Slapped, abused and physically hurt? Smriti Irani has few suggestions, check here

The chilling murder of Shraddha Walker by her live-in partner in Delhi has forced all of us to think all over again about the mental and physical abuse a woman/girl goes through if she ends up with a violent and abusive partner.

Union women and child development and minority affairs minister Smriti Irani recently stressed upon urgent need to speak and come out in open about intimate partner violence and that a dialogue or a discussion on the subject is essential.

“Nobody chops a woman in the heat of the moment, and nobody continues to physically hurt a woman whom he loves or is in a relationship with,” Smriti Irani said during a conversation in a fireside chat session at the Times Now Summit on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a 2017 study by the National Institutes of Health in Malaysia concluded that financial independence and constant support from parents, friends and relatives help women cope with such violence from their partners. Hence, they intend to end their abusive marriage.

“The fact that the abuse was consistent and so many people were aware of it, but the reality was that there was not much she could get in terms of help, which is a major issue that needs to be elaborately discussed and must be looked closely by people at large because intimate partner violence by family members of a woman is something that has been aggressively reporter by National Crime Records Bureau,” Irani added.

According to National Family Health Survey 5, as many as 30 per cent of women between 18 and 49 years in India have experienced spouse violence, including physical and sexual violence.

The Union Minister further highlighted a significant point by stating that mental fear is such that one will not take the step if he or she is left alone in an open room.

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“It is straightforward to suggest to a woman that leaves the abusive partner, but someone who has in-depth knowledge on the subject and has studied the psychology and cycle of such violence will only understand that the mental fear is such that you can leave a woman in an open room she will not move a step,” Irani concluded.

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