The Accountability of Stakeholders in Combating Domestic Violence with Women in India

As per the Hindu tradition, women are considered as 'ardhangini' and the western civilisation considers them as ' better half'. Since ancient times, women have been considered as the epitome of love, kindness, care and above all 'the mother of mankind'. But on the contrary, the most terrible and horrifying cruelties are imposed upon her. The predominant type of violence which is inflicted upon a woman is 'domestic violence' also known as 'intimate partner violence'. According to the World Health Organisation, almost one third, i.e., 27% of the women aged between 15 and 49 years, who have been in a relationship report that they have been subjected to some form of physical or sexual violence by their intimate partner. The issue of domestic violence has been addressed at both international and national levels, but still there exists a persistent gap in enforcing and implementing them. And this can be easily proved from the continuous rise in the cases of domestic violence worldwide, especially during the COVID times. The problem that needs to be addressed at hand is the role of several accountable stakeholders involved in the process of providing access to justice to the women affected by domestic violence. According to the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005), in India, the several stakeholders include the protection officers, service providers, lawyers, police officers, shelter homes and judges. These are the people with whom the power to protect and help the women are vested, but instead the affected women fall a prey to this system due to various reasons like lack of resources, fewer power and many more which will be further discussed in the article.