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Paper on
 
CWS Experience in engaging with the State on Policy Matters
 
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence, Act 2006
 
By A. Kalamani Joint Executive Director, CWS
 
 
Brief Description about the Area of Work

 

The gender concern is the core value and prime focus for the Centre for World Solidarity (CWS) right from the days of its functioning as the Capter in India of Action for World Solidarity (ASW). This concern got further strengthened when the ASW gave up its support of child sponsorship and started underpinning to social action in 1980s.
 
As a first step of promotion of gender-related work, as part of the larger social action, ASW and later CWS, in 1989, initiated networks for women as a separate space for women in development sector to come together, strengthen each other, get capacitated conceptually and strategically to address various issues towards guaranteeing women's rights as human rights and as a next step, a separate Women's Wing was created by the end of the year to carry forward this mission. 
 
In due course of its work in the year 2000, the Women's Wing renamed itself as Gender Desk to reflect the change in understanding and approach to women's issues. There is widespread agreement that women's issues are the consequence of gender relationships in various institutions of society. These gender relationships go beyond personal relations between men and women; they also include the distribution of power and structures of organizations in the civil society and the state that are based on understanding of gender that is derived from  the belief of superiority of men and the inferiority of women. To transform these relationships among people, in institutions, and in organizations it is necessary to change the understanding and actions of men as well as women. The renaming reflects this perspective.
 
CWS vision commits to work for equal rights of women. Towards achieving this vision, the Gender Desk/Programme of CWS has been involved in grassroots work and campaigning on addressing various forms of violence against women - population policy, child rape, reproductive rights, targeted sterilization, female infanticide and foeticide, sexual harassment at workplace, domestic violence, trafficking in women, witch-hunting and women's livelihoods – through networks of women's organizations and activists across the five states (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar) where CWS is operational for the past several years. As an integral part of the mission, the gender programme has established strategic alliances with various civil society groups and as well as with the department like Police.

 

 

CWS - Strategic Collaboration with Police 

The strategic collaboration with the CID (Crime Investigation Department) Department of Police in AP began in 2004 when CWS was approached to support establishing a Counseling Centre at Women Protection Cell (WPC), which is a separate cell established to investigate and prevent crime against women in the state. CWS entered into this collaboration and supported establishing the counseling centre within WPC and has been interacting on a regular basis on the functioning of the cell and providing necessary inputs. This collaboration has further strengthened the interactions with the Police Department and CWS team has been invited as resource persons for gender trainings and meetings related to crime against women in the state. The concerned Police officials (Inspector General of Police and Superintendent of Police) have also been extremely cooperative and value the partnership as one of strategic importance and meaning. The counseling centre is of strategic importance so that the state takes more responsibility to prevent domestic violence and efforts are underway to institutionalize this mechanism with the Police department in near future.

This collaboration is a milestone in the journey of CWS gender programme towards creating a violence free society.
 

 

Issue chosen for advocacy   

 The ‘Campaign against Domestic Violence' is one of the campaigns that have been intensively and extensively taken up by CWS since 90s. As part of this ongoing campaign and based on the demand from the grassroots women and a network of women's organizations, and also the simultaneous efforts that were going on across the country, CWS took up this specific issue of domestic violence for advocacy with the AP State Government as well as with the Central Government.  
 

Nature of the issue chosen for advocacy
 
Domestic violence is undoubtedly a violation of human rights and a serious deterrent to achieve equality, development and peace. The phenomenon of domestic violence is widely prevalent but has remained largely invisible in the public domain. It occurs within the private sphere, generally between individuals who are related through intimacy, blood or law. Despite the apparent neutrality of the term, domestic violence is always a gender-specific crime, perpetrated by men against women. It is a fact that women have been experiencing violence in marital relationships since ages. In recent times with several campaigns and awareness women are coming forward and reporting about violence outside. It is no more ‘Personal is Private' it is “Personal is Political”. 
 
The Vienna Accord of 1994 and the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action 1995 have acknowledged and crystallized the principle that women's rights are human rights. The United Nations Committee on Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) recommended that the State parties should act to protect women against violence of any kind especially that occurring within the family.
 
In India domestic violence was recognized as a specific criminal offence by the introduction of section 498-A into the Indian Penal Code in 1983. This section deals with cruelty by a husband or his family towards a married woman. Four types of cruelty are dealt with by this law:

1.  Conduct that is likely to drive a woman to suicide
2.  Conduct which is likely to cause grave injury to the life, limb or health of the woman
3.  Harassment with the purpose of forcing the woman or her relatives to give some property
4.  Harassment because the woman or her relatives are not yielding to demands for more money or do not give some property

The punishment is imprisonment for up to three years and a fine. The complaint against cruelty need not be lodged by the person herself. Any relative may also make the complaint on her behalf.  Section 498-A of the IPC covers dowry-related harassment. As with other provisions of criminal law, a woman can use the threat of going to court to deter this kind of harassment. The IPC also addresses dowry deaths in section 304-B. If a woman dies of "unnatural causes" within seven years of marriage and has been harassed for dowry before her death, the Courts will assume that it is a case of dowry death. The husband or in-laws will then have to prove that their harassment was not the cause of her death. A dowry death is punishable by imprisonment of at least seven years. Section 306 should be invoked when a woman commits suicide because of dowry-related harassment.
However these criminal laws had proved to be inadequate to meet the situations in which women find themselves and hence it was a felt-need among the women's groups and activists that the law addressing domestic violence should be civil in nature. In 1992, the Lawyers Collective drafted and circulated a Bill on domestic violence and this was widely circulated amongst women's groups and organizations including the National Commission for Women (NCW). In 1994, NCW came out with its draft Bill on domestic violence, which was vehemently criticized by women's organizations.
 
Then in 1999, the Lawyers Collective came out with its draft law on domestic violence after nation-wide consultations with many women's groups. This was drafted in accordance with the UN Framework for Model Legislation on Domestic Violence and this bill had the broad support of the women's movement to its major provisions.
 
By this time, the women's and human rights groups in the country who intensively campaigned against domestic violence on women for the last two decades were united towards the need for a civil law on domestic violence and put pressure on the State to issue a statement, recognizing that half its citizenry faces gender-based violence and this fact is not acceptable to the State. It was also emphasized that the law addressing domestic violence should be civil in nature, as the existing criminal laws had proven to be inadequate to meet the needs of the women. 
 
 
Discourse on policy matters
 
In Andhra Pradesh, CWS played an active and a lead role since 2000 in dialoguing and discussing on the draft Bill with grassroots women, women's organizations and other stakeholders:  
 
1. The draft bill was translated into Telugu and circulated to various stakeholders and discussions held at grassroots and state levels
2. Awareness meetings were held with grassroots women, also men and officials on the draft bill and their views and feedback on the provisions in the bill were sought
3. Intensive campaigns were held at village, mandal and district levels to create awareness among the civil society on the issue of domestic violence as a crime and violation of human rights
4. 16 days activism in the month of November since 2000 was carried out in an intensive manner which completely focused on the campaign against domestic violence in all the districts of AP
5.  Photo exhibitions, poster exhibitions, stickers, pad yatras, cycle yatras, slide shows in theatres in all the districts and at the state capital, cultural programmes etc. were conducted and organized to create awareness on the issue of domestic violence among the different stakeholders
6.  Highlighted the issue at Asia Social Forum and World Social Forum held at Hyderabad and Mumbai through workshops and cultural programmes 
7. A study ‘Community perception and prevalence related to domestic violence in AP with special reference to the draft Bill was carried out
8. A study on available support structures for women in distress in the state like counseling centres, state/shelter homes, short-stay homes, women police stations, etc was initiated and an analysis done on the functioning of these support structures to cater to the women in need of shelter and protection
9. A book on the various laws to address different forms of violence against women was brought out in Telugu as a reference guide for the grassroots organizations and activists
10.  A case study documentation on ‘strategies to address violence against women' towards making violence against women a political issue… was carried out in five states with six women's groups. The outcome of the study was used for designing specific intervention strategies and as an advocacy tool for the campaign against domestic violence demanding for proactive policies with sustainable alternatives to criminal justice system
11.  Post card campaign was taken up demanding inclusion of two aspects in the Bill – i) Right to residence to women in the matrimonial home and ii) Right to custody of the children to women (addressed to the Ministry of Human Resources Development at the Centre and Secretary, Women and Child Welfare Department, State level)  
12. Feedback from the grassroots groups, various discussions held and studies carried was consolidated and sent to concerned authorities for necessary changes to be incorporated in the Bill
13. The issue of domestic violence is global in nature and hence the legal provisions and mechanisms to address domestic violence in various parts of the globe were looked at while giving feedback on the draft Bill to the government
14.  Active participation and regular interactions in meetings and discussions held with the women's groups and networks at national level and exchange of information both ways
 
After much pressure from women's groups across the country and the intensive campaign held in different states and national level, most of the feedback was taken into consideration and the Government of India introduced a Bill on domestic violence in the Lok Sabha, titled 'The Protection from Domestic Violence Bill 2001'. The Bill which had been pending before the Lok Sabha for many years was finally passed in 2006 monsoon session. There have been a number of changes made to it and serious lacunae that existed at the time the NDA government drafted it have been suitably amended. Bill No. 116 of 2005 has now officially become The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (Act No.43 of 2005) with effect from 26 October 2006. 
 
The enactment of the Domestic Violence Act is an important marker in the history of the women's movement in India, which has confronted the problem of domestic violence for well over two to three decades. This enactment sets free the movement from the malaise that has long plagued it, of attributing all categories of violence suffered by women within their families to ‘dowry' and widening the scope of the term ‘domestic violence'. It acknowledges that domestic violence is a widely prevalent and universal problem of power relationships, more than the culture specific phenomenon called ‘dowry death'. More importantly, it marks a departure from the penal provisions, which hinged on stringent punishments, to positive civil rights of protection and injunction and also provides for more effective protection of the rights of women guaranteed under articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution.
 
Continued dialogue and engagement with the State
 
As soon as the Bill was passed, the dialogue started with respective state governments regarding its implementation process - recruiting, deputing officers, mechanism, budget allocation, role of other departments, identification of service providers etc. CWS continued its role as a lead player in bringing the women's groups and other civil society organizations and the state together to discuss on framing of rules and regulations for proper implementation of the Law.
 
CWS established an alliance with the National Secretariat on PWDVA (Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act) and has been supporting the advocacy activities at the centre level. The activities at the state level have been very intensive; dialoguing and discussing with the concerned authorities - the Police, Judiciary, Women and Child Welfare Departments, Women's Commission and Human Rights Commission – and the civil society organizations.
 
Several consultations have been held since the Act was enacted in 2006 with the above stakeholders at the State, Zonal and at National levels to make recommendations on the implementation aspects of the PWDVA. Some of the important events were:

 

15. State level Workshops were conducted in December 2005 and July 2006 to evolve a road map for effective implementation of the Act in AP. Discussions were held on the rules related  to who could be Protection Officers, how many per district, commitment of the State Government for finances and other resources in its annual budget, a State Plan for DV Act and the road ahead before the law is made functional in the state. It also discussed the need to get the Rules passed by Parliament and then get an early date notified to get the law operational and ensure uniformity of applicability in different states as per the Central Ministry of Women and Child Development's broad guidelines and directions to each State Government. An overview of the Act and its salient features were once again reviewed verifying each and every clause regarding its true meaning and the participants were made to understand the Act and arrive at strategies for lobbying with Women and Child Development Department, liaising with media, bringing out an Information kit for disseminating the DV Act among the public, training police and informing the Judiciary on the Act.
 
16.Zonal Level Workshop was held in November 2006 at Hyderabad with participants from three Southern States of India namely Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka with the objective of strengthening the campaign for effective implementation of the Act and lobbying with the State governments to function effectively on the Act.
 
17. A National Women's Conference was organized by Action India (with which the National Secretariat is housed) in February 2007 at New Delhi with the representatives of the Central (Chairperson, National Women's Commission and the Minister of Women and Child Development, Government of India) and the State (Principal Secretary, WCD, the Police Officials and the Representatives from Legal Service Authority) Government. The purpose was to evolve a road map on taking further step by both the Governments to implement the Act effectively. In this meeting, CWS presented the various efforts made in AP. The following major recommendations emerged and were  presented to the Government:

 

CWS consolidated the recommendations emerging from various consultations and a memorandum was given to the Minister of Women and Child Welfare. It also organized a press conference and released the press note on the same.  The information kit on DV Act both in English and Telugu was brought out and widely circulated to all stakeholders. CWS continues to provide the information on the efforts that are being taken up by the state government towards the implementation of the Act to the National Secretariat and also take the information from there to the grassroots and other stake holders. While doing so, it also keeps constant vigil that the government and other forces do not attempt to dilute the spirit of the Act in the implementation process. 

 

Allies and Mechanisms used in the Policy Advocacy
 
The major ally is the Andhra Pradesh Women's Network (APWN), which works with grassroots women in 17 districts of the State reaching out to around 2.5 lakh women. The process involved here includes intensive field based activities. The felt need for advocacy on domestic violence against women emerged from this field experience. The other allies at the State level were women's groups, human rights groups, activists, lawyers, women's wings of various political parties, official mechanisms like Women and Child Welfare Department, Legal Services Authority, Crimes Against Women Department of police and media both print and electronic, Women's Commission, Human Rights Commission, etc.
 
At the National level, the CWS collaborated with Action India which houses the National Secretariat for PWDVA and also became a member of Women Power Connect. At South Asia level, the CWS and APWN are the lead players for AP state in ‘We Can End Violence' campaign wherein the major focus is on domestic violence against women.
 
CWS as a lead player for this campaign was not defined or designed in the beginning, but emerged over a period of time to take this agenda forward.

 

Experiences
 
Collaborative work with the groups and individuals is a successful strategy, whereas with the government officials sometimes it is promising and at times it is disappointing. Collaboration with the police department has been productive because of the few sensitive officials in the department and also due to existing collaboration of CWS with the Police Department to establish a Counseling Centre at Women Protection Cell (WPC) for the last three years.
 
The collectiveness and the solidarity extended by various alliances and stakeholders- cooperation from the officials/departments, friendly media, large women's network in the state, many activists and advisors who are part of women's movement in the state and at the national level - provided adequate strength and due recognition to the campaign.
 
The alliances, collaborations and networking with various stakeholders other than APWN were not planned and selective; they were brought on board at appropriate time in the process. Women's groups, activists, media and like-minded organizations were part of the whole VAW and DV Act Campaigns initiated by CWS from the beginning and other allies like government officials, police, State Commissions and judiciary were part of the discussions held at latter stage on the modalities related to implementation of the act and their respective roles in the implementation process.   However the strategic collaboration with government officials and departments yielded expected results.
 
We learned various strategies to convince officials, ministers, police, and judiciary and improved networking at local, state and national level. We also learnt how to build a campaign strategy and sustain the same based on the ground work, field based reality of the selected issue, demand generation from field, make it known at the higher level, develop partnership/ownership of all stake holders, involve relevant people at relevant stage, pooling intellectual ideas, resource pooling, prioritizing them, visualizing the outcome, proper planning, execution, how to review actions, take feedback, re-work plan, implement, ensure flow of information at all levels.
 
The advocacy would be effective if it is based on the foundation of grassroots work and experience. The information flow from grassroots to state and centre and vice versa is also very crucial for a successful campaign. These aspects worked effectively due to the ground level activities of APWN through around 30 women's grassroots organizations. For any policy change or desired law the campaign should emerge from grassroots with the involvement of different stakeholders of larger civil society and have the authentic/scientific information/data. Whereas in the campaign for framing of rules and regulations for effective implementation of the law, the strategic alliance with the State and political parties becomes crucial to create a political will and make them committed to the responsibilities.
  
The response from the State for demands/requests is immediate and good but when it comes into actual implementation, it is time consuming, ineffective and sometimes commitments are not honoured and as a result the efforts get diluted. The response is normally from the sensitive individuals in position of power and this cannot be ensured in the long run due to constraints in the systems/institutions. Sometimes the officials also just leave the entire burden of working out the mechanism to NGOs or individuals and escape from their responsibility.
 
Constraints and Challenges
 
1. All the allies may not support throughout with the process and may be inconsistent; some may join in between and some may drop in between.
2. It is difficult to come to a consensus due to differences of opinions/ideology of different allies and it is a time consuming process to make everyone to understand the issue and agree on the common strategies.
3. Experience and political understanding on the issue of domestic violence as a violation of human rights is very crucial, which was inadequate at times when different stakeholders were brought on a common platform.
4. The allies due to their own prioritized agenda and planned activities/actions were unable to provide adequate time and human resources.
5. The allies due to lack of adequate time and resources not able to share the responsibilities to the extent that was desirable.
6. It is a challenge and skillful job to make everyone agree on common action and strategies and sustain their interest and involvement in the campaign through facilitation of continuous and frequent interactions.
7. Linkages with like minded people, organizations, government officials, police, judiciary, state commissions, networks, activists, other rights based organizations and individuals and media require skills and ability to convince them at all levels.  
8. Adequate support within the organization in terms of programmatic, strategic, financial, emotional, intellectual, personal guidance is essential for the success of any campaign.
9. Documentation of best practices and identification of the gaps is also a challenge.
10. State Commissions do not have adequate decision-making power, though the support is extended. The nodal agency, Women and Child Welfare Department is also at very low level in the hierarchy of power.
11.  Sustainability is a question. It is a challenge and continuous struggle to ensure the proper implementation of the Act throughout in the long run. 

 

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