COVID – 19 and Surge in Domestic Violence Cases

Lockdown and quarantine became the most used words in the first half of 2020. The deadly virus from the virus called as coronavirus brought the entire world to surrender. The outbreak started in China and spread like wildfire across the world. The international community and several state governments declared lockdown as the only measure to tackle coronavirus during the initial days of its mass outbreak. As a result of which, various international and all national means of transport were banned and countries went into strict lockdown. While, one might wonder that economic loss and breakdown of the world’s financial stability would be the only the major problems arising due to lockdown, it wasn’t the case. It is true that coronavirus has pushed the world into almost a recession like period but the worst consequence of the lockdown emerged in the face of increased violence towards women. Safety of women forms the most basic tenant of human rights principles and one can only think about economics and developments when the basic foundations of our society is well rooted in gender sensitive values. However, the microorganism in the form of Coronavirus has showed us the ugly truth of the 20th century where women are the unsafe inside their own home. It is so ironical to breathe in a society where in one part of the world, a woman is leading her nation, and in another part of the world, an another women is facing the wrath of toxic masculinity and oppression. Women are locked inside their home with their abusers and they were left without an escape during the lockdown period. This article attempts to analyse the relationship between coronavirus and the increased cases of domestic violence against women. The article highlights how several countries and Indian States are tackling this issue of domestic violence during lockdown. Finally, the article provides a gist of laws available in India for the protection of women against domestic violence and recommends changes in the realm of criminal law to make the laws more effective.