Conflict in the Shared Household

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The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA) was enacted following a concerted campaign by the Indian women’s movement. The Lawyers Collective authored the law in consultation with women’s groups from across the country. Contributors to this volume address critical and hitherto less addressed areas pertaining to domestic violence and the law in India. The volume is divided into three parts. Part I includes chapters that cover the nature of structural inequality that perpetuates and condones domestic violence as a lesser ‘wrong’ or ‘crime’ and present the historical background to the fight against domestic violence in India, focusing on legislative developments. Part II presents essays around critical issues such as ‘right to residence’, marital rape, rights of cohabitees or ‘relationship in the nature of marriage’, secular nature of the PWDVA and its harmonious existence with personal law and criminal law. Analyses in this section reflect international standards in addressing domestic violence and present in-depth debates. Research studies in Part III engage with the expectations from the PWDVA and its enforcement through analysis of court orders that indicate the nature of relief sought by women, forms of domestic violence complained against, orders passed by courts and the multiagency response system created under the PWDVA, indicating the nature of services available to the domestic violence survivors. Areas where the PWDVA has been successful in providing protection and relief from domestic violence have been presented alongside challenges yet to be overcome, such as response mechanisms and budgetary constraints in its implementation.