A distraught Vasanthi walked out of her home with only the clothes that she was wearing. She walked 5 km to the next village, travelled halfway with an unknown person, from where her parents took her home in an autorickshaw. She had been physically abused and thrown out of her house by her husband and her in-laws. They refused to allow her to taker her eight month-old child. On reaching her natal home in Siddhpur, seven hours later, she called up the 181 women’s helpline. Her plea for help drew a blank as 181 counselors expressed her limitation and said we do not help with child custody as that requires a court order. We can only help with counseling and reconciliation. The counselor however connected her with the Patan district police station, who responded by saying that if she could travel from Banaskantha to Siddhpur during the lockdown, why could she not do a complaint with the police station in Banas Kantha. They advised that since the incident has occurred in Banaskantha, the complaint should be lodged in a police station there. And if she could bring a court order, then they could help in getting child custody. After this, the 181 counselors disconnected the call.
Vasanti approached the SWATI counselor in Siddhpur general hospital the next day accompanied by her grandmother. She had breast engorgement as she had not been able to feed her baby. The counselor got her condition treated at the hospital and then set into motion the process of getting a court order. Not an easy process as courts were closed during the lockdown and a system of E-Filing of cases has been initiated at the district level court The counselor contacted the lawyer at the E-Sewa Kendra for help and also registered a case with One-Stop Crisis (OSC) Center, in Patan for the facilitation of a court order.
The next day the counsellor at the siddhpur cell, Vasanti and her mother, travelled to the border of Banaskantha in a private vehicle. After reaching there they called the 181 service for Banaskantha. On way the 181 counselors advised Vasanti’s mother why she was breaking her daughters home. Instead of getting custody of the child she should help patch things for her daughter.
Case Study reported by: SWATI Team
Location: Gujarat
Gender Based Violence: The Shadow Pandemic Unleashed During COVID19
The Virus affects indiscriminately but is having starkly different effects on different groups of people. Gender disparity and violence are an entrenched part of our daily life and cannot be rooted out during the pandemic. But this cannot be the reason for us to set it aside while we “fix” the pandemic. The lockdown is essential and necessary. But it need not be gender-neutral. It need not worsen our lopsided balance of household work, and domestic violence further.
