This book critically examines domestic violence law in India. It focuses on women’s experiences and perspectives as victims and litigants, with regard to accessibility to law and justice. It also reflects on the manner in which the legal process reproduces gender hierarchies. This volume: Analyzes the legal framework from a gender perspective to pinpoint the inherent stereotypes, prejudices and discriminatory practices that come into play while interpreting the law; Includes in-depth interviews and case studies, and explores critical themes such as marriage, rights, family, violence, property and the state; Presents alternatives beyond the domain of law, such as qualitative medical care and legal aid facilities, shelter homes, short-stay homes, childcare facilities, and economic and social security provisions to survivors and their children. Drawing on extensive testimonies and ethnographic studies situated in a theoretical framework of law, this book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of law, gender, human rights, women’s studies, sociology and social anthropology, and South Asian studies.

This book examines the prevailing legal discourse surrounding domestic violence law in India. It investigates the myths, patriarchal stereotypes, and misconceptions that undermine the process of justice and dilute legal provisions to the detriment of survivors. The volume: Develops arguments based on legal case studies and draws extensively on knowledge from various fields of study, as well as the experience of women survivors. Examines fallacies within the legal framework through a study of strategic lawsuits against public participation suits within the Indian context. Proposes measures for a fair and more gender inclusive legal system that focuses on facilitating access to justice. Suggests that emphasis be laid on establishing the rule of law and eliminating the culture of violence. A key text on gender and law in India, this book will be indispensable to scholars and researchers of socio-legal studies, law, gender, human rights, women’s studies, social science, political science, and feminist jurisprudence in South Asia. It will also be of interest to NGOs, activists, and lawyers.

"World Health Organization, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, South African Medical Research Council"--Title page.

Mainstream counselling in domestic violence often fails to address critical issues, such as gender socialisation processes and the abuse of power that allows violence against women, and focuses primarily on the intra-psychic nature of individual women. In contrast, feminist counselling is an effective alternative model, owing to its ability to address the fundamental correlation of abuse with power. In going beyond the individual, it helps women locate the source of their distress in the larger social context of power and control, manifesting in intimate, interpersonal relationships, and enables them to resist systemic oppression. This volume offers one of the first systematic documentations of feminist psychosocial interventions in India. It situates the issue of domestic violence in the historical context of the women’s movement, and examines institutional factors such as family and marriage that perpetuate abuse. Using extensive case studies, it discusses the methods, principles, techniques, skills and procedures followed by feminist organisations across the country, and their role in women’s empowerment. The book will serve as a practical reference guide to practitioners such as social workers, counsellors and para-counsellors, health activists, grassroots workers, protection officers and service providers. It will also be useful to scholars and students of psychology, sociology, women’s studies, law and public policy.

To be assaulted, abused and raped by someone as intimate as a husband, or lover, is the most degrading experience for a woman. Not recognized as ‘real’ violence, abuse of this nature is experienced daily by countless women in every culture. Behind closed doors of family, custom, values, traditions that are taken for granted and never questioned – are muffled voices of terror and trauma, which do not reach beyond the threshold nor attract the attention of lawmakers or redress agents./-//-/Edited by a renowned women’s rights activist and a former victim of domestic violence, the book takes us inside these closed doors. It puts together the life stories of seventeen women from diverse cultural, class, education and religious backgrounds in India who were victims of domestic violence. Apart from being a first person account, this powerful book is a tribute to the courage and determination of women who decided to break their silence. The book will inspire other victims of this ‘hidden crime’, to speak out, share their plight and change their fate.

Women in India constitute nearly half of its population of over a billion people, and this book is a rigorous social scientific examination of the issue of violence against women in India. It draws from the latest criminological research on the nature and extent of such violence; discusses cultural myths and practices that underlie the problem; and examines policies and programs that respond to it. This collection will advance research, justice, and social action to tackle this heartbreaking problem. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice.

The objective of this publication is to take stock of the progress made towards achieving the statutory objectives ot the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, in the first decade of its implementation. In this regard, the work attempts to cover themes relating to state accountability in terms of providing a supportive framework to facilitate women's access to justice, experiences in court, and jurisprudence evolved by appellate courts. It also seeksto trace and document the history behind the enactment of the PWDVA 2005.

Violence against women is one factor in the growing wave of alarm about violence in American society. High-profile cases such as the O.J. Simpson trial call attention to the thousands of lesser-known but no less tragic situations in which women's lives are shattered by beatings or sexual assault. The search for solutions has highlighted not only what we know about violence against women but also what we do not know. How can we achieve the best understanding of this problem and its complex ramifications? What research efforts will yield the greatest benefit? What are the questions that must be answered? Understanding Violence Against Women presents a comprehensive overview of current knowledge and identifies four areas with the greatest potential return from a research investment by increasing the understanding of and responding to domestic violence and rape: What interventions are designed to do, whom they are reaching, and how to reach the many victims who do not seek help. Factors that put people at risk of violence and that precipitate violence, including characteristics of offenders. The scope of domestic violence and sexual assault in America and its conequences to individuals, families, and society, including costs. How to structure the study of violence against women to yield more useful knowledge. Despite the news coverage and talk shows, the real fundamental nature of violence against women remains unexplored and often misunderstood. Understanding Violence Against Women provides direction for increasing knowledge that can help ameliorate this national problem.

Domestic Violence Laws in the United States and India is a comparative study of the domestic violence laws in India and the United States, seeking to illuminate the critical issues of intimate partner violence through the lenses of these two societies.