Covid19 - Legal Remedies for Intimate Partner Violence (Domestic Violence)

Legal Remedies for Intimate Partner Violence (Domestic Violence | 498A | Divorce) 

Domestic Violence today is gender agnostic. What was once considered only women to be victims of such domestic violence today's society has accepted any intimate partner irrespective of gender and orientation can be a victim to domestic abuse. 

A multi country study conducted by UN with available sample size at 90% confidence level shows that 35% of partners have been subjected to domestic violence in some form or other by their intimate partners. 26.4% Men, 43.8% Women and 61.1% LGBTQ community reports intimate partner violence. Women and LGBTQ community has reported a higher percent of sexual and physical abuse while the Men have reported mental abuse and to a greater extent financial abuse. 

One such estimate and the study conducted in 2017 showed 57% women whose death was unnatural like death due to physical assault, accident, suicides, homicides, drowning, falls etc… had an history of intimate partner violence.

Covid19 has brought a situation where people are unable to go outside and locked down. The conflicts between intimate partners have seen raising exponentially, as the quarantine takes effect world wide the intimate partner violence is now become an “intimate terrorism” such is the term used by many experts, lawyers, counselors etc… globally … such grave is the situation today. 

Before we figured out the possible legal remedies to overcome the abuse lets define who is an Intimate Partners and what are the broad categories of intimate partner violence.

Who is an Intimate Partner ?

An intimate partner is a person with whom you have or had a close personal or sexual relationship. Such partner may be heterosexual or homosexual or of any sexual orientation. 

What is Intimate Partner Violence ?

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines intimate partner violence as "any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship". The WHO also adds controlling behaviors as a form of abuse. 

What are the types of Intimate Partner Violence ?

- Physical Violence : is the intentional use of force with a potential of causing life threatening condition, disability, severe injury, grievous hurt, and the milder forms of physical abuse like scratching; pushing; shoving; throwing; grabbing; biting; choking; shaking; slapping; punching; burning etc.. .

- Psychological Violence : Acts of emotional torture, constraining and restraining someone from performing an act, curtailing the freedom, stalking, nagging, passing comments, taunting, using nonphysical form of violence, using abusive language, humiliating a person, isolation, invading the privacy, unauthorized access to passwords and social media content or private content etc…

- Financial Violence : Acts done by an intimate partner which causes severe financial threats, use of force either physical, or psychological and control another person’s finances against the will, further examples of financial abuse include steeling money or property, financial mischief, intentional fraud, Coercion to sign documents, forcefully taking away money or salary earned, misuse of possessions by intimate partner or his/her family members, control over bank transactions, credit card and debit cards, restraining some one to spend money on his/her parents, restraining one to spend money on his/her will, unpaid bills, unpaid EMIs and forcing the partner to pay, unnecessary subscriptions to various goods / services etc..

- Sexual Violence :  Use of physical force to compel a person to engage in a sexual act against his or her will, sexual violence, unnatural sexual behavior, use of drugs and substance abuse during sexual activity either by will or under coercion, use of derogatory sexual words, forcing to engage in acts of pornography, molestation, passing lewd comments etc… 

What are the Behaviors of people who are subjected to Intimate Partner Violence ?

We live in a society where only one face of a person is seen which he/she is willing the society to know and there exists a hidden life which the world is unaware. Same is the situation with people who are subjected to domestic abuse by intimate partners. 

We will have many friends who surely would have gone through such trauma but appear normal in front of all but suffer in silence, such suffering could be because either they accept that abuse is normal and that’s how the life is, or they may not know how to seek legal remedy. 

Firstly, one needs to identify if that person is suffering violence and you can play a vital role in helping such person by asking him/her if something is wrong, express concern and assurance, offer help and support, listen patiently without deducing inferences or conclusions. While you do so, never try to judge or blame the person. Here are some traits of persons who are subjected to intimate partner abuse …

- Such persons seem extremely anxious to please their partners

- Such persons are also seen visibly afraid of their partners

- They seem to agree with everything their partners tell, although it may not be by their free will

- They call their partners often to report where they are and with whom

- Visible signs of injuries and bruises may be commonly seen, and they may dress to hide them

- These people will be restricted to see the family and friends

- They rarely go out in public and especially they don’t spend money although they are capable of

- They may seek permission from their partners before spending money

- These people although be earning well will have limited or no access to Credit cards, money etc..

- Such persons will carry low self-esteem, you will see them often lost and depressed 

- Typically, an extrovert person will suddenly behave introvert and also carry suicidal tendencies

An observation that should trigger you investigate further or offer support will be when such a person talks about their partner’s jealousy or possessiveness, or even their temper.

What are the legal remedies available for persons subjected to Domestic Violence?

Indian Legal system has various legal remedies that can help the victims of domestic abuse, such laws are gender agnostic and applicable to Men, Women and persons of any gender orientation. 

Some sections in IPC that the abusers can be booked under but not limited to are Section 107, 109, 102A/B, 212, 302, 303, 304, 304B, 306, 307, 314, 323, 325, 341,342, 342, 354, 370, 376, 377, 379, 384, 406, 417, 426, 465, 496, 498, 498a, 500, 506, 511. 

There are many other legal remedies available including DV, Maintenance and Restraining Orders, every individual is unique and ever person who is subjected to abuse has a unique experience, while the sections imposed under law may be common, but the case build up is uncommon. The victim alone knows the challenges he/she has faced and only a learned counsel can understand the situations and draft the legal papers to seek the appropriate remedy. 

Such remedy the victim of intimate partner domestic violence shall receive in the form of compensation and / or punishment of the abuser which can extend from as less as 6 months and depending on the gravity of violence can also be subjected to life imprisonment. In rarest of the rarest cases where a persons modesty is outrages or the intensity of violence is such that has resulted in loss of life a death punishment also can be prayed. 

What should a person or his/her friend / relative parent does if they identify a person is subjected to intimate partner violence ?

- Talk to your friends and keep your near and dear ones appraised about the situation you are in and seek support. 

- Seek help from a Legal Practitioner to initiate the legal proceedings

- Dial emergency / SOS number and seek police intervention 

Very importantly figure out a way to get out of such relationship which is harmful in a long run. Eventually, one fine day the lockdown will end. But as the quarantine drags on, the danger appears likely to deepen. Studies show that abusers are more likely to cause severe life-threatening damage to their partners physically and mentally. 

Such abuse many not necessarily be habitual but also due to  and other variables in the wake of personal crises, including loss of jobs, financial setbacks, and other economic challenges. 

Prevention is better than cure, as you observe any change in behavior of your partner seek counselling in early stages as compared to a legal remedy after the abuse. 

Trust this information is helpful to the reader, feel free to write to me at lawyersonia@gmail.com or call +91 9845944896 and have a discussion. 

As I have mentioned earlier too, every individual is unique and his or her circumstance too is. A one to one discussion will certainly help you adapt to this changed reality and cope with the psychological effects, loneliness, build trust and improve self-esteem.

Help is just a call away … 😊 

are you engaging in Cyber Crime… to gather Evidence for Divorce ...!!!

19^th October 2014, I can never forget this date; a client approached me and told he is booked under cybercrime for seeking divorce as her wife was cheating upon him …! 

On discussion further in detail, I discovered he (husband) had accessed her (wifes) emails and whatsapp messages without her consent (it’s obvious, how will she give him consent to access her private data). He was already a victim of domestic violence; he comes from a middleclass family, retail merchant from Indore, married to a girl working for IT Company in Bangalore. He did suspect her wife’s relationship with her colleague who often travelled for short term IT consulting assignments together out of India…, he was able to successfully gather evidence out of their emails / whatsapp messages and some objectionable photographs in compromising position that made his case strong to seek divorce. Well unlike him there are many other people during the divorce proceedings often track their spouses email or personal chats, hack their mobiles / computers to gather evidence and produce it in the court of law to get rid of the wedlock.

An estimated 55,000 couples are waiting for divorce in India. Bangalore alone has more than 9000 cases pending in the family court with couples jostling to sort out matrimonial issues. Every year 500+ new cases are filed and is increasing year on year with as many as 60 – 70 cases come up for hearing every day, contested divorce cases that need evidence to be produced are more complex, at least 64% of the cases are contested on grounds of Adultery, Cruelty and Infidelity which needs to be proven, the liability is upon the person who has laid the allegations to prove his/her spouse guilty.

We live in an Internet-based urban social order, substantiation and proofs of disloyalty, perfidy, adultery, cheating or other such grounds for divorce are usually digital and stored on one’s laptop/desktop, smartphones or other handheld devices, and often the spouses try to find the evidence by ‘hacking‘ each other’s digital devices, email, whatsapp / chat accounts etc….

What actually happens is husband and wife often share their passwords with each other when life is hunky-dory and all is going good in their relationship, things go wrong and they forget to change the passwords or often don’t secure their devices, this makes it easy for the information to be accessed leaving them disreputable. Only after they realize that the confidential or private information is stolen the vengeance or guilt invokes an opportunity to knock the doors of a lawyer and file a cyber-crime suit out of vengeance.

While many times its evidence gathering that provokes the couple to indulge in the act of hacking private information Cyber-crime is not limited to hacking, there are cases of vengeance that are growing. I remember a few cases that my clients have brought up during the divorce proceedings where their husbands have hacked the Facebook and other social media accounts and posted disgraceful content on their wall and shared with their social circle with an intention to malign their social image purely blindsided by the divorce proceedings. Few of my clients acknowledge that they did engage in such activity only with an intention to ensure they get the child custody and becomes easy to prove their spouse cannot take care of the child assassinating his/he character.  

Few other cases that are on a raise now-a-days are when husband / wife creates a fake profile of their wife / husband and connects with their social circle as thou he/she posting and messaging, runs a parallel account without his/her knowledge and turns mischievous to an extent that harms the social image and again such acts are done with an intention of child custody or alimony etc…  

I strongly censure such activities of hacking, people who are unaware my wish to go thru the Information Technology act following the link http://meity.gov.in/content/information-technology-act, Section 65 to Section 74 describes offenses and penalties for the same. Offenses punishable with imprisonment of 3 years and above are cognizable. (Generally, cognizable offence means a police officer has the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and to start an investigation with or without the permission of a court. By contrast, in the case of a non-cognizable offence, a police officer does not have the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and an investigation cannot be initiated without a court order.)

The key takeaway form this blog is to ensure one does not invite further trouble in his/her divorce case by indulging into an activity of hacking to gather evidence, there are many ethical ways of gathering digital evidence thou, few of my clients have engaged the professional services of detective agencies for the same, there is a provision for the victim to seek the intervention from the court to intervene in evidence gathering. If nothing exists at all and one still needs to prove his / her innocence or guilt one can demand a lie detector test. In fact there are many more ways, but the eagerness to prove one right or wrong forces you to hack the information which may lead you into trouble …

You may wish to write into me at lawyersonia@gmail.com or call me at +91 984 594 4896 for guidance and understand various legal options before trying to be impulsive and try hack your spouses’ inbox.