Domestic Violence Campaign

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The passage of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDV Act) heralded a landmark victory for the women’s movement in India. After a struggle of nearly ten years, the Government of India gave recognition to the need of for a civil law that upholds the state’s responsibility to enter the private domain and protect women and girls in situations of violence in the family. In coalition, the PWDV Act was successfully passed in 2005.

Growing from our grassroots base, in the last five years, our work on violence against women has evolved to include advocacy as the National Secretariat for the Protection of Women from the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDV Act). The Secretariat was also established in view of the need for central coordination to strengthen the movement’s collective bargaining power. We have hosted two national-level conferences including NGOs from 24 states in the campaign.

Now that the Act has passed, we are determined to make it a reality through its timely and effective implementation. Action India is working to ensure that like so many other laws in India, this one is not abused, wrongly interpreted or entirely disregarded. We see a need to strengthen grassroots women’s groups and women’s NGOs to break the silence over domestic violence and create a receptive environment that enables the victims of violence to speak out.

Action India began its advocacy campaign on the PWDV Act nearly five years ago. During a three year, national advocacy campaign to disseminate the contents of the DV Bill, we gathered nearly 2, 50,000 signatures form grassroots women and NGOs in eight states.

We then organized our first National Women’s Conference in February 2006, which brought together representatives from 24 states and was attended by 300 participants.

The second National Women’s Conference, which occurred in February 2007, included participants from 22 states, and was focused on gathering together the relevant stakeholders to focus on implementation of the Act.

Both conferences were successful in bringing delegates face-to-face with government representatives, such as Minister for Women and Child Development, Ms. Renuka Choudhury; Chairperson of the National Commission for Women; and Dr. Sayeeda Hamid from the Planning Commission. The other participants included representatives from UNIFEM, Oxfam and Lawyers Collective, grassroots women including paralegals trained through the Mahila Panchayat Network. (Click here to see more about the Mahila Panchayat Network)

Action India recognizes the need to build a nationwide network of groups working on domestic violence issues that constantly communicates and coordinates in order to implement the Act effectively nationwide. Action India has developed a network of more than 100 people who are sent regular updates on the PWDV Act. We also keep in regular touch with the Ministry for Women and Child Development on status of the rules of the Act.

Zonal Strategy Meetings have been organized in two zones—South Zone which includes Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and East Zone which includes West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa. These meeting allowed us to facilitate discussions between states and visualize ‘road maps’ to direct further action. We aim to make domestic violence a priority issue in the government’s 11^th Five Year Plan.

India Social Forum 2006 Rally

The National Secretariat organized a public rally for domestic violence at the India Social Forum on 10 November, 2006. Around 200 women from the Sabla Sanghs participated in the rally, carrying placards and banners and marching around the ISF grounds. The rally culminated at a workshop convened jointly by Akshara and Lawyers Collective to discuss the PWDV Act.

Stakeholder’s Meeting

At another event on Novemebr 25, 2006, the National Secretariat called a meeting if stakeholders to work collectively with the Delhi State Government. Dr. Kiran Walia, DCW chairperson, and Dr. Rashmi Singh, director of the Department of Central Social Welfare Board, committed their support to the network. Advocate Sanjay Ghose presented the PWDV Act to the grassroots counsellors. Recommendations were forwarded to the concerned government departments.

Action India and the PWDV Act: