April - June 2010 - Bureau of Police Research and Development

Key WordsViolence,Domestic Violence,Rapport, Empathy,Counselling.*Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Social Work,Punjabi University, Patiala.Domestic Violence against Womenand Role of CounsellingSome ReflectionsIntroductionWomen, who constitute more than half of thepopulation, contribute more than half of theresponsibilities towards their families. They are,in fact, a significant part of the society'sdevelopment and progress but increasing violenceagainst them is a serious impediment to theirdevelopment. They have to face this systematicdiscrimination against them from womb to tomb.This global epidemic cutting across allgeographical boundaries knows no barriers ofage, socio-economic, religion, gender oreducation 1 . Violence is an intentional use ofphysical power, threatened or actual against aperson either which results in or has highlikelihood of resulting in injury, death,psychological harm and maldevelopment 2 .Overallit is any coercive mechanism to assert onesown will on others.Present Concept of Domestic ViolenceOne of the major forms of violence is, 'DomesticViolence'. It means violence between membersof household, usually spouses, an assault or otherviolent act committed by one member of ahousehold against another 3 . It also refers to themisuse of power by one adult in a relationshipto have control over the other, which is notrestricted to one single incident and may escalatein frequency and severity with time 4 . Thisexpression for abuse of power may exist in natalor nuptial family ethics, causing injury or harmto the safety of the women within the privatizeddomestic sphere. Domestic violence an openHardeep Kaur*secret is now a part and parcel of Indian culturedue to the socially constructed rigid gender basedroles, which have always carried fundamentalinequalities between women and men. Theircrystallization has not only provided legitimacyto patriarchy but also to domestic violence. Withthe endorsement of patriarchy, religious and socialsanctions are the other factors which haveretained domestic violence in the four walls ofthe home year after year, 5 where women areexpected to bear the burnt of different forms ofdomestic violence.To add to this, women have further becomeconditioned to localize their grief within themselvesand later become active agents of not onlypatriarchy but also domestic violence as a gift ofpatriarchy. Thus making this pestilent method away of keeping women in a subordinate positiongeneration after generation. This expression ofdomestic violence can now be seen in the formof physical, emotional, sexual or psychologicalabuse. Its normal indicators are wife battering,demand of dowry, marital rape, hitting, femalefoeticide, whereas some systematic forms ofviolence can be covered under gender inequality,lack of freedom, right to decision making 6 .International Initiatives to CurbDomestic ViolenceThis issue of domestic violence has beenaddressed at various international platforms suchas, 1979 convention on elimination of all formsof discrimination against women (CEDAW), wherein, all countries signatory were obliged to take46 ➢ The Indian Police Journal Vol. LVII-No. 2, April-June, 2010