Domestic Violence Act: Protection officers don’t act, women get no justice

Domestic Violence Act, 2005
Pune Public hearing bares the harsh reality behind implementation of the Act

Court directions under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA) are not executed because of passive protection officers.

This emerged as 10 women presented their cases in the first ever Jansuwai or public hearing in Maharashtra on the PWDVA that was held at the Ambedkar Bhavan in the city on Friday to depict the reality in the implementation of the D V Act, two years after it came into force.

There was a resounding call for independent, full time protection officers who are sensitised about the Act and are backed by the necessary infrastructure and money to facilitate its implementation.

One of the women who spoke at the hearing , Farzana, has been on a vigil outside her home for the last one month as her in-laws have denied her entrance. She has an order in her favour, but has found little support from the protection officers. “She would have been able to gain entrance had the protection officer been available at the right time,” said Sanyogita Dhamadhere, representative of Centre for Advocacy and Research, one of the organisations that participated in the public hearing. The hearing was organised by Asmita Manch, an umbrella for the women’s organisations in the city. Shivani, another speaker, said that she did not get access to her flat, as granted by the court, owing to the reluctance of the protection officers and policemen. Things changed only when women’s organisations were involved, she said.

Also, when women attempt to file cases under the DV Act, they are not accepted, forcing them to go through NGOs and other organisations. All the ten women who spoke at the hearing had filed their cases through women’s organisations. Ideally it is the protection officer who should file the case, Dhamadhere said.

This was reiterated by former Bombay high court judge Jayapal Patil who said that protection officers should identify and file cases for victims. “For that, they have to be sensitised about the Act and work full time. In the present set up, they are burdened by other duties,” he said.

Protection officers (POs) are drawn from various other posts like block development officer or tehsildars or an extension officer and given additional responsibility under the Act. “There is a marked reluctance among officers to become protection officers. Most officers want exemption from their duties,” said Chintamani Joshi, resident deputy collector and additional district magistrate, speaking at the event. Joshi said that there had been training seminars and a full day workshop was on the cards to sensitise POs about the Act.

Jaya Sagade, vice-principal of ILS Law College, also called for independent POs and gender-based training of lawyers, policemen, judiciary, POs, and all service providers. “There also ought to be a declaration of public health facility and medical facility under the Act,” she said. At present, women who have faced domestic violence have to go to the doctor on their own to treat their injuries. “Violence against women ought to be treated as a society problem, not a personal problem,” Sagade said.