Friday, September 06, 2013

State of impunity


Discriminatory attitudes and lack of sensitisation to the dynamics of crimes involving sexual or domestic violence leave victims without critical police aid or redress to which they are entitled.ix The police attitude that domestic violence is primarily of a private nature is the most unfortunate trivialisation of a grave social evil, that too, when the police are empowered to arrest the perpetrator without any warrant.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, was enacted to augment women‟s immediate protection from violence through emergency relief, including access to temporary protection order and domestic violence shelters.
In reality, the situation, however, depicts a complete reversal. The lawyers and activists say that due to poor implementation of the law, women facing imminent and life threatening violence remains hostage to police attitude. This attitude of the police perhaps stems from its traditional legacy of „rule of lords‟, the same as its colonial masters. This is the common bond between the police and the feudal lords in India, which do not believe in the concept of welfare state.

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