A Review of Domestic Violence against Women in India during Lockdown
Year: 2020
Type: preprint
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of people all over the world to restrict themselves under various forms of home quarantine. While lockdowns have been imposed for the health and safety of its citizens, it has exacerbated a variety of socioeconomic problems such as escalation of domestic violence (DV); with complaints in India among them. Due to the spiralling of DV cases, in 2005 the Government of India passed the Domestic Violence Act that intensified work around this public health issue. The principal objective of this study is to critically analyse available instances of DV in India during quarantine and deduce the reasons for the same. The findings suggest that the primary reasons for increased instances of DV are unemployment and frustration due to restricted access to and or availability of alcohol after a lengthy ban. Nonetheless, inadequate evidence poses a current challenge to link DV and lockdown. Arguably, the Domestic Violence Act has failed to reduce DV cases not only during lockdown but also pre- and post-lockdown in India. This review suggests for a comprehensive nationwide study, utilising the data available by government organizations that record DV complaints. Alongside, it argues for further rigorous amendment of Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
Source: SSRN Electronic Journal
Institution: Banaras Hindu University
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3145133593