Nowadays the Domestic Violence Act is being misused by many women in framing their husbands for the crime they did not commit. To know how to protect yourself from misuse of the Domestic Violence Act, read the following article.
The Domestic Violence Act may also be called the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. This act applies to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
It is very promising and comprehensive legislation that converges civil remedies with criminal procedures to provide protection and immediate reassurance to victims of violence of any kind occurring within the family.
The Domestic Violence Act in India protects those women who get domestically abused for the sake of fulfilling their wants. But this act has been used and abused for the wrong reasons.
Some cases of misusing Domestic Violence Act
Several cases prove that there is a misuse of the Domestic Violence Act:
In the case of Major Singh & Anr v/s Sarabjit Kaur, the wife filed a false complaint against her husband. She was having an extramarital affair. She tried to threaten her husband then her husband filed for divorce. The verdict passed by the Punjab High Court was that to terrorise the spouse, their families and outlying relatives, the wife is misusing the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. This phenomenon has now obtained the name of legal terrorism.
Similarly, in the case of Balwinder Singh v/s Richa Sharma, the judgment was passed by the Punjab High Court. It was observed that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act suffers from intrinsic flaws which draw women to misuse their provisions and men to dread getting prosecuted under the law without any reason. The court heeded that the notable error in this law is that it lends itself to such lazy abuse that women will find it hard to resist 8 of 9 the trick to teach a lesson to their male relatives and file frivolous and false cases.
Points to remember to protect yourself from being a victim of violence
Avoid bad situations
We often ignore this and put ourselves in circumstances where we may be in danger: taking a shortcut through an unsafe part of town, walking alone at night. The best way to be safe is to evade dangerous situations in the first place.
Be aware of your surroundings.
Building on rule one, make sure you know your surroundings and environments.
Is someone following you?
Where is the quickest exit?
Where are other people?
Where is the closest lighted area?
These are all the main issues you should focus on to get prepared.
Be confident
Criminals are smart. They prefer easy targets. Launch an air of confidence, carry yourself well, walk with a mission. Your body language should depict that you are not a victim; the criminal will have difficulty with you. He should better pick somebody else.
Be in control
We are polite, listen and respond and defer to others as a society. These traits can be dangerous in a confrontational situation.
Take the first action, draw attention to the situation, be loud, strike your attacker first. There are no rules, so do what you have to first and wait for your attacker.
Leave the situation
Do not engage your attacker on their terms. Try to remove yourself from the situation, whether that means running before they have interacted, pulling others into the confrontation.
Bonus Rule: Be Prepared
Nothing is better than being prepared outside of avoiding a situation. In addition, to follow the above five rules, you should explore self-defence classes so that you not only know what to do in a difficult situation.
How to stop misuse of the Domestic Violence Act?
The misuse of the Domestic Violence Act can reduce with these appropriate actions:
The Domestic Violence Act should consist of the word “Male”. It will result in a decrease in misuse.
Males should not get intimidated or threatened with the warnings of their wives.
The police should do a proper investigation after registering the complaint by the wife.
A committee where the innocent men have been acquitted should also be formed.
The police should do a proper investigation, even before arresting males, as domestic violence is non-bailable, and no proof is necessary for an arrest.
Conclusion
According to many lawful specialists, although the Domestic Violence act in India has some genuine purposes of saving the victim, it has caused more damage than good due to its misuse, misapplication, and misunderstanding of the act. When a person is blamed under the provisions of the act, no matter what may result from the prosecution, the social stigma stays, thus affecting the possibilities of the ’accused’.
The true purpose of this act was to shield domestic violence victims from additional discomfort and ease them from their distress thus and not to cater to the greedy needs of people who would not care to blame their own family for perpetrating atrocities for the sake of achieving financial advantages. Thus, only real victims of domestic violence must be recognised and assisted; and such frugal plaintiffs must get stopped from destroying families.
