Bhawna Gandhi, Advocate, Delhi High Court
ABSTRACT
We live in a sad reality where violence against women is common, is known to even a small child. It is unfortunately extremely rampant in the reality known to us. It is pervasive; we hear about it, we even see it sometimes. It happens in every country. We tend to believe it is witnessed in situations of conflict or crisis but sadly it is part of our everyday reality, it happens in contexts we like to call “peaceful”, and astonishingly in both public and private spaces. We discuss it in figures, discuss it as an obvious part of our lives. We make agendas, there are women helplines, the United Nations has specific high-level discussions discussing this area of concern but unfortunately, we are unable to eradicate, to uproot this evil that has carved a home in our world. Gender-based violence is very common, many have written about it, some of us have experienced it even. For the purposes of this study, the definition of violence against women developed by the United Nations in the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women is used. It is a comprehensive description, outlining that: the term "violence against women" means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
