“Sometimes the shame is not the beatings, not the rape. The shaming is in being asked to stand judgement.” ― Meena Kandasamy
As Covid-19 and the lockdown confined people to their homes, complaints of domestic violence and cyber-crime against women went up with the effect more prominent in the country’s red zones, districts with the strictest lockdown measures, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Domestic abuse” and “domestic violence helpline” were Google search terms that began to significantly increase mid-March and peaked on April 19 and on May 10 in India, the UCLA research found.
According to one report, one out of the three women globally have experienced violence over their lifetimes. Due to the lockdown, many of the victims were not able to contact the police or social workers as they were trapped at home with the abusers. Law and police faced a new challenge in protecting the victims and delivering justice in these times.
During the initial phases of the COVID-19-related lockdown, Indian women filed more domestic violence complaints than recorded in a similar period in the last 10 years. Surprisingly, even this unusual spurt is only the tip of the iceberg as 86% women who experience domestic violence do not seek help in India, and 77% of the victims did not even mention the incident(s) to anyone. The lack of an income during the pandemic and the looming threat of hunger also added to the problem. Women who are financially dependent on their husbands suffered more. Among the 14.3% of victims who sought help, only 7% reached out to relevant authorities — the police, doctors, lawyers or social service organizations but more than 90% of the victims sought help only from their immediate family.
This isn’t unique to India - early in April, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said there was a “horrifying global surge in domestic violence” amid lockdowns. The calls to helplines doubled in Lebanon and Malaysia, and tripled in China, compared with the same time last year, according to the UN.
The police, who are the first responders, are usually known to be unsympathetic to women. And the force is further stretched during the pandemic, enforcing curfews and contact tracing possible cases.
Police registered 103,272 such cases in 2018.
According to India's national family health survey - an exhaustive household government survey - from 2015-16, around 33% of women had experienced spousal violence - physical, sexual or emotional.
It adds that just 14 % of women who experienced violence have sought help to stop it. Even then, the National Commission for Women had seen a spike in the complaints, its chairperson, Rekha Sharma, told BBC. It launched a WhatsApp helpline for women during the lockdown, as it is a safe option for those who cannot make calls out of fear of being overheard. Between 23 March and 16 April 2020 - roughly the first three weeks of the lockdown - the commission received 239 complaints of domestic violence. This was a significant jump from the 123 complaints it received in the month leading up to the lockdown.
Of course, COVID-19 cannot cause domestic violence, just as alcohol, drugs, unemployment etc. do not cause it. However, a heightened state of anxiety and stress – including medical anxiety and the stress many of us will feel around being in such close proximity for such extended periods of time with our families – is likely to make this a more dangerous time for women and children. This is in line with existing research that highlight that natural disasters and diseases are factors in increased reports of domestic violence.
Perpetrators may attempt to deal with extra stress and anxiety by imposing stricter and more unrealistic regimes on their families’ and their behaviours. It’s a moment when the coercive control can be tightened. In fact, “social distancing” and “isolation” are core tactics of a coercively controlling partner.
Many Countries like Spain, Germany, Argentina, Italy, Norway, and France have launched Campaign Mask-19 also known as the Code-word scheme. When a woman experiences abuse at home or sexual assault, she can visit the nearest pharmacy and request for Mask-19. The pharmacy staff will note down her name, phone number and address and they inform the police stations and emergency services to tip them off about the abuse.
The majority of us are in contact with domestic violence victims, survivors and perpetrators, even if we do not usually recognize it. We are their lecturers, their medical professionals, their caretakers, their teachers, their social workers, their line managers and so on. If we are working in any kind of support role or direct contact role during the COVID-19 crisis it is important to remember that “working from home” brings with it very different challenges for different people. We need to be aware of how this may impact victims and perpetrators of domestic violence as well as children in the home.
Understand that stress and anxiety do not cause domestic abuse but it may increase in families where it is already being perpetrated. You need to acknowledge that this is an extremely unsafe time.
Check in with someone who you are personally worried about. If making a phone call to a suspected domestic violence victim or survivor, always assume that the perpetrator could be listening in. The same goes for instant messaging services.
If you suspect that the victim or survivor isn’t able to talk because of being overheard, give them a readily thought out line to end the call. If it is safe to talk when you call, arrange a codeword or phrase that the victim can use if interrupted. In a country with deep-rooted patriarchal morals, where the women are supposed to tolerate each and everything that is thrown in their way, there needs to be an equitable way out. With the extension of lockdown, the sentence of confinement for the sufferers only gets prolonged. Fighting abusers and beasts who prey upon the frangibility of women, is as salient as tackling with the pandemic.
Sources:
1. The Hindu
2. The Indian Express
3. BBC News
4. The Print
5. The Leaflet
Piece by-
Ishta Kaushal
ishta020@gmail.com
Ishta is currently pursuing her Bachelors in Commerce (Honors) with Minors in English Literature from Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi. She comes from the hills of Shimla, which is where she took to reading really early on moulding her into the ardent reader that she is today. According to her it would be quite unfair on her part to call herself a feminist, if she couldn't contribute to a feminist community right in her college i.e. the Women’s Development Cell.
Comments