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Thursday, Jul 17, 2008
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Survey: awareness lacking on Domestic Violence Act

Aarti Dhar

Wide variation in number of cases registered in various States

Highest number of cases registered from Rajasthan
Campaign to popularise the Act and role of authorities

NEW DELHI: The first monitoring and evaluation report on the implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) 2005 has shown that 7,913 cases have been registered under the Act, with the highest number reported from Rajasthan (3,440) where neither protection officers have been appointed so far nor any infrastructure is in place.

This is followed by Kerala, where 1,028 cases have been registered under the Act, according to Lawyer’s Collective Women’s Rights Initiative. No official information was received from Uttar Pradesh, though Lawyer’s data shows that over 150 cases have been filed there. Less than 50 cases have been filed in 10 States — Assam, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Orissa, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, and West Bengal. No cases have been filed in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.

One of the reasons for this wide variation could be attributed to the level of awareness on this law in each State, according to Ranjana Kumari, president, WomenPowerConnect and Centre for Social Research. It appears there are divergent ways in which the Act is being implemented and this is partly due to the kind of infrastructure put in place as well as the manner in which the Act is being interpreted, she said.

In order to create better understanding of the law and the related legal procedures among women and law enforcement agencies, the Centre for Social Research and WomenPowerConnect will run an awareness campaign across the country.

Meetings

Consultative meetings will be held jointly with stakeholders in five selected cities to discuss a wide range of issues in terms of the roles and responsibilities of the authorities notified under the Act as well as the provisions for victims of violence.

The first consultation will be held in Patna on August 6.

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