Asha, a 26 year old domestic worker lives with her husband and young child. Her husband, a construction worker is alchoholic and beats her everyday. Asha hopes to save some money and go away with her child to their village.
Prabha a 35 year old school teacher is a favourite with her students. Her husband is a software engineer. In the eyes of their family and friends, they make a perfect couple. Prabha has never confessed to them that she is a victim of marital rape.
Amrutha a 44 year old lawyer is a proud single mother. For 10 years, she found herself struggling to cope with a relationship that left her emotionally battered and depressed. She found the courage to walk out of her marriage and make a life for herself and her young son.
Women from all strata of society, irrespective of their educational qualifications and financial independence can be victims of domestic violence.
Domestic violence refers to any act of violence that a women may be subject to by her family. This includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental abuse, verbal abuse and economic abuse.
Domestic abuse is extremely common in India . Many victims hesitate to speak up for fear of social stigma or concern that the perpetrators of violence may target their child/children.
If you want to speak up or report an incident of domestic violence, you can:
- Report the incident on the website of the National Commission for Women at: http://ncwapps.nic.in/onlinecomplaintsv2/frmPubRegistration.aspxor call their helpline at +917217735372.
For details of how the complaint will be dealt, please check http://ncw.nic.in/procedure-dealing-complaints
The website also lists help lines for women in distress and those needing legal aid at http://www.ncw.nic.in/helplines
- Approach the Protection officer in your area who will help. The Protection Of important link between the victim and law enforcement officers. Based on inputs from the victim, the Protection Officer can file a Domestic Incident Report to be submitted to the Magistrate. A copy of this report is also sent to the police station within the jurisdiction of which the victim resides.
The Protection Officer can guide the victim on the process of legal aid as well as on other types of support like shelters, medical aid and counselling.
Every district has a protect officer. This contact details of the Protection Officers statewide is available at http://ncwapps.nic.in/frmListStatePO.aspx
- Reach out to NGO’s who offer various kinds of support. For list of NGO’s please check: https://sayfty.com/survivorstoolkit/directory
https://indianhelpline.com/WOMEN-HELPLINE
Domestic Violence Helplines:
Police-100
Women’s Helpline Number: 181 , 1091, 1291
Domestic Violence helpline by National Commission for Women: +917217735372
If you are a victim of domestic abuse or know a victim, do not hesitate to seek help.