Domestic Violence can be described as the power misused by one adult in a relationship to control another. Domestic violence is committed by, and on, both men and women. Nevertheless, most commonly, the victims are women, especially in India.
Thus, domestic violence in Indian context mostly refers to ‘domestic violence against women’. It is the formation of fear and control in a relationship through different forms of abuse with one of the prominent one’s being violence. It can take the form of physical assault, psychological abuse, social abuse, financial abuse, or sexual assault.
Domestic Violence undermines the social, economic, psychological, spiritual and emotional well-being of the victim, the culprit and the society. It has serious consequences on a person’s mental, physical, emotional, sexual and reproductive health. The consequences could lead to temporary or permanent distress based on the intensity of the situation one faces.
What Measures Can You Take?
- Do not blame yourself for what is happening.
- Always know a way to escape from being indoors. It can be through your house window or any other type of fire exit available in your building.
- In other cases where one stays in a building, the individual could run to the elevator, stairwell and a crowded spot like the lobby or the outside of the building.
- If possible, it is good to have your neighbour whom you trust or a friend who stays nearby about the situation. You’ll could also discuss a healthy spot to meet in case of an emergency.
- Avoid being around areas of your house that could have objects that could be used to harm you. Usually people mention the Kitchen and the Bathroom since these are areas with knives and one can lock you inside the bathroom. But it is best to stay away or run out of the room or hall to a different spot where pointy objects or sharp objects like even a show piece could be used to hurt you.
- Always have a bag packed with a medical kit and with useful belongings in case you need to run away from the house and not return.
- This brings us to the point that you should keep in mind the houses of people you could visit when you run from your own, this needs to be someone who would be willing to provide you with support and shelter and someone who would not entertain the culprit. Family members, close ones, friends you trust are the best to contact and also meet immediately.
- If you ever consider leaving the house using your ready to go packed bag or are planning to do so in a matter of days, the one thing to do is keep your important things in an area or space that you have easy access to because this is something you will pack in the last moment. When we say important, we mean these are all your important documents such as your Birth Certificate, Passport, Aadhaar card, Pan card, your certificates whichever are really important, bank account details and so on. Do not just go by the one that are just mentioned here, each individual has different valuable documents that they’ve stored and only they know which is important to them so do make a list of documents that you would need in order to start a new life in freedom. It is necessary to be prepared because if it is an important document and the person withholds it, destroys it or blackmails you for it. It could put you in a really tough spot.
Conclusion
Reach out to people whom you know will be there for you and support you. Be there to help and support people who you think are going through domestic abuse. Always remember that the police, the legal communities and institutions that provide help & support to victims are always there for you to help you. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a mental health professional since these acts of violence can cause a lot of distress & hamper one’s way of living.
For more support, following are few of the helpline numbers for Domestic Violence Support:
- Police Helpline: 1091/ 1291
- The National Commission for Women’s WhatsApp Helpline: 72177-35372
- Helpline for Shakti Shalini, a Delhi-based NGO: 10920
- Crisis Helpline for Sneha, a Mumbai-based NGO: 98330-52684 / 91675-35765
