By IANS,
New Delhi : Lack of resources was a major hindrance in the effective implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, according to an NGO.
Centre for Social Research, an NGO, conducted a series of regional consultations to create awareness about the law.
The NGO said lack of resources for training of service providers and protection officers was the main challenge in implementing the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA).
“While there is an increasing awareness of the legislation, there are several obstacles in its implementation,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research.
“The successful functioning of the act includes well trained protection officers, medical and shelter facilities for aggrieved women, free and accessible legal aid, and well trained police and service providers, which is not possible with low resources,” Kumari said.
The consultations were held in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh and it was found that government officials have been given additional duties of protection officers.
As a consequence, according to the NGO, they faced lack of time, infrastructure, legal training and awareness to effectively disseminate their main function.
“In the consultations it was also found that though the act provides for medical facility or shelter homes, in reality there is a dearth of state sponsored facilities meeting the medical and shelter needs of aggrieved women.
“The foremost need is the allocation of designated money by the Planning Commission for setting up the civil infrastructure for implementing the act,” Kumari added.
Insensitivity on part of the police while registering cases and alleged corruption of police department was also highlighted.