Staying Alive

Title : Staying Alive - First Monitoring & Evaluation Report 2007 on the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005
Year of Publication : 2007
Publisher's Details : Lawyer’s Collective, Women’s Rights Initiative
Translation : N.A.

The need for a civil law on domestic violence was identified from the experience gained through the provision of legal aid to women facing violence in intimate relationships. After nearly a decade of advocacy and consensus building by women’s groups across the country, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence 2005, was finally brought into force on the 26th of October 2006. The enactment of this law is regarded as a significant step towards realizing equality rights of women.

Having successfully campaigned for a law on domestic violence the obvious next step was to initiate efforts to ensure its effective implementation. One method in this regard is to study the manner in which the law is being implemented, identify best practices adopted and problems that have arisen and suggest ways in which the problems may be overcome. This is a facet of monitoring that should be an integral part in the implementation of any law, particularly those furthering the objective of social justice.

This report and the national conference at which this report is being presented and discussed is a modest attempt at this form of monitoring. The exercise of collating practices from different parts of the country and presenting them at a common forum was undertaken with the hope that it shall be replicated in the years to come.

As the implementation of the law is at its nascent stage, changes both positive and negative, occur almost on a monthly basis, particularly with regard to the mechanisms that are being put in place and the manner in which the law is being interpreted. This proved to be a major challenge in compiling this report. In these circumstances, the limited objective of this report is to put together practices observed in different states without indicating any conclusive trends. This report is, therefore, only an exploratory study into the workings of the law. It is hoped it shall be used as a basis for developing indicators that can be used in the times to come to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of this law.

The patriarchal mind set, of which violence against women is a part, remains a major hurdle in realizing the goal of equality. The enactment of laws is only one of the ways in which this hurdle can be overcome. Changing patriarchal mindsets is the larger struggle that has to be tackled at all fronts. The law remains a tool, albeit a powerful one, in this struggle for empowerment. In the end analysis, it is only if women are recognized as equal stakeholders in society that the goal of equality will finally be achieved.

In particular, a law on domestic violence challenges the violence of non state actors and compels the State to take action against it.

[Click title to download]:
Staying Alive (cover)
Staying Alive (table of contents)
Staying Alive (report)

For further information write to us at:

wri.delhi@lawyerscollective.org