Study of domestic violence against women with reference to domestic violence act’ 2005”

Pages: 726-730
Gamrangchi, D. Arengh (Department of Food Science and Nutrition,Human Development, University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka)
Priya, M. (Department of Human Development, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore)

Domestic violence that is any act of physical, sexual, or psychological abuse, or the threat of such abuse, inflicted against a woman by a person intimately connected to her through marriage, family relation, or acquaintanceship is universal and has its root in the socio-cultural set up of the society. Domestic violence can be Psychological Abuse, Social Abuse, Financial Abuse, Physical Assault and/or Sexual Assault. In developing cities the rates of domestic violence against women are high. Domestic violence has attracted the attention of the general public and the judiciary in the city due to series of unpleasant incidents the loss of life and threat to life in several parts of the city. There were several cases of women who were ill treated, tortured and even murdered for not meeting the demands of the so called head of the family. The ultimate solution lies in awareness building geared through determined community action. In this study, efforts have been made to find out the prevalent forms of domestic violence, the factors leading to it, economic status of the family, the awareness of Domestic Violence Act’ 2005, the utilization of the Act and also impact of the Act. The present study included sections on the prevalent forms of domestic violence, the factors leading to it, economic status of the family, the awareness of Domestic Violence Act’ 2005, the utilization of the Act and also impact of the Act on the lives of victims. A total of 15 women victims of domestic violence were selected from the centers for the study. Through Case history method consolidated raw data were framed. The results revealed that Domestic violence in the form of physical attack was a common feature, the most prevalent cause of violence is extra marital relations of husbands, most of the victims belonged to middle income group families and are aware of the Domestic Violence Act and the reason for not utilizing the Act is because of fear of social stigma. This Act has both positive and negative impact on the lives of victims according to the present study.