Power of protection

Although the trailblazing Prevention of Domestic Violence Act provides much needed relief to victimised women, more needs to be done to make the law more effective.

By Kumudini Hettiarachchi, Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara

The law is in place and a pioneering one at that. Whereas earlier it was considered a hush-hush issue, a strictly “family affair” now it is being discussed openly, with the law being weighted on the side of the hapless victim. Domestic violence has been in times past swept under the bedroom carpet, with even the victims not acknowledging that there was a problem and assuming that maybe it was what they deserved.

The state’s counselling centre and first shelter at Kalutara.

Two years after the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act was introduced, what progress have we achieved?

A meeting with 35-year-old Kumari* is an eye-opener. A deep ragged scar runs across her pretty face and her broken jaw is being restructured. Her right hand is sans several fingers. At the first meeting with The Sunday Times she could barely whisper answers to questions put to her and her food intake was limited to liquids and that too through a straw, a little at a time.

“He attacked me and nearly killed me. But he has not been able to kill my will to be strong and bring up my two children,” says Kumari through her tears and agony, not only over the serious injuries inflicted on her but also at the humiliation and indignities he has subjected her to. And the irony is that the sword injuries that nearly killed her were inflicted while there was a “Protection Order” issued on her behalf by court.

For Kumari, it was desperation that made her seek a Protection Order. The assaults and the battering began soon after marriage, a marriage that came about through a love affair. Even when she was expecting his children, the beatings did not stop. He would put her into a room and pummel her black and blue. The excuses for the violence would be varied.

Once she fled to the home of a relative, but he was repentant. “It would never happen again,” he promised and she believed him. The last nail on the coffin of their marriage came with her husband teaching obscenities to their pre-schooler and coaching the little one to repeat filth about Kumari to the Montessori teachers, while continuing to beat Kumari and also being cruel to their son.

Kumari then made a complaint to the police and after much thought and agonizing decided it was time to make a permanent parting from him. While filing for divorce, she sought a Protection Order under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act.

Protection Orders are a vital prong of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act which states: “A person, in respect of whom an act of domestic violence has been, is, or is likely to be committed may make an application to the Magistrate’s Court for a Protection Order, for the prevention of such act of domestic violence.”

The law not only provides for a Protection Order but also for a 14-day interim Protection Order to safeguard the victim. While commending the law, Dr. Deepika Udagama, Head of the Dept. of Law of the University of Colombo, explains that it has a lot of potential – for the first time a law deals with domestic violence, especially between spouses. Those days women being battered was considered a gedera karadarayak and even if the woman had the courage to make a complaint she was advised to go back home and live amicably. This law has changed that.

“But,” she concedes, “there are a few areas which need strengthening, especially with regard to monitoring.” Even well-entrenched laws, sometimes face obstacles in their implementation, according to her. Monitoring, particularly by officials such as the police, is poor. For some police officers enforcement of a Protection Order would be way down the list of priorities, compared to their other duties such as fighting crime.

Pointing out a few of the weaknesses of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, Sumithra Fernando of Women in Need (WIN) says while there is no mandatory provision and also no mechanism for the observance of an interim Protection Order, the lack of a Protection Officer and support structure to implement and also monitor the observance of a Protection Order are a major challenge. (See box for strengths and weaknesses)

WIN, an organization which has been championing battered women and children for over 20 years, runs many crisis centres across the country and also has a shelter for survivors. So far it has obtained 33 Protection Orders under this law.

Adds Dr. Udagama: “Some police officials still consider domestic violence within a marriage to be a personal problem which has now been forced into the public arena. It may be necessary to get the parties to report to the police or to court itself, because if someone violates the Protection Order it is contempt of court.”

The lack of a Protection Officer or support structure could be a matter of life and death to those facing domestic violence like in the case of Kumari. Although a clear order was issued under the law, danger lurks around the corner for most victims like Kumari.

For, Kumari was going about her routine, away from her husband when violence came into her life again. She had been at the school gate to pick up her son, when her husband surreptitiously climbed into the trishaw which was to take mother and son home. On his pleadings for money, she had been forced to accompany him to his boarding where he went in to collect an ATM card, keeping her standing near the door.

It was the cry of her son which made her turn around to see a sword wielded by her husband coming down on her. The rest is only a hazy memory for her, followed by months of pain.

Echoing the same concerns of Ms. Fernando, Dr. Udagama urges a support system for battered persons, saying that the victims themselves need counselling because people subjected to violence have low self-esteem and doubt themselves. This is called the battered persons’ syndrome.

The law will best operate in a system where there is a support network for battered women, particularly at grassroots level, where the community takes ownership, she explains.

After hearing the news that her husband has taken his own life, as Kumari struggles to restore a semblance of normalcy not only in her life but also in the lives of her young children, what has become clear is that the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act is a trailblazer but with a few loose ends that need to be tied up.

(* Name changed to protect identity)