Why Women Can't 'Stay Home, Stay Safe': Domestic Violence in the Times of Lockdown

Abstract

‘Stay home stay safe’ has become the enduring slogan of the lockdown the world over. In this new world, where each interaction with a stranger and each contact with an unfamiliar surface is to be avoided at all costs, the home has acquired the status of being the safest place to be. Some have gone as far as likening the boundaries of one’s home with the 'Lakshman Rekha', drawing a parallel with the safety that was promised to Sita if only she had not transgressed that line. Ironically, the assumption that the home is a safe haven for all does the most disservice to women, as it ignores the reality of unequal gender relations within the home and its consequences.

This essay argues that while no one can deny that it is necessary to practice social distancing in times like this, the narrative that staying home necessarily means staying safe is simply false. The lockdown has locked the victims in with their abusers, and resulted in an increase in domestic violence due to a multiplicity of factors, as demonstrated by the data. It has also resulted in mental, emotional and verbal abuse. This is especially problematic in the face of apathy from government institutions such as the police and courts.

The effects or the success of the lockdown cannot be determined without adopting an intersectional gender lens. Even if it serves to drastically contain the spread of Covid-19, it is only a half measure in so far as it has amplified one problem at the cost of solving another. As is often the case, the problem lies not with the policy (of lockdown), but with the policymaker – and a policymaker who cannot account for the realities of gender relations at home will no doubt fail to ensure measures that can make the policy a real success.

Keywords: Indian law, domestic violence, women's rights, COVID-19, lockdown