Lockdown takes toll on women's safety, rise in domestic violence since March

Panaji: Violence against women has seen a spurt during the lockdown and Goa is no different. Sakhi, the one-stop centre at Bambolim that supports women affected by violence, has registered 26 cases since March and not only are most of the cases of domestic violence , but the numbers are also higher than what the centre sees normally.

Once the lockdown lifts, Sakhi expects a further spike in these cases.

“There have been more cases of domestic violence reported during the lockdown than other types of cases,” Sakhi coordinator Emidio Pinho said.

Of 26 cases, eight pertained to sexual offences.

Pinho said women facing domestic violence are unable to reach out for help with the lockdown in place and continue to live with the perpetrators of violence. If not all, some will seek help post lockdown, he said.“We expect more cases to be reported after the lockdown is lifted,” Pinho said.

One of the cases of domestic violence involved an attempt to murder by the husband and the case was registered at Mapusa police station. The husband used a ‘paal koita’ — a type of sharp knife — to assault his wife. The woman almost lost her hand.

All the cases of domestic violence are not necessarily that of wife beating, sometimes other male members of the household also assault the woman or women in the family.

One case handled by Sakhi dealt with an aggressive husband. The familial dispute assumed drastic proportions due to communication issues between the husband and wife leading to a vitiated home atmosphere and a feeling of terror among family members. In desperation, the wife attempted suicide. However, timely intervention by Sakhi helped avert the tragedy, Pinho said.

The family was counselled and every attempt was made to help so that the teenage children were not affected, he said.

Among the sexual assault cases that Sakhi has handled since March 24 is one that saw a teenager being assaulted by a neighbour. The case was discovered after the 14-year-old girl was found to be more than 20 weeks pregnant. The pregnancy could not be terminated.

“She delivered a baby, but it died immediately,” Pinho said. The girl was counselled after the incident and the accused, who is married and has children, was arrested.