Question : Domestic Violence Act- 2005

(a) whether the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 are not being enforced effectively in the country;
(b) if so, the details of the action taken by the Government to ensure proper enforcement of the said Act;
(c) whether there is an urgent need to appoint more Protection Officers and to make their details public to ensure enforcement of the court’s orders and if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether the Government has issued directions to take necessary action in this regard and if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the number of cases of domestic violence registered/reported during the last four years along with the action taken by the Government thereto?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR)

(a) to (d) : The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 which came into effect in October 2006 aims to provide protection and support to victims of domestic violence. The Act obligates the protection officer to provide immediate protection through police and other relief to aggrieved women through service providers. As informed by the State Governments/UT Administration, all State Governments have appointed Protection Officers. Recently, all State Governments/UT Administration have been requested to allocate separate budget for smooth functioning of Protection Officers (PO), providing support to survivors, training capacity building of Police, Judiciary, Medical Officer, service providers and for creating mass awareness around the Act. The Ministry has also requested to provide Form IV in local languages so that aggrieved women understand their rights in a simplified manner.

All the State Governments/UT Administrations are responsible for implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. However, the Government of India emphasised upon the need to impart training to First Class Judicial Magistrates/Metropolitan Magistrates to deal with cases under Domestic violence Act through National/State Judicial Academies.

(e) As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total number of 426 cases in 2014, 461 cases in 2015 and 437 cases in 2016 were registered under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.