Gendered Based Violence

UNIT 11 GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

Structure
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Objectives
11.3 What is Gender- Based Violence?
11.4 Categories of Gender –Based Violence
11.5 Forms & Magnitude of Gender –based Violence
11.6 A Closer look at some major forms of Gender- Based Violence in India
11.6.1 Sexual Offences: Rape, Molestation and Sexual harassment at the Workplace
11.6.2 Dowry-related Deaths and Harassment
11.6.3 Domestic Violence
11.6.4 Trafficking
11.6.5 Acid Attacks
11.6.6 Honour Crimes
11.6.7 Female Sex Selective Abortions
11.7 Marginalisation & Increased Vulnerability
11.8 Summing Up
11.9 Key Words
11.10 References & Suggested Readings
11.11 Unit End Questions

11.1 INTRODUCTION
Gender-based violence (GBV) is perhaps one of the most widespread and socially
tolerated forms of violence prevalent in the world. It is a widespread and persistent
challenge in India, linked directly to patriarchy and its foundational belief that
men have the privilege and the power to inflict violence upon women. Rooted in
women’s subordinate status, it is linked both to the institution of patriarchy as
well as the concept of masculinity – that a ‘real man’ is one who inflicts violence
against women. GBV is a major obstacle in women’s enjoyment of their human
rights and fundamental rights as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.

11.2 OBJECTIVES
After Completing this Unit, you will be able to:
Know the concept of gender-based violence;
Illustrate forms of gender-based violence and the extent of their prevalence
in India and elsewhere;
Identify causes and consequences of such violence;
Highlight various ways of addressing and responding to such violence,
including through law and social action.

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Gender, Law and Society
11.3 WHAT IS GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE?
The term gender-based violence (GBV) is used to distinguish violence that
targets individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of their gender from
other forms of violence by individuals and collectivities. It includes acts that
result in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm. A threat
of such acts, coercion and arbitrary deprivation of liberty are also forms of gender-
based violence. Such gender-based violence might occur within the family, in
the community during “peace times” or times of conflict, or by state agents. It
may be perpetrated by family members, acquaintances, strangers or intimate
partners including husbands.
While violence is a traumatic experience for anyone – man, woman or child –
gender-based violence is predominantly inflicted by men on women and girls by
reason of their gender. It impacts women’s dignity, security, sexuality,
reproductive capacity and their right to control over their own body (autonomy),
apart from its over-arching impact on physical and mental health of women.
Gender-based violence stems from the power inequality between men and women,
exacerbated by socio-economic, cultural and structural inequalities.
A thin line of distinction exists between gender-based violence (GBV) and
violence against women (VAW), though the two terms are often conflated and
used inter-changeably. Though VAW includes any act of GBV against women
and girls, the term ‘gender-based violence’ acknowledges the gender dimensions
of the violence, both from the perspective of perpetrators as well as victims.
GBV is a term that is used to distinguish violence that targets individuals or
groups of individuals on the basis of their gender from other forms of violence
by individuals and groups. Such gender-based violence might occur within the
family, in the community during “peace times” or times of conflict, and by state
agents or non-state actors. It may be perpetrated by family members,
acquaintances, strangers or intimate partners. The term GBV is therefore broader
and more inclusive.
Gender-based violence both reflects and reinforces inequities between men and
women and compromises the health, dignity, security and autonomy of its victims.1
It encompasses a wide range of human rights violations. GBV is faced
predominantly but not exclusively by women and girls. Men and boys too are
sometimes targeted for gender-based violence, though the extent to which GBV
impacts them is not clearly known. Violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals
and transgendered people is an illustration of how gender-based violence also
results from the tension between mainstream and alternative understandings and
practices related to sexuality.While acknowledging the prevalence of GBV against
members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community in India,
and the serious human rights violations perpetrated on members of the community,
this unit focusses on gender-based violence on women and girls.

11.4 CATEGORIES OF GENDER-BASED

VIOLENCE
The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women has categorized forms
of violence against women into violence within the family, violence in the
community and violence perpetrated / condoned by the state.2 Using these broad
132 forms, violence against women in India can be further disaggregated as follows:
a) violence in the family – such as domestic violence, sexual abuse of children Gendered Based Violence
in the household, dowry-related violence, rape and incestual rape by family
members, honour crimes, sex-selective abortions and female infanticide,
female genital mutilation and other traditional practices that are harmful,
violence against lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, and violations
of sexual and reproductive rights;
b) violence in the community – including rape, sexual abuse, sexual
harassment at workplace and other public places, acid-throwing, ‘witch-
hunting’, sati, honour crimes, trafficking in women and children, forced
prostitution, violence against women with disabilities, communal violence,
and violence against adivasi and dalit women;
c) violence perpetrated or condoned by the state – including custodial rapes,
torture and killings, gender-based violence in militarised contexts, violence
against women migrant workers, refugees and internally displaced persons,
communal violence and other contexts of mass crimes.
These categories of violence against women are not water-tight compartments;
some types of violence against women fall under more than one category. The
three categories of violence against women are also inter-related and reinforce
each other to subvert and subjugate women’s enjoyment of human rights.

11.5 FORMS & MAGNITUDE OF GENDER-BASED

VIOLENCE
Gender-based violence has been shrouded by a culture of silence and tolerance
for a long time. It is difficult to access reliable statistics on the same, as the
violence is under-reported due to stigma, shame and fear of reprisal.

The magnitude of gender-based violence in India is indicated by statistics derived

from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Government of India. These
statistics indicate that in among all registered cases of serious crimes against
women, the largest share (36%) was under domestic violence - ‘cruelty by
husband and relatives; (S. 498A of the Indian Penal Code). The next largest
share (24%) was “assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty”.3 The
report also said there was a gradual increase in crime figures, with major increases
in rape, kidnapping and abduction and assault on women with an intent to outrage
their modesty. The data on rapes suggest younger women continued to bear the
brunt. In 2014, almost 44 per cent of all victims were in the age group of 18-30
years, whereas one in every 100 victims was under six years of age. Statistics
related to reported cases in 2014 were as follows:
Table 1: Major Crimes Against Women in India: 2015 & 2017
Rape 34651 32559
Attempt to commit rape 4,437 4154
Kidnapping and abduction of women to compel her 31778 30614
marriage
Dowry deaths 7634 7466
Assault on woman with intent to outrage her modesty 42664 46098

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Gender, Law and Society Source: Crime in India 2014, National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs,
Government of India

Check Your Progress Exercise 1

Note: i) Use the space given below to answer the questions.
ii) Compare your answer with the Course material of this unit.
1) How is gender-based violence different from other forms of violence?
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2) What is the impact of gender-based violence on women?

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3) Why does GBV occur?

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4) Name some forms of GBV.

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11.6 A CLOSER LOOK AT SOME MAJOR FORMS

OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN INDIA
We will look into some of the major forms of gender –based violence in this
section.

11.6.1 Sexual Offences: Rape, Molestation and Sexual harassment

at the Workplace
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Historically, women have been perceived as the repositories of chastity, virginity, Gendered Based Violence
modesty and honour. Patriarchal control over women, including through sexual
violence, has been exercised and justified in the name of protecting the honour
of the family / community. This notion has led to the targeting of women’s
bodies through sexual violence to shame and subjugate the woman, her family
and her community; equally, this has served to justify the regulation of women’s
freedoms, choices, and the imposition of dress codes. Sexual violence and rape
are tools by which power is exercised to maintain an unequal status quo in society
that privileges men over women. This ideology shapes the structures of the family,
the community and the state; it combines with castism and communalism to
produce subordination of one community by another. Though rape and other
forms of sexual violence have been rampant and are on the increase, this issue
gained international visibility with the brutal gang rape and murder of a young
woman on a moving bus in December 2012. This led to law reforms on rape and
other sexual offences.

11.6.2 Dowry-related Deaths and Harassment

Statistics are not required to establish the persisting, disturbing and increasing
presence of dowry as a cause for homicide, suicide and harassment of young
women. This is because many of these deaths and harassments go unreported,
or are classified under deceptive provisions such as accidental deaths. A dowry-
motivated killing in October 2012 that shocked the country was that of Pravartika
Gupta, a 25 year old technology graduate, who was burnt to death in her bedroom
along with her 13 month old child. The young mother and child were killed by
her husband and in-laws over a dowry dispute – the woman’s parents had agreed
to pay Rs. 10,00,000 and a Honda City car for the husband’s parents, and while
they were struggling to make the payment, the husband’s family had allegedly
demanded the purchase of a flat for them.4 The law related to dowry – Dowry
Prohibition Act 1961 – has been made stringent for this reason. Additionally,
Section 498A and S. 304B of the Indian Penal Code help to address issues of
dowry harassment and dowry-motivated murder respectively.

The rising number of cases of dowry harassment indicates that stringent laws
and sustained campaigns against dowry have had little effect in arresting this
heinous crime against women, which is practised across caste, class, religious
and educational divides in India. However, it is important to remember that all
incidents of violence against women within the home are not necessarily dowry-
related. Feminist lawyers also point out that the woman’s family is responsible
for getting her married in the first place (with or without dowry) instead of
supporting her to study and work, and for not allowing her to return home from
her marital home even when she faces acute harassment due to dowry or other
reasons.5 The patriarchal perspective of marriage as an end-all for women, and
the belief that the rightful place for death of a woman as her husband’s place
coupled with increasing consumerism, have fuelled the phenomenon of women
facing death, violence and harassment in their marital homes.

11.6.3 Domestic Violence

Some of the key findings of NFHS-3 on domestic violence, which interviewed
1,25,000 across twenty eight states and the national capital, conducted in 2005-
6 are as follows:6

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Gender, Law and Society Incidence and categories: Over 40 percent of Indian women have experienced
domestic violence at some point in their married lives. 37 percent of ever-
married women have experienced spousal physical or sexual violence. 16
percent women have experienced spousal emotional violence. One in ten
wives, or 10 percent, have experienced sexual violence like marital rape on
at least one occasion;

Injuries caused: Among all ever-married women who reported ever

experiencing physical or sexual violence, 36 percent report cuts, bruises,
or aches, 9 percent report eye injuries, sprains, dislocations or burns, 7
percent report deep wounds, broken bones, broken teeth, or other serious
injury, and 2 percent report severe burns;

Co-relation between violence and years of marriage: An overwhelming

majority of women who reported domestic violence were first assaulted by
their husbands less than two years into their marriage. According to the
figures, 62 percent experienced physical or sexual violence within the first
two years of marriage, while 32 percent experienced violence in the first
five years;
Seeking help: Only one in four abused women seek help to try and end the
violence mete out to them by their husbands. Only 2 percent of women
who faced domestic violence sought intervention from the police. A large
majority of women who have experienced sexual violence, but not physical
violence, have never told anyone about the violence (85 percent), and only
8 percent have ever sought help. Abused women most often seek help from
their own families.
Perceptions among women: Nearly 55 percent think that spousal abuse is
warranted in several circumstances; 41 percent of women thought that
husbands were justified in slapping their wives if the latter showed disrespect
to their in-laws; 35 percent of women thought they deserved a brutal beating
at the hands of their spouses if they neglected doing the household chores
or looking after their children;
Perceptions among men: Nearly 51 percent of the 75,000 Indian men
surveyed think hitting or beating their wives is acceptable for certain reasons,
particularly if she disrespects her in-laws; a smaller number think bad
cooking or refusing sex are reasons for physically assaulting their wives;

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) was enacted
in 2005 to address the issue. A key challenge to addressing domestic violence
against women, is to change perceptions among women and men that domestic
violence is permissible under certain circumstances.

11.6.4 Trafficking
India is a source, a transit point for women and girls trafficked to other countries,
as well as a major destination for trafficked women and girls. The forced labour
of an estimated 20 to 65 million citizens constitutes India’s largest trafficking
problem.7 India remains the main receiving country in the South Asian region
for victim-survivors of trafficking. India’s trafficking patterns indicate that 90
per cent of the trafficking is domestic, with only 10 per cent taking place across
international borders8 and the most disadvantaged social economic strata,
136 including the lowest castes, are most vulnerable.
Those at risk of being trafficked include women and girls living away from Gendered Based Violence
families, those living in rural poverty, slums, brothels or on streets, physically
and mentally challenged persons, those facing a stigma due to abuse and those in
contexts of ethnic and communal violence. Every year, thousands of women and
girls are bought and sold, coerced, tricked, drugged, abducted, defrauded,
assaulted and forced to live and work in exploitative, servile or slave-like
conditions, with little bargaining power. Overt forms of violence, including rape,
torture, deprivation of liberty, forced labour and forced marriage, are often
perpetrated against girls who seek to assert their rights.

Although provisions on trafficking existed in the IPC for many decades, these
were amended in 2013 and the offences were elaborated upon to reflect ground
realities and complex practices involving a nexus of persons within and outside
the country ( Sections 370 and 370A of the Indian Penal Code). Additionally,
The Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, 1956 addresses the issue of trafficking.

11.6.5 Acid Attacks

Acid attacks against adolescent girls and young women in India have been
regularly reported in the media, increasingly so in recent years. However, India
did not have official statistics or any systematic record on the issue until February
2013, when it was recognized as a specific offence in the Indian Penal Code
(Sections 326A and B). A study conducted by Cornell University in January
2011 said there were 153 attacks reported in the media from 1999 to 2010.9 The
Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks (CSAAA), a civil society network,
has compiled a list of 56 cases in Karnataka alone, between 1999 and 2007.10
According to Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI), acid violence cases in
India could range between 100 and 500 a year.11 Acid attacks were recognised as
specific offences in the IPC in 2013 under Sections 326A and B of the Indian
Penal Code.

A few cases or threats of such attacks that found prominence in media reports are
given below:

Case Study of Acid Attack Survivor Sonali Mukherjee

In 2002, Sonali Mukherjee, a 19-year-old girl from Jharkhand, topped her
college and was aspiring to be a professor someday. Within a year of that
triumph, her life changed. Three men, whose advances she had been spurning
for a while, threw acid on her. With 72 per cent burns, she lost her eyesight
and her face and body were disfigured. In 2014, Sonali and her family continue
struggling for justice, and for her medical treatment. Her attackers included a
40-year-old married man and an 18-year-old. Two of her attackers were
convicted for nine years, which was reduced to four years on appeal.
Meanwhile, Sonali continues to struggle to put together the Rs. 15 lakh she
still needs for her treatment.12 In February 2014, she obtained a government
job with the Jharkand state government in the welfare department.13

Case Study of Acid Attack Survivor Laxmi

In 2009, as Laxmi, a 15 year old girl, walked from her home to her workplace
– a bookshop where she worked as a part-time salesperson - she heard her
name being called out, and turned to see who the caller was. She looked at
two people on a motorbike and walks towards them. The girl on the pillion is
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Gender, Law and Society familiar and the man riding the bike is known to her. He wanted to marry her
and she had declined. As she reaches them, the girl hurls acid on her. Her
face, her chest and arms were burnt beyond recognition and she was in
tremendous pain. After several painful corrective surgeries, Laxmi has partially
healed and now spearheads a campaign to assist acid survivors, based in
Delhi.She filed a public interest litigation in the court, asking for a law that
provides exemplary punishment for acid attacks on girls and a sound
rehabilitation scheme for victims.14 The petition resulted in several ground-
breaking orders by the Supreme Court, to regulate sale of acid and setting
minimum compensation for acid survivors.

11.6.6 Honour Crimes

Recent years have witnessed a spate of attacks and killings in the country, based
on the perpetrator’s notion that the victim has brought ‘dishonour’ to the family
/ community. Honour crimes are directed mostly at young women and girls, but
also young couples who choose inter-caste and inter-religious marriages. They
are punished because they are perceived to have crossed social boundaries or
transgressed social norms, and perpetrated mostly by their male relatives. The
notion of ‘izzat’ (honour) and its contribution to the social and ideological context
of violence against women, particularly in marriages of choice, has been
elaborately discussed by feminist researchers.

Honour crimes are often under-reported, and are classified as accidents or suicides,
making it difficult to understand the magnitude of the crime in India. No official
statistics on these crimes are available at the national level as it is not a specific
offence under the Indian criminal law. A majority of these killings take place in
the agrarian states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, where land
ownership and caste together help fuelling an ‘honour culture’ by maintaining
caste and gender hierarchies.

Caste Study on Honour Crimes: Elango and Divya

Elango, a Dalit youth eloped and married an upper caste girl, Divya, in
November 2012 in Tamil Nadu. They lived in neighbouring villages. Following
this, Divya’s father committed suicide, apparently because he experienced
shame and social stigma. This caused a violent attack against the Dalit village
that Elango belonged to. Meetings were held between the two panchayats and
it was decided that the couple would return to live with their respective families
for some time. Thereafter, Elango was not allowed to meet Divya. He filed a
habeus corpus petition in court. Divya, intitially appeared in court and said
she wanted to live with Elango, but later, apparently under pressure and threat,
changed her mind and said she had no intention of living with him. Elango’s
body was found on the railway tracks and the police have treated it as a case of
suicide. The outcome of the one-member enquiry committee is awaited.
Analysts have said that case reflected the power of local caste and electoral
politics.

11.6.7 Female Sex Selective Abortions

India’s population has more men than women. The adverse child sex ratio has
existed since 1901 (see Table 2 below). This unequal male – female sex ratio in
India is the result of several practices - selective elimination of female fetuses
through abortion, selection of male-embryo at the pre-conception stage, as well
138
as the practice of female infanticide. While the focus of public interventions is Gendered Based Violence
on the sex ratio figures, these are merely a symptom of a larger problem – gender
inequality, discrimination against women in Indian society and the low social
status of women and girls.

The role played by an increasingly unethical and commerce driven medical

establishment cannot be understated. Foetal sex determination followed by sex-
selective abortions is a thriving business, and has grown into an over Rs. 1,000
crore industry (US$ 244 million) (Alka Gupta 2007) There has been a
mushrooming of ultrasound and scanning centres, as well as mobile sex selection
clinics that drive into almost any village or neighbourhood.Essentially, the
devalued status of women causes the demand, and medical commerce then
supplies society with easy technology to act on its anti-female biases.

A worsening of the sex ratio has been linked to increased incidence of sexual
violence against girls and women, increase in child marriages, increase in maternal
deaths due to abortions and early marriages, and trafficking from other places
for marriage. In short, the adverse sex ratio threatens to push women into a vicious
cycle of violence and exploitation. The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic
Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act 2003 is a special legislation that
addresses this issue.

Table 2: Male-Female Sex Ratio in India 1901-2011

Census Year National Average Sex ratio (Women per 1000 men)
1901 972
1911 964
1921 955
1931 950
1941 945
1951 946
1961 941
1971 930
1981 934
1991 927
2001 933
2011 940
Source: National Commission on Population, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government
of India

11.7 MARGINALIZATION & INCREASED

VULNERABILITY
While all women are vulnerable to violence, women and girls from minority
communities, marginalised groups and underprivileged sections of society are
more vulnerable because of their lower socio-economic status and their reduced
power to access and negotiate with systems of law and justice. This includes
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Gender, Law and Society women who face physical / mental disability, women from scheduled castes,
scheduled tribes, religious minority and lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender (LGBT)
communities, aged women and young girls, trafficked women and women
prisoners. The inter-section of gender with other variables such as caste, class,
religion, disability, sexuality, profession and political belief results in multiple
disadvantages and varied forms of disempowerment, rendering women’s
experiences less visible, and their quest for justice more challenging.

11.8 SUMMING UP
Gender-based violence is rooted in women’s subordinate status, it is linked
both to the institution of patriarchy as well as the concept of masculinity.

The term gender-based violence (GBV) is used to distinguish violence

that targets individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of their gender
from other forms of violence by individuals and collectivities. It includes
acts that result in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological
harm.

Such gender-based violence might occur within the family, in the community
during “peace times” or times of conflict, or by state agents. It may be
perpetrated by family members, acquaintances, strangers or intimate partners
including husbands.

Though rape and other forms of sexual violence have been rampant and are
on the increase, this issue gained international visibility with the brutal
gang rape and murder of a young woman on a moving bus in December
2012. This led to law reforms on rape and other sexual offences.

The rising number of cases of dowry harassment indicates that stringent

laws and sustained campaigns against dowry have had little effect in arresting
this heinous crime against women, which is practised across caste, class,
religious and educational divides in India.

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) was

enacted in 2005 to address the issue of domestic violence, which is rampant.
However, a key challenge to addressing domestic violence against women,
is to change perceptions among women and men that domestic violence is
permissible under certain circumstances.

Those at risk of being trafficked include women and girls living away from
families, those living in rural poverty, slums, brothels or on streets, physically
and mentally challenged persons, those facing a stigma due to abuse and
those in contexts of ethnic and communal violence.

Sections 370 and 370A of the Indian Penal Code and The Immoral
Trafficking (Prevention) Act, 1956 address the issue of trafficking.

Acid attacks against adolescent girls and young women in India have been
regularly reported in the media, increasingly so in recent years. However,
India did not have official statistics or any systematic record on the issue
until February 2013, when it was recognized as a specific offence in the
Indian Penal Code (Sections 326A and B).
140
 Honour crimes are directed mostly at young women and girls, but also young Gendered Based Violence
couples who choose inter-caste and inter-religious marriages. They are
punished because they are perceived to have crossed social boundaries or
transgressed social norms,

The imbalanced sex ratio figures, caused by female infanticide, female sex
selective abortions and selection of male embryo at the pre-conceeption
stage are merely a symptom of a larger problem – gender inequality,
discrimination against women in Indian society and the low social status of
women and girls.

The adverse sex ratio threatens to push women into a vicious cycle of
violence and exploitation.

The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of

Sex Selection) Act 2003 is a special legislation that addresses this issue.

While all women are vulnerable to violence, women and girls from minority
communities, marginalised groups and underprivileged sections of society
are more vulnerable because of their lower socio-economic status and their
reduced power to access and negotiate with systems of law and justice.

11.9 KEY WORDS

National Crime Records Bureau: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB),
New Delhi is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India,
New Delhi. The Vision of NCRB is to empower Indian Police with Information
Technology to enable them to effectively enforce the law and improve public
service delivery. Ministry of Home Affairs has entrusted NCRB with a renewed
mandate for the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems
(CCTNS) Project. Out of approximately 15000 Police Stations, around 12000
have started registering 100% FIR’s online. The application software has been
deployed in over 12500 locations.

11.10 REFERENCES & SUGGESTED READINGS

Flavia Agnes (1998), ‘Violence Against Women: Review of Recent
Enactments’ in Swapna Mukhopadhyay, ed. In the Name of Justice: Women
and Law in Society, pp. 81-116. New Delhi: Manohar Publishers and
Distributors
Saumya Uma (2010), edited by Vrinda Grover, Addressing Domestic
Violence Through the Law. New Delhi: Multiple Action Research Group.
Shankar Sen (2005), Trafficking in Women and Children in India. New
Delhi: Orient Longman Pvt Ltd. Vol. I
Smita Narula (1999) Broken People: Caste Violence Against India’s
“Untouchables”. New York: Human Rights Watch.

11.11 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1) Write an easy on major forms of gender based violence in India.
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