Introduction:
It is always seen that women suffer from mental torture, rape, dowry demand, ritualistic abuse or domestic violence, etc. from men and their family members. Media, criminal laws, social activists all talk about women’s rights and safety.
But no one thinks that men can be victims too. Societal norms where the man always had a strong image, rarely accepted as a victim because Indian law is not strong enough to protect a man.The Media is the second preacher of women and widely covers the case of crime against women like rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, etc. These are the reasons why men are compelled to remain silent.
Domestic Violence:
When we talk about an age-old issue, i.e., Domestic Violence, a picture of sorrow, anxiety and pain comes into To understand the concept of domestic violence, we must go through with the definition of domestic violence.
Section 3 of Protection of Women from domestic Violence Act, 2005, defines domestic violence as any type of physical, sexual or verbal abuse which creates harm or injury or endangers the life of a person. It includes mental torture of an aggrieved person intending to coerce or any related person by any unlawful demand or any other kind of demand and it includes any kind of mental or physical effect by the threatened person.
Why do men tolerate Domestic Violence?
- Fake Cases: There are cases where the balance of convenience under the laws lies in favor of women and we have seen women use laws with malafide intentions, tortures men and their family members by filing fake cases. The biggest fear of men is to lose their family, career and reputation by false allegations.
- Gender Biased Laws: In India, there are women-centric, gender-biased laws where women command the dominant position under law against men. Men have to fear fighting and struggle with these gender-biased laws. Men also think that women have the upper hand in courtrooms, so they choose to remain silent.
- Fear of Ashamed and Social stigma: In the Hindi language there is one phrase “Mard ko dard nahi hota” and “Ladka ho kar rota he”, in our male-dominant country, men follow these phrases blindly and if men are beaten by women, they feel ashamed in front of others.
- Society Pressure: In patriarchal Indian societal norms, people always think that men are more powerful than women whether it is financially, physically or mentally. People think that men can defend them on their own. So no one bothers about their safety.
Cases where men are the victims :
The Supreme Court of India had decided that the coercion or forcing the husband to leave his parents (who are dependent on his income) amounts to cruelty on part of the wife, therefore can be a strong ground for divorce under Hindu Law.
In this case, there were false allegations made by the wife against the husband. The court held that this amounts to mental cruelty and can be a ground for divorce.
The need to address the issue:
In India, where crimes against women are rampant, a female activist and documentary filmmaker stand out for being a rare voice for abused men.
In a climate like that, 31-year-old Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj knows she sticks out likes a sore thumb, but she has some questions that are reasonable enough: “Are men not vulnerable? Do they not face discrimination? Can they not be victims?”
And she goes on to add: “Just as you don’t have to be a woman to fight for women, similarly, you don’t have to be a man to fight for men. I don’t talk about atrocities against women because there are millions who are talking about it.”
Her fight at the moment is against the misuse of Section 498A of the Indian penal code, which is a tough anti-dowry law.
Supreme Court lawyer, Mr.Ram Prakash Chugh started the ‘Men’s Right Movement’ in 1988, Delhi, India. He intended to seek the attention of the public regarding how men were badly treated by their wives in cases of dowry harassment.
Impact of education and professional life:
In Indian society where men always hold a strong image, abuse by women is a harsh reality. At a present time where gender equality is the most important factor among all new generations. Women are equally and highly educated than husbands, working & earning equally in different areas on a higher position. Similarly, women have responsibilities of the house and kids as well. The self-direction of women, extra pressure and mismanagement of professional and personal life make women irritable and angry.
Conclusion:
Violence against men is nothing new, but the difference is that nowadays men have started disclosing their state of mind. Now, this is a time to raise the voice of men against harassment and domestic violence by women. It is the obligation of lawmakers and social activists to provide more protection to men and save them from false allegations. The appropriate laws and strategies, helpline number, men’s rights protection organizations should be included against the false cases of rape, dowry and sexual harassment. It is also a duty of men to raise their voice against the crime whether it is at home or the workplace.
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