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No Refuge to Men against Domestic Violence

If you are a man and facing domestic violence by the hands of your wife, it’s important to know that you are not alone. Though, there are no official statistics available but looking at the rapidly increasing such cases, we cannot deny that the numbers could be 1 out of 3 cases. This statistics doesn’t only include husband but this also includes fathers, sons, brothers etc. Hence, the alarming numbers of male victims in the society constrained the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class (Sub-Judge) Jammu, Renu Dogra to admit the Application and initiated the process under Domestic Violence Act, 2005. 

This is also important to mention here that unlike women, men are not too open in such cases and they don’t report the domestic violence by women. The main reason behind this is because they feel ashamed and fear of being losing the masculine image in the society. Apart from this, the male victim of domestic violence also gets bullied by his own family and friends and they are always looked in sympathy.

In a rarest of rare case, a case of domestic violence against a husband has been admitted and the Judicial Magistrate has issued a notice to the wife. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to protect women from Domestic Violence. Such cases against wife have been filed before also but the court never accepted saying the restriction of the definition of Domestic Violence Act. I personally felt helpless at several times where I know that the person sitting next to me is genuine and he is a victim of domestic abuse by his wife. Unfortunately, there is no law which supports men and give them confidence to head to the concerned authorities to register their complaint.

Though, the act itself is women centric and you may now ask - what’s wrong in this? There’s nothing wrong. It is just that women who are not the victim but the accused, women who physically assault their male spouse can walk scot-free in society. The same society which calls for equality of gender, cannot provide redressal to men just because such cases are unlikely ?

The problem

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 guarantees protection to women, obviously back then no one could imagine a wife beating up her husband. Now, after all the adoption of a progressive way of life, the new and urgent problem at hand is men seeking protection for domestic violence but Alas! We do not have that on our books.

According to Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code 1860, only a man can be held liable for cruelty to his wife. There is not any subsection or any provisions given in the statute that will make a woman liable for Domestic Violence. No one listens to a man if he tries to report the torture and physical violence that he has suffered from his wife. He could be called “weak” and “not manly enough” at this point.

Due to the professional ethics, I can’t reveal the name but I know a 32 year old husband who had come to me to file domestic violence against his wife as his wife would beat him with stick when he is sleeping and she would say, “how can you sleep so peacefully.” There are number of cases I have heard and sometimes I really feel pitty on husbands, but my hands are tied due to non-availability of any law which supports men. Another husband I know who is now around 55 years of age and he cannot gather courage to file even divorce with a fear of getting beaten up by his wife.

“She humiliates me in front of my guests and threatens me of women laws that she will make sure that I will spend rest of life in jail. She even slapped me in front of my friend that was too embarrassing for me,” he told me in tears.

It is a great relief to know that the judiciary has finally recognized the existence and occurrence of such cases where the woman is the accused and not the victim of Domestic Violence. In short, the men of the country do not have a right to file for domestic violence cases against their wives. The DV Act, 2005, defines victims’ gender as women- little did they know how tables can turn around one day.

The equality dichotomy

Being a matrimonial lawyer, one can see the various transformations the institution of marriage goes through. As a society, we are evolving each day. We are defining our own terms of living, progressing at an exponential rate, redefining gender roles, breaking glass ceilings, and doing the impossible. Women are becoming CEOs, Ministers, Wrestlers, drivers, what not! Women empowerment can be seen in its true form in India at this point. But how are we handling the problem of this progressive society? The modern world now has a modern set of problems. There are always two sides of the coin, and the other side of women empowerment in this case is- men exploitation. This might sound very unlikely, unusual, and mostly stupid.

Like it or not, we are at a crossroads between these two and we need to find a way to address both women and men, equally. The activists who advocate for equality or equity do not foresee such problems due to their unlikelihood. Hence, one will find no proponent of domestic violence against women. Not a single voice- or maybe there are crushed voices- because they fear the trial society puts them through.

Things could have been easier and better if we looked at the problem of patriarchy as the problem of equity and not women empowerment. Technically, they mean the same thing- but psychologically- we are at a stage where we have set the western countries as the benchmark of progress. 

What can be done?

Domestic Violence against men is at an increasing rate. Hence, provisions and amendments are required to make gender-neutral laws that will help the victims in getting remedy and punishment for the culprit irrespective of gender. Specific laws and amendments are needed to protect both spouses from Domestic Violence that is still prevalent in our society.

(Advocate Vedika Chaubey can be reached at vedikachaubey@gmail.com)