Domestic violence: Protection officers for women suffering abuse

TWO decades after the enactment of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, the matrimonial home continues to be unsafe for many wives in India. Domestic violence accounted for 24 per cent of the around 25,700 complaints received by the National Commission for Women last year. In a welcome move, the Supreme Court has directed all states and union territories to identify officers in the Department of Women and Child Development at the district and taluka levels and designate them as protection officers. A protection officer is tasked with ensuring the safety and wellbeing of any woman who is subjected to cruelty by her husband or his relatives. It is this officer’s job to inform the aggrieved person about her rights — the law empowers her to file a complaint, avail free legal aid and seek monetary relief.