This blog is written by Gurleen Kaur, a Fourth-Year law student of St. Soldier Law College

Introduction

Domestic Violence is not a new issue in India, it is an old practice of cruelty to women by the husband or the in-laws’ family. It is not only stated as physical assault but it leaves a dark impact on the mental health of women, leading to some serious mental disorders. As the legal provisions of domestic violence are primarily concerned with physical assault, they should consider the implications of mental health also. This blog will highlight the issues survivors are facing in domestic violence and what are its effects on their mental health. Domestic violence is not a small issue and we should take some comprehensive steps to cope with this heinous crime.

Understanding Domestic Violence[i]

With the understanding of the concept of Domestic Violence, we must understand its consequences and how much a survivor is suffering not only physically, economically, and sexually but mentally too. We need to burst the bubble of the myth that domestic violence is normal in domestic relations and the survivor who is going through it without saying a word, gradually approaching the dark road of depression and thoughts of suicide.

Domestic Violence starts when the offender intends to feel that he is the victim’s provider and that he is entitled to do whatever he wants with the victim. This kind of mentality generally counts as psychotic and these people seriously needs psychological help.

Due to illiteracy domestic violence is growing so massively. This shows the reality of our society which is demeaning to women. By learning these facts, we understand the importance of women’s rights and their independence in society and how we should respect everyone to create a world without fear and a better place to live.

Mental Health impacts[ii]

More than physical health, mental health is much more crucial, and domestic violence is such a stigma that can leave a deep scar on a person’s psyche that remains like a black shadow for the rest of their life. Due to scattered mental health, they are diagnosed with mental health problems like depression, anxiety, insomnia, PTS, and suicidal ideation[iii]. One of the reasons behind their excess stress is the time barring legal procedures for the justice-seeking which can increase the mental stress and the hope of the victim start losing. Also, there is no such support and resources available for the trauma survivors.

In the case of domestic violence in the marriage, the unnecessary child protection acts and the issue of child custody can also lead to excess stress for the victim. The suicides that result from domestic abuse are more than just suicides, they are direct planned murders. So, to stop this societal stigma compulsory counselling sessions are needed for the domestic violence survivors to get a report of how much damage this abuse has caused to their mental health.

Legal framework[iv]

The legal framework showcases the map of legal provisions that are available to address the issues related to domestic violence and its impact on the victim’s mental health. The key aspects of the legal framework include:

· Criminal law

· Family law

· Mental Health laws

The related statutes and regulations are the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), and The Dowry Prohibition Act (DPA), of 1961. Section 498A of the IPC and The Protection of Women from DV Act, 2005.[1]

Legal options for survivors

The survivors of domestic violence can seek the legal options listed below:

- Restraining and Protection orders

- Divorce

- Custody and Visitation

- Compensation

- Mental Health Court

- Immigration Relief

- Confidentiality Protections

Challenges for the Legal Framework[v]

The challenges that our legal framework faces in governing cases of Domestic violence are that victims hesitate to confront this heinous offense and suffer it without complaining due to the blame game of the society which shifts from victim to the perpetrator. Secondly, there are lack of evidence and the power imbalance is also a big concern. The linguistic barriers are also a reason to be concerned about. Manipulation of the perpetrator and fear of society are also present in the list of challenges. Inadequate training of the judges and legal officials in the context of domestic abuse and also the survivor’s mental health and trauma is not addressed properly within the legal framework. Delays in legal help and court proceedings may result in the survivor’s deteriorating mental health and further trauma. For this, we need a strong legal framework to address these issues strictly and accordingly.

Conclusion

By learning all the important facts and legal frameworks about domestic violence and how it is affecting the victim’s mental health we concluded how much it is necessary to address these cases properly so that it may not cause any further mental stress to the victim and there is a need of more strict legal provisions for the mental health protections because unhealthy mental health can lead to many disorders and it also resulted into suicides which is a very crucial matter to concern about.

REFERENCES

I Domestic violence Psychiatry.org - Domestic Violence. Available at: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/domestic-violence (Accessed: 08 September 2024).

[ii] Indian Journal of Law and Social Sciences (2021) Impact of domestic violence on women’s Mental Health, Indian Journal of Law and Social Sciences. Available at: https://www.ijlss.cslr.in/2021/11/impact-of-domestic-violence-on-womens.html (Accessed: 08 September 2024).

[iii] Domestic violence: Statistics Mental Health Foundation. Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/statistics/domestic-violence (Accessed: 08 September 2024).

[iv] Garg, R. (2022) The protection of women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, iPleaders. Available at: https://blog.ipleaders.in/the-protection-of-women-from-domestic-violence-act-2005/ (Accessed: 08 September 2024).

[v] Lark, T.J. (2023) Breaking the silence: The challenges faced by survivors of violence and abuse in sharing traumatic..., Medium. Available at: https://thejusticelark.medium.com/breaking-the-silence-the-challenges-faced-by-survivors-of-violence-and-abuse-in-sharing-traumatic-18127b68737f (Accessed: 08 September 2024).

Vi ‘Bayer Corporation vs. Union of India and Others (Bayer v. Natco) India, IPAB, 2013’ (Bayer Corporation Vs. Union of India and Others (Bayer v. Natco) India, IPAB, 2013 | United Nations) < https://unctad.org/ippcaselaw/bayer-corporation-vs-union-india-and-others-bayer-v-natco-india-ipab-2013 > accessed 18 September 2024