PROBLEMS IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: WHEN A MAN IS A VICTIM

Abstract

Even in the twenty-first century, we see the dominance of the patriarchal system in India, a system that is governed by the male norms. In a patriarchal society, the standards are all male oriented / dominated and thus, often appears to be gender bias in nature. In such a situation, women need more provisions in the form of laws so that their interests can be protected. 

India is a country where it is said that in every five minutes, women face violence, be it verbal or physical. So, violence in the Indian context has become an integral part of women’s life. To combat such violence, stringent laws are made to ensure women rights as well as their safety. The general outlook is that we need laws to protect women. However, since India is a patriarchal society, the general belief is that men do not need any law or any kind of protection from anyone. Men are too strong to be protected. But there are cases where men need protection too; it is not only women who are vulnerable in the society. The problem arises when we see men as superior to women. Violence can affect anyone’s life irrespective of one’s gender. For example, the false allegations against a husband under Section 498A. By invoking this Section, a wife can lodge a complaint against any kind of cruelty by her husband and her in-laws. Despite being innocent, the husband may be tortured both mentally and physically. India though recognizes violence in case of women fails to admit the same for men. In this situation where the victim is male, it becomes difficult to win over the cases of domestic violence for various reasons. Such cases are reported less though the fact is that they are rampant in number. 

In the records of National Family Health Survey (2004), it is found that about 60 lakhs of women ‘have perpetrated physical violence against husbands without provocation’. According to a study (2003-2005), more than 82% of tax earned by Indian Government comes from Indian men, but the reality is that in the last 60 years of budget, no such fund is being allotted for ‘men’s welfare’. 

There is a dearth of counseling centers formed exclusively to handle men’s issues. Police also fails to recognize men as a victim in this society. Often men find no place where they can vent out their anxiety, their worries. As a result, many end their lives when they are trapped in false domestic violence cases.

The present paper endeavors to focus on the misuse of the Section 498A and the probable ways of making such a provision more gender neutral in nature. The paper will also try to discuss the working of a Kolkata based NGO named ‘Hridaya’ who fights for men facing domestic violence. We will see that violence experienced by men is quite similar in nature with that of women; the only difference is a man cannot seek protection against such violence as there is no such law in India protecting ‘men’.