In a candid interview with Herald, Adv Vidya Shet Tanawade, chairperson of Goa State Women’s Commission highlights the various cases related to domestic violence. Here is the excerpt of the interview
HERALD: What are the kinds of complaints that you mostly come across?
Tanawade: Cases related to domestic violence are reported in large number. This involves harassment by mother-in-law, sister-in-law and husband. This is followed by property issue involving wife or sister or sometime neighbours. In the recent past, there have been rise in number of cases filed by men against women; and are genuine cases.
HERALD: When you talk of domestic violence, what do you feel? Are these cases on the rise? And whether the victims in such cases are mostly from poor families…uneducated or from well-to-do society?
Tanawade: The domestic violence cases are on rise. As per our data, there is 15 percent rise in such cases every year. This figure is about those, which are reported but there are hundreds of cases which go unreported due to fear, lack of support from parents or family or fear of society, etc. This is a serious cause for concern.
In Goa, the victims of domestic violence are basically educated and working class women. Being educated, women want to be independent and this constitutes the conflict of interest. And surprisingly both- husband and wife don’t want to compromise or understand each other. The final conclusion is divorce.
Also it has been noticed that the crime shows telecast on the TV have a wide impact. We have seen cases, where the accused has confessed of committing the crime watching a particular TV serial.
HERALD: Is dowry one of the reasons for domestic violence?
Tanawade: I would say no. Not in Goa at least. But yes, the dowry issue is used by many women to file fake cases against their in-laws and husband. As we all know Indian laws are more sensitive towards women and the same are being misused by women to file fake cases. We have come across several such cases in the past and even today. The laws are made to protect women but one should not misuse them.
HERALD: Madam, you said that there is rise in men filing complaints against women, in the recent past. Can you elaborate?
Tanawade: We have been receiving several complaints were men are victims and women and her parents are the accused. The most common complaints are that their wives have no time for them and children and also late night chatting on phone via WhatsApp or Facebook. There are also complaints of wives harassing husbands and their parents over property or other issues.
Women falling prey to cyber crimes
Three cases of women being duped of their money via social media sites and internet have been registered in the last year.
However, not much has happened in the investigation.
Several cases have gone unregistered due to the pressure and fear women have been facing from their families and the society.
There have been instances wherein the police too have hung their boots in investigating these cases. A victim once told Herald that the police’s apathy to investigate these cyber crimes sends out a message that there is hardly anyone to nab those who consider women to be gullible.
All these 3 cases are yet to see the light of the day. The Goa Police have a cyber cell but no expertise to provide relief to the victim.
