Domestic Violence Has Increased Since Lockdown, Reported Cases Are Just The Tip Of The Iceberg

Since late March, the majority of Indians have been confined to their houses and rooms due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown.

This included a large section of the working population, whose offices were shut and were working from home for the first time.

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One of the unintentional consequences of the lockdown was the rise in the number of cases of domestic violence across the country.

Several studies have shown that people who were confined to their rooms and houses have shown aggressive behaviour, both physically and verbally to those around them.

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And most of the times, it was the women and children who were at the receiving end of the violent behaviour.

There were 392 complaints of domestic violence registered with the NCW¡¯s Complaint and Investigation Cell in May this year compared to 266 in May 2019.

And in June the NCW received 2,043 complaints of crimes committed against women, the highest in the last eight months. According to the NCW data, 452 complaints were received of domestic violence in June alone. Out of the 2043 complaints, the highest number was received under the ¡®Right to live with dignity¡¯ at 603. The ¡®Right to live with dignity¡¯ takes into account the emotional abuse of women.

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Lakshyam, an NGO devoted to the destitute and suppressed communities, especially women and children have also seen an increase in the number of calls they receive on their helpline from women in distress.

"Since the lockdown began we started getting a lot of calls on our helpline number. Most of them were complaining about being physically abused by husbands, fights with in-laws, etc. Some even said that they are not even being provided food at home," Raashi Anand, Founder and CEO of Lakshyam said.

Raashi said once they get a call from a woman in distress, they try to counsel them and if they still want the NGO will help them to reach out to the NCW or police.

Among the highest number of calls they received were from working women who could not adjust their work-life balance during the lockdown.

"A lot of them, especially women have found it difficult to set a balance between work from home and their domestic duties, including preparing food and taking care of children. Even when a woman is working from home, she is expected to cook and take care of children. The stress from work along with domestic responsibilities has resulted in more conflicts and confrontations," she explained.

While this is mostly among the urban, educated and working women, the situation is even worse in the rural areas and among those who lived hand to mouth.

"Among the underprivileged, who were left without any income or jobs a large section of them are alcoholics or use other drugs. Once they would not afford their addiction, they were taking out their frustration on their wives and children," she said.

"Once we got a call from a woman, who requested us to find her some work. She said she wanted the money for three things, for her medicines, to buy milk for her child and to by liquor for her husband. She said her husband would turn violent if he cannot get his daily fix," Raashi said.

She also said that since the lockdown ended and people started going back to work, there is a drop in the number of calls they receive.