Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 was enacted by the Parliament of India to provide for more effective protection of the rights of women guaranteed under the Constitution who are victims of violence of any kind occurring within the family and other related incidents. 

This article will discuss one of the important acts enacted – Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in the context of the IAS Exam. 

This topic is useful for both GS Paper I (for understanding the Indian society) and GS Paper-II of the UPSC Syllabus.

The candidates can read about other important acts related to women’s rights and issues from the links provided below:

What does Domestic Violence mean?

• It can be termed as Domestic violence in case it harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse. 
• The Act recognizes domestic violence as a human rights violation. 
• It recognises a woman’s right to live in a violence-free home.
• To realize this right, the Act recognises a woman’s right to residence and her right to obtain protection orders under the law.

Types of Domestic Violence

Under this Act, domestic violence includes the following:

1. Physical abuse – It means any act or conduct which is of such a nature as to cause bodily pain, harm, or danger to life, limb, or health or impair the health or development of the aggrieved person and includes assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force. 
2. Sexual abuse – It includes any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of a woman. 
3. Verbal and emotional abuse – It includes 
   • Insults, ridicule, humiliation, name-calling and insults or ridicule specially with regard to not having a child or a male child; and
   • Repeated threats to cause physical pain to any person in whom the aggrieved person is interested. 
4. Economic abuse – It includes activities such as not providing money for maintaining the woman or her children, not providing food, clothes, medicines, etc., deprivation of all or any economic or financial resources, forcing the woman out of the house, preventing from accessing or using any part of the house, preventing or obstructing one from carrying on employment, etc.,

Read more about Violence Against Women: RSTV – Big Picture, from the linked article. 

Salient Features of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA)

• Recognising that a woman requires assistance with legal procedures and other forms of support, the PWDVA allows for the appointment of Protection Officers, and recognises the role of Service Providers in providing medical, shelter, legal, counselling and other kinds of support services.

• This act provides only temporary and emergency relief. 
• It is a law in response to the needs of the woman. 
• It has certain crossovers from civil to criminal law – so when the protection order or Magistrate’s order is violated, the criminal law will start. 
• The shelter homes and the medical facility are under a legal obligation to provide shelter or medical facility to the aggrieved person.
• The Act does not make any changes in the existing personal law regime on family matters. 
• The reliefs under the Act are in addition to existing laws and have been recognised with the objective of empowering a woman to tide over an emergency situation. 
• Having obtained relief under the law, a woman can still go for relief under other laws later.
• The Act includes provisions for making Domestic Incident Reports, which will serve as important records at the stage of evidence taking. 
• The manner in which the applications for orders under the Act have also been mentioned in the Act. 
• Finally, the Act provides that the breach of an order obtained is a criminal offence.

Role of Government

The Central Government and every State Government, shall take all measures to ensure that:

• The provisions of this Act are given wide publicity through public media including television, radio and print media at regular intervals.
• The Central Government and State Government officers, including the police officers and the members of the judicial services, are given periodic sensitisation and awareness training on the issue addressed by this Act. 
• Effective coordination between the services provided by concerned Ministries and Departments dealing with law, home affairs including law and order, health and human resources to address issues of domestic violence are established and periodical review of the same is conducted.
• Protocols for the various Ministries concerned with the delivery of services to women under this Act, including the courts, are prepared and put in place. 

To read about the List of Important Acts that Transformed India, check the linked article. 

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 [UPSC Notes]:-Download PDF Here

Other related links: