A socio-legal analysis of domestic abuse
'Stay home, stay safe'. This is the message that has gone viral in the last month or so after the covid-19 situation worsened globally, with the number of infected people increasing at an exponential rate. Staying at home and maintaining social distance has helped curb the outbreak and isolation is essential to control the pandemic. However, isolation is also a crucial element for domestic violence, with abusers often resorting to this tactic to control their victims. While recent articles in Bangladesh have stressed the importance of gender-based violence, a deeper understanding of the root causes and legal definition of domestic violence is required to successfully protect its victims.
Domestic violence is not new in Bangladesh. There have been innumerable incidents of such violence before the outbreak of covid-19 and unfortunately such incidents would perhaps continue even after the pandemic is over. It is deeply rooted in our society with patriarchy endorsing and reinforcing such abuse. Research has found that in both rural and urban areas of Bangladesh, social norms and practices have internalised domestic violence. Victims are often sent back from their natal homes to their abusive husband as it impacts the ''shamman" or honour of her family. This is a scenario that we are all too familiar with, and it has led to fatal results for some of these victims. Thus, women are taught to be tolerant and overlook abuse in a relationship, after all it was 'just a slap'. Such are the narratives of domestic violence in Bangladesh and women are often unaware that such violence is fundamentally and legally wrong with community attitudes also condoning such practices.
Evidence from around the world suggests that domestic violence increases in times of crisis, and mandatory lockdowns. Women and children are more vulnerable to abuse by partners and family members and are isolated from people and resources that could help them out. This brings us to the crux of the matter: what do we mean by domestic violence from a legal perspective in Bangladesh? A common misconception in our country is that it is counted as domestic violence only if the husband beats/hits the wife, i.e. physical violence. However, physical violence is only one of the four types of domestic violence. As per section 3 of the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2010 domestic violence includes physical, psychological, sexual and economic abuse against a woman or a child (the victim) by someone in the family or someone with whom they are in a family relationship. Physical violence includes (but is not limited to) slapping, hitting, beating, kicking the victim, etc. Moreover, an increasingly common yet grossly underreported form of domestic violence is psychological abuse, which includes insults, humiliation, etc. for example telling a woman she is worthless, not good enough for that person, is ugly or threatening the victim in any way. Furthermore, domestic violence also includes controlling behavior such as not allowing the victim to meet her family or her friends thereby isolating her, controlling her movements and depriving the victim of her independence. Sexual abuse includes abuse of a sexual nature violating the dignity of the victim. However, this is a tricky area if the victim is raped by her husband, as Bangladesh does not criminalise marital rape unless the wife is under thirteen years of age. The fourth form of abuse is deprivation of economic resources which includes depriving the victim of property which to they are legally entitled; depriving the victims of daily necessities, etc. It is pertinent to note that domestic violence is not just spousal violence, it can also be abuse on a woman or child by any family member (for example abuse by mother/father in-laws on their daughter-in-law, abuse on a child by any member of the family).
During these uncertain times when we are all forced to stay home, it is an unfortunate reality that gender-based violence is magnifying in every corner of the world. In a country like Bangladesh where institutions such as courts are closed for an extended period, a person's right to a fair trial may be affected and may even prevent the victims from seeking legal help due to this crisis. However, all is not lost and victims of domestic abuse can call or send a text message to 109, a 24-hour toll-free helpline for violence against women and children for counseling/advise or they can also call the 24-hour emergency helpline 999. For those of us at home, if we know any family member, friend, neighbour is a victim of domestic abuse of any kind, even in the time of social distancing we need to look out for one another. This can be done by checking up on them via voice or video calls. Lastly, it is also extremely important that governments around the world, particularly the Government of Bangladesh along with the NGOs working in this sector do not lose sight of such human rights violations. The wellbeing of the citizens must be kept in mind as they try to combat the pandemic and decide how and where to allocate resources.
The writer is a Lecturer, School of law, BRAC University.
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