NCJ Number
177915
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 5 Issue: 5 Dated: May 1999 Pages: 478-506
Date Published
1999
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This article examines women's experiences with health and legal interventions that address domestic violence, dowry-related violence, and rape in India.
Abstract
Through 105 interviews with police, physicians, lawyers, government officials, caseworkers, and survivors of abuse, this article shows how the institutions developed to address violence against women have effectively normalized domestic abuse and rape by viewing them as social norms rather than violations of women's legal rights. Data were collected during three separate field stays in India, the first lasting 4 months in 1991, the second lasting 1 year during 1992 to 1993, and the third lasting 6 months in 1995. The author's overall conclusion is that the Indian medicolegal system is ill-equipped to address the legal, social, and health care consequences of violence against women. Women's physical and mental health suffer due to the lack of social and institutional support for survivors of gender-based abuse. Indian women are aware that victim-blaming attitudes permeate the legal system and influence the enforcement of the rape and domestic violence laws. As a result, they remain silent about their experiences of abuse. Despite the development of women's organizations, increased media attention to the needs of women in crisis, and an international focus on violence against women in India, the state continues to violate international standards and its own criminal laws designed to protect women. Recommendations outline various strategies to address the weaknesses of the medicolegal system. Recommendations are directed toward the police/legal system, physicians/health care system, and nongovernmental organizations. 19 notes and 19 references