Author By – Urwashi Pandey, Deshbandhu College
When I was in second grade, we lived in an apartment that shared a door with our neighbors. Every afternoon after school, their daughter, my friend, would walk over with her little brother. We’d play games while our mothers sat together over chai. It was our routine.
One night, I heard screaming through that door.
I remember my friend and her brother crying, the loud crashes, and my parents quietly telling me to go back to bed. The next day, my friend didn’t come. When I finally saw her again, she only said vaguely that her father had been angry. I later overheard her mother say she couldn’t leave; she had no financial means and no support from her family.
I didn’t understand then. I do now.
Growing up, I kept hearing stories like hers, sometimes in the news, sometimes from people around me. I always wanted to help. I’d tell them to leave, to run, but I didn’t yet understand how complicated that is. As I grew older, I came to the realization that it’s not that easy. Leaving takes more than courage. It takes legal, financial, and emotional support.
Many women in India, like her, are trapped not because they want to stay, but because they feel they have nowhere else to go. Legal protections exist, but access to them isn’t always simple. Family pressure, financial dependence, fear, and societal stigma all weigh heavily on victims, often forcing them to return to unsafe homes.
For a little historical context
India’s journey to making domestic violence punishable was not easy.
The Defense Against Domestic Abuse The government introduced a bill to the Lok Sabha in 2001. Despite being a positive move, it had serious problems. It impliedly put “saving the family” ahead of protecting the victim by, among other things, requiring the violence to be “habitual,” not ensuring the victim’s ability to be in her shared home, and suggesting that the couple undergo forced counseling. It should come as no surprise that the bill was met with opposition and referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development. After soliciting input from women’s rights organizations, the committee made significant recommendations, such as eliminating problematic provisions like “self-defense” and making sure the bill covered non-physical forms of violence like financial, emotional, and sexual abuse.
Only in 2005—after lengthy consultations—was the revised bill reintroduced, approved by both houses of parliament, and enacted as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. It was a step forward. The Act acknowledged a variety of abuses, including economic, verbal/emotional, sexual, and physical abuse. Crucially, it allowed for cohabitation, recognizing that violence is not limited to married households. In addition, it established Protection Officers, whose job it is to assist victims in obtaining legal recourse.
However, the way a law is applied is just as important to its success as its wording.
Monitoring and Evaluation Reports over the years have demonstrated that enforcement is not consistent at all. For instance, whole states like Punjab and Rajasthan had not designated a single protection officer in the early years of the Act. Those from underprivileged backgrounds were left to handle the system alone, frequently without any awareness of their rights, while wealthy women could pay attorneys and obtain justice.
There are blind spots in the Act as well. Male survivors and LGBTQ+ people are not specifically included, which leaves many vulnerable groups unprotected.
The Help You Have
In situations of domestic violence, it’s common for survivors, whether women, men, or members of the LGBTQ+ community, to freeze up or feel completely stuck. Sometimes they don’t even realize what’s happening to them is abuse. And even when they do, the question becomes, “What do I do now?”
If you’re someone witnessing this or experiencing it yourself, it’s okay to not have all the answers. But there is help, and more importantly, there is hope.
Legal Protections for Women
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA), was created specifically to provide fast, civil remedies for women facing abuse in their homes. It acknowledges that domestic violence isn’t just physical; it can be emotional, verbal, sexual, or economic.
Key rights under this law include:
* Right to Reside in the shared household (Section 17)
* Protection Order to prevent further abuse (Section 18)
* Residence Order to stay in the matrimonial home (Section 19)
* Monetary Relief for basic needs and children’s expenses (Section 20)
* Temporary Child Custody (Section 21)
* Compensation Orders for damages (Section 22)
How to Access This Help-
You don’t need a lawyer to get started. Here’s how the system is designed to support you:
Protection Officers: Appointed by the government to assist women in filing complaints, getting legal aid, and connecting with the police. They’re meant to walk with you through the process.
Service Providers: Usually NGOs, they help survivors file reports, find emergency accommodation, get medical help, and even provide vocational training so that women can become financially independent.
You can approach the Judicial Magistrate Court, a Service Provider, or even your nearest police station to begin the process. Civil reliefs must be granted within 60 days.
And What If You’re Not Protected by the Law?
This is where the system still has catching up to do.
India currently lacks clear legal provisions for male survivors and LGBTQ+ individuals facing domestic violence. Although these legal blind spots are risky, you are not alone.
If you’re not covered by the law, here are things you can do:
Reach out to someone a trusted friend, co-worker, mentor, sibling, or therapist. Isolation only makes things harder.
start planning an exit. Leaving a violent home is not easy, but it is often necessary. If it’s safe to do so, gather important documents and create a plan for where you can go.
Look for helplines and NGOs. India has growing networks of crisis support, shelters, and mental health professionals. (Let me know if you’d like a list of real helplines and resources.)
Don’t dismiss emotional or verbal abuse. Just because there are no bruises doesn’t mean it isn’t violence. If someone is eroding your self-worth daily, that’s abuse.
Even if your family isn’t supportive, sometimes friends show up in ways you didn’t expect. A couch to sleep on, an emotional check-in, help finding a job these small acts can become the bridge between survival and recovery.
And no matter what anyone says, what happened to you is not your fault.
The Reality We’re Living In—
Many women still live in abusive households in India today. Not out of loyalty or affection, but fear. Many women fear that leaving a marriage will lead to instability for the rest of their lives, not only for themselves but also for the safety, education, and future of their children.
Families frequently encourage the abuse rather than providing protection. In addition to being reminded of “family honor,” survivors are advised to adapt, make concessions, and avoid “ruining the home.” Some receive warnings not to share their “dirty laundry” after being turned back. So they go back.
LGBTQ+ and male survivors are haunted by the same silence. Their suffering is frequently disregarded in a culture that still finds it difficult to accept that a guy or non-cis person could experience domestic abuse. They worry about being laughed at, called weak, or not taken seriously at all. The law has even fewer answers for them. For masculine or homosexual survivors, societal support is equally depressing, and legal protections are almost nonexistent.
Another terrible reality that exacerbates the situation is that laws are misused. Some people manipulate protections intended for actual victims, fabricate cases, or use the legal system as a weapon in retaliation. Sadly, this undermines the legitimacy of real survivors who already struggle to be taken seriously. Victims lose faith in justice when they witness others easily abuse the system while their own requests for assistance are disregarded.
This is a two-edged sword: while false charges are becoming more prevalent, actual victims are too scared to speak up. In between, people continue to suffer in silence, in a quiet and painful way.
Legal Protection Against Cruelty by Husband or Relatives
Conclusion-
Domestic violence is a societal wound rather than a personal one. One that rots in fear, shame, and quiet. We frequently concentrate on laws, but laws by themselves are insufficient, even though laws like the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, have provided a vital lifeline. We must be conscious. Empathy is necessary. Systemic transformation is required.
It’s a messy reality. Because of the disbelief, mockery, and the consequences, survivors are reluctant to speak up, and there is some truth to that concern. In our society shame is frequently offered to them before shelter. Before assistance, there must be silence.
The fact is that continuing violence is not honorable. Silence is devoid of dignity.
We must create a society in which asking for assistance is a fundamental right rather than a show of courage. A society in which your safety is the top priority, your narrative is heard, and your pain is recognized, regardless of whether you are male, female, LGBTQ, or non-binary; a society in which those who take advantage of the system do not overshadow those who are most in need of protection and where protection is not abused.
To all survivors: your life is important. Your security is important. Even if your voice is quiet, trembles, or has been silenced previously, it still matters. Speaking up is the first step to taking back your power, not a sign of weakness.
We still have a ways to go. But we can get there if we have the appropriate laws, the right people to help us, and the guts to listen.
Bibliography –
HISTORY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN INDIA-
Domestic Violence Act, 2005-
https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3ec03333cb763facc6ce398ff83845f22/uploads/2024/09/2024091127.pdf
Domestic Violence Act for Women’s Empowerment Act—
https://www.sethassociates.com/domestic-violence-act-for-womens-empowerment-in-india.html
Punishment for Domestic Violence in India—
https://amlegal.in/punishment-for-domestic-violence/
How India’s Domestic Violence act can deliver justice—
Domestic Violence in India: Understanding the Legal Framework-
Domestic Violence Laws in India: Understanding the Legal Framework
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