Legal protections every woman should know to stay safe

Domestic violence is a pattern of harmful behaviour, most often directed by a man against a woman, that can occur during marriage, dating, cohabitation or in any other domestic setting. It is also referred to as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, family violence or intimate partner violence. Importantly, domestic violence and abuse are not limited to physical harm alone.

Such violence can also take the form of wrongful confinement, threats, kidnapping, criminal intimidation, harassment and trespass, among other acts. Domestic abuse occurs across families and communities regardless of age, race, wealth, sexuality or location. Studies indicate that it consists largely of violence by men against women, though children are also affected, whether directly or indirectly.

The offence of cruelty by a husband or his relatives was first introduced into the Indian Penal Code as Section 498A in 1983. With effect from 1 July 2024, the Indian Penal Code, 1860 has been replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and this offence is now found in Section 85 of the BNS, 2023 (formerly Section 498A IPC), with the term “cruelty” defined in Section 86 of the BNS, 2023. In broad terms, where the husband or a relative of the husband of a woman subjects her to cruelty, the offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years and a fine, and it is a cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offence. “Cruelty” for this purpose includes:

• Any wilful conduct that is likely to drive a woman to suicide;
• Any wilful conduct that is likely to cause grave injury or danger to her life, limb or health (whether mental or physical);
• Harassment of the woman with a view to coercing her or her relatives to meet an unlawful demand for property or valuable security;
• Harassment of the woman or her relatives on account of a failure to meet such a demand for money or property.

The punishment is imprisonment of up to three years and a fine. A complaint of cruelty can be made by the woman herself or by any relative on her behalf. Cruelty is conduct that causes physical pain or mental suffering and grave injury or danger to life, and it may be physical or mental. Some of the forms of “cruelty” recognised by the courts include:

• Forcing a woman to perform an unnatural or unreasonable sexual act;
• Persistently denying her food;
• Causing mental torture;
• Repeatedly locking a person out of the house;
• Physical violence;
• Restricting her access to the home and preventing her from leading a normal social life;
• Conduct intended to inflict mental agony and suffering.

Beyond the criminal law, a woman facing abuse at home can also seek civil remedies under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. This Act gives an “aggrieved person” the right to approach a Magistrate for protection orders, residence orders (including the right to continue living in the shared household), monetary relief, custody orders and compensation. It covers not only physical abuse but also sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse, and it protects women in marriages as well as in relationships in the nature of marriage. A complaint can be made with the help of a Protection Officer, the police or a service provider. The Domestic Violence Act, 2005 was unaffected by the 2024 criminal-law reforms and continues to operate alongside the BNS provisions on cruelty.

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