Domestic violence surges amid Covid-19 lockdown; Delhi HC to hear plea

The lockdown enforced in the country to contain the coronavirus has also made it difficult for many victims to escape abuse or even call for help

The Delhi High Court has agreed to give an urgent hearing to a petition on a report of an increase in domestic violence cases during the coronavirus lockdown.

The plea has sought the court's help in protecting women and children suffering from domestic violence across the country.

Filed by advocates Mithu Jain, Arjun Syal and Vidisha Kumar, the plea cited various reports suggesting that domestic violence cases have gone up since the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown.

The lockdown enforced in the country to contain the coronvirus has also made it difficult for many victims to escape abuse or even call for help.

"Before the lockdown, victims would come to us or call us when their husband was not at home. But during the lockdown, the husband is 24x7 at home and if the house is small it becomes difficult for the victim to call us," said Dr Bharti Sharma, secretary and counsellor of NGO Shakti Shalini.

"To avoid getting caught, many times the victim sends a text message on WhatsApp or calls from the washroom. We were receiving one-two calls a day when the lockdown started. Now we receive four-five calls in a day. The calls are very desperate calls. The women are not just abused physically, but also emotionally and mentally," Sharma told news agency ANI.

The NGO member said it was difficult for the NGO to reach the victims during the lockdown.

"At this point of time, we are mostly providing psychosocial counselling. We are trying to help the victim deal with their mental agony so that they can come to us after lockdown," Sharma said.

Stepping forward, Odisha government on Wednesday launched a WhatsApp number -- 7205006039 -- for reporting cases of domestic violence during the Covid-19 lockdown.

"The WCD Department introduces a WhatsApp number 7205006039 for reporting cases of domestic violence. It already has a Women Helpline Number 181. Under lockdown experts feel instances of domestic violence may increase and this will be a useful tool for women in distress," tweeted the department.

Other than a helpline number, the Odisha Police has also come out with an initiative through which personnel will contact the victims who had earlier reported violence to enquire about their condition.

The special drive -Phone-Up Programme- has been launched across the state to deal with the problems of domestic violence in the crisis period, an official said.

The initiative will be implemented with the help of the State Crime Record Bureau, the official said. The SCRB has contacts of women who had experienced domestic violence in the past, and they will be contacted to find out their present condition, a senior officer of the state police headquarters said.

If violence is reported, physical verification will be conducted to find out the condition of a victim and the matter will be intimated to the Investigative Units for Crime against Women (IUCAW) for follow up action, he said. 

Meanwhile, keeping in view the rising cases of domestic, Pune Rural administration has passed an order that if a man is found engaging in domestic violence during lockdown, he will be sent to an institutional quarantine.

"In rural areas of Pune, we have taken pro-active measures to prevent any form of domestic violence against women. We would be pro-actively reaching out to all women and ensuring that they do not face any kind of domestic violence," Ayush Prasad, Zila Parishad CEO, Pune, told ANI.

Prasad said that a committee has been formed in each ward of the gram panchayat to look into the same.