Conflict in the Shared Household

Description

Lawyers Collective, Women’s Rights Initiative, prepared a draft law—The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA)—in consultation with women’s groups from across the country to ensure emergency relief to women facing domestic violence. This law was passed by the Indian Parliament in 2005 and was brought in force by the government on 26 October 2006. Conflict in the Shared Household takes stock of the progress made towards achieving the objectives of the PWDVA during the first decade of its implementation. It examines the nature of structural inequality that perpetuates and condones domestic violence as a lesser ‘wrong’ and traces the history of the fight against domestic violence in India, focusing on legislative developments and themes relating to state accountability in terms of providing a supportive framework. The essays discuss critical issues such as right to residence, marital rape, rights of cohabitees or relationship in the nature of marriage, secular nature of the PWDVA, and its harmonious existence with personal law and criminal law. The volume also covers areas where the PWDVA has been successful in providing protection alongside challenges yet to be overcome, such as the response mechanisms and budgetary constraints in its implementation.

About the Editors

Indira Jaising is senior advocate, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi, India.

Pinki Mathur Anurag is technical director, Lawyers Collective, Mumbai, India.

Contributors

Indira Jaising

Uma Chakravarti

Asmita Basu

Pinki Mathur Anurag

Brototi Dutta

Ajita Sharma

Saptarshi Mandal

Aparna Chandra

Monica Sakhrani

Trupti Jhaveri Panchal

Radhika Chakraborty

Manisha Kande

Padma Bhate-Deosthali

Sangeeta Rege

Kanika Kaul

Table of contents

List of Tables and Figures

Foreword by Prabha Sridevan

Acknowledgements

Section I: Causes and Consequences

1. Unscrambling the Images: Conflict in the Shared Household

Indira Jaising

2. Some Thoughts on Domestic Violence: Using Violence to Regulate a Patriarchal Family

Uma Chakravarti

3. Mapping Legislative Changes

Asmita Basu

Section II: Critical Issues

4. ‘But … Where Will I Live?’: Domestic Violence and the Right to Reside

Pinki Mathur Anurag

5. Of ‘Keeps’ and ‘Concubines’: Rights of Cohabitees under Domestic Violence Act

Brototi Dutta

6. Marital Rape As Domestic Violence: A Case for Criminalizing Marital Rape

Ajita Sharma

7. Towards Uniformity of Rights: Muslim Personal Law, the Domestic Violence Act, and the Harmonization of Family Law in India

Saptarshi Mandal

Section III: Expectations from the Law and Its Enforcement

8. Analysing Orders Granted under the PWDVA, 2005

Aparna Chandra

9. Long Road to Justice: Implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005) in Haryana

Monica Sakhrani, Trupti Jhaveri Panchal, Radhika Chakraborty, and Manisha Kande

10. Nature of Services Available to Women Survivors: One Stop Crisis Centres—Review and Recommendations

Padma Bhate-Deosthali, Sangeeta Rege

11. Changing Contours of Fiscal Policy and Budgets to Address Violence against Women: An Analysis of Two States

Kanika Kaul

Notes on the Editors and Contributors

Index