Drafting of bill for protection of men from intimate partner voilence is near completion

About INSAAF: “Indian Social Awareness and Activism Forum” INSAAF  is an international think tank specializing in social and gender research. Consisting entirely of intelligentsia possessing vast collective expertise in advancing social reform , legislative consultation and advisory research this Non Governmental Organization (NGO) has branches both the United States and in India. INSAAF has been invited to depose in the Rajya Sabha , Lok Sabha over 7 times on various issues India  like Prevention of Torture bill , Civil Nuclear Liability Bill , Lokpal bill , Marraige Law amendment bill , Sexual harrasment at workplace bill amongst many others. INSAAF has also actively worked in the United States Senate and House for various issues affecting Indian immigrants . We have acted as trusted advisers on national and international research studies  and have provided very credible data and unbiased factual research on various legislative issues both at the state and national level both in US and in India. We have  100's of active contributing research experts all over the world supplying us with their valuable opinion and peer reviewed research.

INSAAF has been retained by prominent Indian men's rights organisations along with  some key Members of parliament for drafting a Intimate Terror (Domestic Violence) act which specifically caters to protecting men and boys from domestic violence from their spouse , girlfriends and parents. It has been alleged that Husbands and boyfriends in Indian are specifically excluded from protected under domestic violence laws in India. Research has also shown that there have been significant demand from all quarters for creation of laws to protect men from intimate terror but all these requests have so far not led to to formulation of an actual law which is believed to have caused due to unavailability of a government forum to consider the safety and security of Indian men in general.

Preliminary Study results from INSAAF's study of Intimate Terror in India

INSAAF's researchers have collated vast amount of peer reviewed data and evidence from personal interviews of male victims, court case records , statements made by honorable courts and media articles and has determined that domestic violence abuse of Indian males falls across a wide range of categories namely

a. Physical abuse : Husbands and Male partners have presented serious evidence of been  scratched , punched , bit , things thrown at them by their female partners apart from attacks with deadly instruments. In the absence of a legal system to protect men from physical violence  these victims get little or no medical care or attention and are even unable to speak of their physical wounds due to the unavailability of a law to protect them from abuse.

b. Emotional abuse :  Demands to forcefully separate the husband from his parents and family , demand for separate residence, threat of Police action and legal recourse if the wife's demands are not met were  some of the commonly seen tactics of emotional abuse. Also , constant non-cooperation of the wife or the female partner in the smooth running of a family was another commonly seen tactic which was used to abuse husbands in case of non fulfillment of the demands of the wife.

c. Verbal abuse : Calling husbands and male partners derogatory names with an intent to demean and hurt. Names like "impotent" , "Spineless" , "Hijra(Eunuch)" have most commonly come up and were verbal abuses that were levelled against Husbands and male partners with an intent to cause pain and ignominy. Many husbands provided evidence of suffering of such verbal abuse for decades primarily due to their specific inability to earn an income as per the demands of their spouses.    

d. Legal abuse : The acts of misusing the state machinery by the wife or female partner for intent of coercing the husband or the male partner to abide by their demands. Common amongst these are misuse of IPC 498a , DV act 2005 , Rape/Molestation Laws , Denying Child custody on event of separation and Maintenance laws.

e. Economic abuse :- Constant irrational demands on the husband for purchase of jewelery , real estate , expensive clothing , automobiles , restaurant hospitality, feminine beauty products and demands for payments to family members of the wife's family was evidenced .When the husband or the male partner was unable to meet the financial demands of the female partner they were subjected to further emotional and physical abuse. A lot of data spoke of  severe economic abuse and daily non co-operatory tactics to force the man to increase his income beyond his normal means and capability. Inability of the man to earn more led to further domestic abuse and which in many cases led to legal and physical violence and an eventual divorce.


f. Sexual abuse: Using consensual physical relations to coerce a man for either financial payments and/or forced marriage . Threatening to file cases of rape and molestation after consensual physical relations. Forcing men to start families against their will and denying physical relation in a matrimonial relation if to irrational and unreasonable demands are not fulfilled.

INSAAF's study has also has taken into account the scale and propensity of abuse of husbands and males partners in India and compared that to worldwide abuse numbers . We have concluded that in in more than 50% of cases wives and females also initiated fights which led to intimate terror attacks on their male partners. The bill is going through its final touches  and  will be presented for consideration during the winter session of the parliament.

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Now, a bill to safeguard men to be discussed in RS - Rediff.com ...