prescribed form if the woman so desires and forward a copy of the report to the Magistrate and the Protection Officer having jurisdiction in the area where the domestic violence took place
  2. get the woman medically examined and forward a copy of the medical report to the Protection Officer and the police station within the local limits of which the domestic violence took place ensure that the woman is provided shelter in a shelter home, if she so requires and forward a report of the lodging of the woman in the shelter home to the police station within the local limits of which the domestic violence took place.

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any service provider or any member of the service provider who is or who is deemed to be, acting or purporting to act under the Act, for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in the exercise of powers or discharge of functions under the Act towards the prevention of the commission of domestic violence.

The members of service providers, while acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of the Act or any rules or orders made under it are deemed to be public servants within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.

Note

Under the Act any of several possible perpetrators of domestic violence can be dealt with. These perpetrators are referred to as ‘the respondent’ in the statute and have been defined as any adult male person who is or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved woman and against whom she has sought any relief under the Act. The perpetrator may be the woman’s husband or a man with whom she shares a relationship in the nature of a marriage.

‘Woman’ means any woman who is or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act of domestic violence by the respondent and a ‘domestic relationship’ means a relationship between two persons who live or have, at any point of time, lived together in a shared household, when they are related by consanguinity, marriage or through a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption or are family members living together as a joint family.

A ‘child’ means any person below the age of eighteen years and includes any adopted, step or foster child.