The Hindu : National : Domestic Violence Bill will be passed soon: Minister

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Tuesday, Oct 12, 2004

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National

Domestic Violence Bill will be passed soon: Minister

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 11. The Union Law Minister, H.R. Bhardwaj, today said the long-pending Domestic Violence Bill would be passed as soon as possible.

Inaugurating a national workshop on "Violence Against Women: A Health Sector Perspective" here today, Mr. Bhardwaj said the Government was in the process of consulting experts on the draft Bill. "The Bill is with the Ministry and will be enacted as soon as possible," he said.

Legal experts and women's groups were being consulted on how to make the Bill accessible to women belonging to any social or economic group. "The law should create a mechanism under which women in any part of the country and belonging to any social or economic group can get legal recourse," he said.

Recognising that violence against women was a public health concern, a resolution adopted at the end of the workshop said that violence had severe health implications — including unwanted pregnancies, miscarriages, low birth weight babies and sexually transmitted infections especially HIV/AIDS. It noted that domestic violence was an obstacle to ensuring women's dignity and human rights.

Addressing violence against women required a multi-sectoral approach in which the health care system had an important role, the resolution said.A health care provider helps survivors of violence by identifying, treating and referring them for psychosocial support Violence against women existed in every country, cutting across culture, class, caste, education, income, ethnicity and age.

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