1 Domestic Violence Violence against women is a serious problem in India.

Overall, one-third of women age 15-49 have experienced physical violence and about 1 in 10 have experienced sexual violence. In total, 35 percent have experienced physical or sexual violence. This figure translates into millions of women who have suffered, and continue to suffer, at the hands of husbands and other family members. NFHS-3 collected information from married and unmarried women age 15-49 about their experience of physical and sexual violence. Married women were also asked about their experience of emotional violence. NFHS-3 findings underscore the extent and severity of violence against women in India, especially married women. Violence by Husbands against Wives Is Widespread Married women are more likely to experience physical or sexual violence by husbands than by anyone else.

o Nearly two in five (37 percent) married women have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence by their husband 1 . o One in four married women have experienced physical or sexual violence by their husband in the 12 months preceding the survey. 34 1 15 5

10 At least one of these acts 37 Percent Forms of Spousal Violence Experienced by Ever-married Women 2 12 11 14 Forced her to perform any sexual acts that she did not want to Physically forced her to have sexual intercourse with him even when she did not want to Threatened her or attacked her with a knife, gun, or any other weapon Tried to choke her or burn her on purpose Kicked her, dragged her, or beat her up Punched her with his st or with something that could hurt her Twisted her arm or pulled her hair Slapped her Pushed her, shook her, or threw something at her

1 Acts of physical violence by the husband against his wife include: pushing, shaking, throwing something at

her, slapping, arm twisting, hair pulling, punching, kicking, dragging, beating, trying to choke or burn her on purpose, and threatening her or attacking her with a weapon. Acts of sexual violence by the husband include physically forcing the wife against her will to have sex or perform other sexual acts that she did not want to perform. 2 Slapping is the most common act of physical violence by husbands. Thirtyfour percent of married women say their husband has slapped them; 15 percent say their husband has pulled their hair or twisted their arms; and 14 percent have been pushed, shaken, or had something thrown at them (see figure). One in 10 married women have experienced sexual violence at the hands of their husband, i.e., they have been physically forced against their will by their husband to have sex or perform other sexual acts they did not want to perform. Often, this physical and sexual violence causes injuries. Almost two in five women who have experienced physical or sexual violence report having injuries, including 36 percent who had cuts, bruises or aches; 9 percent who had eye injuries, sprains, dislocations, or burns; and 7 percent who had deep wounds, broken bones, broken teeth, or other serious injuries. The prevalence of spousal physical or sexual violence is much higher among women in the poorest households (49 percent) than among women in the wealthier households (18 percent). Nearly half (46 percent) of married women with no education have experienced spousal violence; similarly, nearly half of women whose husbands have no education (47 percent) have experienced spousal violence.

 Twelve percent of married women with 12 or more years of education have experienced spousal violence, compared with 21 percent of married women whose husbands have 12 or more years of education. This suggests that womens own education reduces their likelihood of experiencing spousal violence more than their husbands education. Spousal violence is lower among couples in which husbands and wives have both been to school and are equally educated (23 percent) than among couples where the husband has more education than the wife (36 percent). The cycle of domestic violence is repeated across generations. Women whose mothers were beaten by their fathers are twice as likely to experience violence as women whose mothers were not beaten by their fathers: 60 percent, compared with 30 percent. Women married to men who get drunk frequently are more than twice as likely to experience violence as women whose husbands do not drink alcohol at all. However, even though alcohol is important, it is not the only factor accounting for the high prevalence of violence against women, as 30 percent of even women whose husbands do not drink have experienced spousal violence. 3 Bihar Spousal Violence by State Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Tripura Manipur Uttar Pradesh Tamil Nadu

West Bengal Assam Arunachal Pradesh Orissa INDIA Jharkhand Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra Chhattisgarh Uttaranchal Gujarat Haryana Punjab Mizoram Karnataka Goa Kerala Sikkim Delhi Nagaland Meghalaya Jammu & Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Percent of ever-married women 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

 Spousal violence varies greatly by state. The prevalence of physical or sexual violence ranges from 6 percent in Himachal Pradesh and 13 percent in Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya to 46 percent in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and 59 percent in Bihar. Other states with 40 percent or higher prevalence of spousal physical or sexual violence include Tripura, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Assam (see figure). One in six (16 percent) married women have experienced emotional violence by their husband 2 . Only one percent of married women have ever initiated violence against their husband.

2 Acts of emotional violence by the husband against the wife include: saying or doing something to humiliate her in front of others, threatening to hurt or harm her or someone close to her, or insulting her or making her feel bad about herself. 4 Never Married Women Also Experience Physical and Sexual Violence Sixteen percent of never married women have experienced physical violence since they were 15 years of age, generally by a parent, a sibling, or a teacher. One percent of never married women report having ever been sexually abused by anyone. Among never married women who have experienced sexual violence, 27 percent say that the perpetrator of the violence was a relative.

Most Women Do Not Seek Help When They Are Abused Only one in four abused women have ever sought help to try to end the violence they have experienced. Two out of three women have not only never sought help, but have also never told anyone about the violence. Abused women most often seek help from their families. Few abused women seek help from any institutional source such as police, medical institutions, or social service organizations. Only 2 percent of abused women have ever sought help from the police. Majority of Women and Men Say That a Husband Is Justified in Beating His Wife More than half of women (54 percent) and men (51 percent) agree that it is justifiable for a husband to beat his wife under some circumstances. o Women and men most often agree that wife beating is justified when the wife disrespects her in-laws. o Neglect of the house or children is the second most commonly agreed to justification for wife beating for both women and men. For more information about domestic violence, please see Chapter 15 in the NFHS-3 final report.

According to the Protection of Human Right Act, 1993 "human rights" means the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India. It is necessary and expedient for employers in work places as well as other responsible persons or institutions to observe certain guidelines to ensure the prevention of sexual harassment of women as to live with dignity is a human right guaranteed by our constitution. It has been laid down by the Supreme Court that it is the duty of the employer or other responsible persons in work places or other institutions to prevent or deter the Commission of acts of sexual harassment and to provide the procedure for the resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts of sexual harassment by taking all steps required. What amounts to sexual harassment? Sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour (whether directly or by implication) as: (a) physical contact and advances (b) a demand or request for sexual favours (c) sexually coloured remarks (d) showing pornography (e) any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature. Where any of these acts is committed in circumstances where under the victim of such conduct has a reasonable apprehension that in relation to the victim's employment or work whether she is drawing salary, or honorarium or voluntary, whether in government, public or private enterprise such conduct can be humiliating and may constitute a health and safety problem it amounts to sexual harassment. It is discriminatory for instance when the woman has reasonable grounds to believe that her objection would disadvantage her in connection with her employment or work including recruiting or promotion or when it creates a hostile work environment. Adverse consequences might be visited if the victim does not consent to the conduct in question or raises any objection thereto. Steps to be taken by the employers All Employers or persons in charge of work place whether in public or private sector should take appropriate steps to prevent sexual harassment. Without prejudice to the generality of this obligation they should take the following steps: (a) Express prohibition of sexual harassment as defined, above at the work place should be notified, published and circulated in appropriate ways. (b) The Rules/Regulations of Government and Public Sector bodies relating to conduct and discipline should include rules / regulations prohibiting sexual harassment and provide for appropriate penalties in such rules against the offender. (c) As regards private employers steps should be taken to include the aforesaid prohibitions in the standing orders under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1940. (d) Appropriate work conditions should be provided in respect of work, leisure, health and hygiene to further ensure that there is no hostile environment towards women at work places and no employee woman should have reasonable grounds to believe that she is disadvantaged in connection with her employment. Awareness Awareness of the rights of female employees in this regard should be created in particular by prominently notifying the guidelines (and appropriate legislation when enacted on the subject) in a suitable manner. Criminal proceedings / disciplinary action Where such conduct amounts to a specific offence under the Indian Penal Code or under any other law, the employer shall initiate appropriate action in accordance with law by making a complaint with the appropriate authority. In particular, it should ensure that victims, or witnesses are not victimized or discriminated against while dealing with complaints of sexual harassment. The victims of sexual harassment should have the option to seek transfer of the perpetrator or their own transfer. Where such conduct amounts to misconduct in employment as defined by the relevant service rules, appropriate disciplinary action should be initiated by the employer in accordance with those rules. Complaints

 Whether or not such conduct constitutes an offence under law or a breach of the service rules, an appropriate complaint mechanism should be
created in the employer's organization for redress of the complaint made by the victim. Such complaint mechanism should ensure time bound treatment of complaints.

The complaint mechanism, referred above, should be adequate to provide, where necessary, a Complaints Committee, a special counsellor or
other support services, including the maintenance of confidentiality.

The Complaints Committee should be headed by a woman and not less than half of its member should be a woman. Further, to prevent the
possibility of any undue pressure or influence from senior levels, such Complaints Committee should involve a third party, either NGO or other body who is familiar with the issue of sexual harassment.

Complaint procedure must be time bound. Confidentiality of the complaint procedure has to be maintained. Complainants or witnesses should not be victimised or discriminated against while dealing with complaints. The Complaints Committee must take an annual report to the Government department concerned of the complaints and action taken by them. The employers and person in charge will also report on the compliance with the aforesaid guidelines including on the reports of the
Complaints Committee to the Government department. Conducting enquiry by the complaints committee Any person aggrieved shall prefer a complaint before the Complaints Committee at the earliest point of time and in any case within 15 days from the date of occurrence of the alleged incident. The complaint shall contain all the material and relevant details concerning the alleged sexual harassment including the names of the contravener and the complaint shall be addressed to the Complaints Committee. If the complainant feels that she cannot disclose her identity for any particular reason the complainant shall address the complaint to the head of the organisation and hand over the same in person or in a sealed cover. Upon receipt of such complaint the head of the organisation shall retain the original complaint with him and send to the Complaints Committee a gist of the complaint containing all material and relevant details other than the name of the complainant and other details, which might disclose the identity of the complainant. The Complaints Committee shall take immediate necessary action to cause an inquiry to be made discreetly or hold an inquiry, if necessary. The Complaints Committee shall after examination of the complaint submit its recommendations to the head of the organisation recommending the penalty to be imposed. The head of the organisation, upon receipt of the report from the Complaints Committee shall after giving an opportunity of being heard to the person complained against submit the case with the Committee's recommendations to the management. The Management of the Organisation shall confirm with or without modification the penalty recommended after duly following the prescribed procedure. Where the conduct of an employee amounts to misconduct in employment as defined in the relevant service rules the employer should initiate appropriate disciplinary action in accordance with the relevant rules. Third Party Harassment Where sexual harassment occurs as a result of an act or omission by any third party or outsider, the employer and person in charge will take all steps necessary and reasonable to assist the affected person in terms of support and preventive action. The Central / State Governments are requested to consider adopting suitable measures including legislation to ensure that the guidelines laid

down by this order are also observed by the employers in Private Sector Laws under which a case can be filed Section 209, IPC deals with obscene acts and songs and lays down: Whoever, to the annoyance of others: a) does any obscene act in any public place or b) sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words in or near any public place, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term, which may extend to 3 months or with fine or both. (Cognizable, bailable and triable offences). -Section 354, IPC deals with assault or criminal force to a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty and lays down that: Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine or both. -Section 509, IPC deals with word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman and lays down that: Whoever intending to insult the modesty of any woman utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or both. (Cognizable and bailable offences). -Civil suit can be filed for damages under tort laws. That is, the basis for filing the case would be mental anguish, physical harassment, loss of income and employment caused by the sexual harassment. -Under the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act (1987) if an individual harasses another with books, photographs, paintings, films, pamphlets, packages, etc. containing "indecent representation of women"; they are liable for a minimum sentence of 2 years. Further section 7 (Offenses by Companies) holds companies where there has been "indecent representation of women" (such as the display of pornography) on the premises guilty of offenses under this act, with a minimum sentence of 2 years.