Enhancing the power of protection

Kumudini Hettiarachchi's article on the 'Power of Protection' appearing in The Sunday Times of September 30, has focused attention on a long neglected ulcer of domestic life which has been addressed at last by the pioneering 'Prevention of Domestic Violence Act of 2005' (PDVA). The main shortcoming of the Act, as pointed out, is the absence of provision for monitoring, protection and counselling.

These aspects have been meticulously provided for by the Indian 'Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act' (PWDVA). Apparently, there was no room for cross-fertilization as the two Acts have been passed within a few days in 2005. Unlike the PDVA, the PWDVA has made provision for protection of officers, voluntary service providers, shelter homes and medical facilities for the victim and made the Government primarily responsible for these services. The Indian Act is nearly double the size of ours.

However, our Act has its own plus points, the most progressive being that it protects the male of the species while the Indian Act is limited to the protection of women. Nevertheless it would be a great relief to battered women like Kumari referred to in the article, if urgent action is taken to incorporate the Indian innovations into our own Act.

A boxed item headlined ‘Best Practice’ taken from the publication entitled, “Creating a Domestic Violence Court: Guidelines and Best Practices” produced by the Family Violence Prevention Fund and written by Emily Sack, JD, would give an idea of how far the West has gone to protect their women.

Best Practice

Each judge in the Jefferson Family Court in Louisville, Kentucky has a dedicated court-employed social worker as a resource for the court and clients. The Family Court social workers, when servicing the specialized domestic violence Emergency Protective Order dockets, link domestic violence victims with community-based advocates and with social workers who provide court advocacy and social service needs assessments.

The Family Court social workers also arrange for services, such as supervised visitation, child support, and related programs, and gather relevant information for the judge. Prior to each hearing, the social workers check records from multiple agencies, including Family Court, Criminal Court and child protective services, so that the judge is on notice of other cases relating to the pending case. The social workers meet with the parties individually following the hearing to explain the protection orders and orders for treatment, and to facilitate parenting schedules.

The PDVA has been with us for the last two years and Women in Need has followed up the first 16 cases filed under the Act. According to The Sunday Times article that number has now gone up to 33. The need of the hour is to make an in-depth study of these cases and ascertain how far the PDVA has gone to help battered women. May be that the new law has aggravated their miserable lot in some instances, as in the case of Kumari.

I tried to persuade several NGOs to undertake this research but they had no funds for the purpose. It is earnestly hoped that the Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Women's Bureau would grant top priority to this matter and provide the infrastructure for an urgent survey. The results of that survey should guide our law makers to improve on the PDVA with a view to alleviating the misery of thousands of faceless, battered women like Kumari who may be suffering their agony in silence.

By Somapala Gunadheera, Via e-mail