Let’s lock down domestic violence

Due to lockdown, domestic violence is on the rise around the world. Celebrities have come together requesting people to raise their voice against it

In the past one week, Urmila Salunke, who works as a program officer at Akshara Centre, a not-for-profit women’s organisation, has received four cases of domestic violence. She says, three of these cases are from Mumbai, and one from Bangalore. “One of them who I spoke to was a lady in her 40’s, she told me that her husband is having an affair and now that he is spending most of his time at home, he is often quite irritable. He even beat her up,” informs Salunke.

Virat Kohli in a still from the video he uploaded (Photos: Instagram)

Rahul Bose urges people to step up

“The National Commission for Women record shows up to 257 cases in the first week of April. Urging people to raise their voices against this brutality, Akshara Centre along with Special Cell for Women and Children, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) have come together to create awareness about this situation with a video in English, Hindi, and Marathi. The video is titled #LockdownOnDomesticViolence. This increase in domestic violence during lockdowns is not just an Indian phenomenon. It is being reported all over the world. We know that containment measures and quarantine are essential to overcome COVID-19 but we cannot have women entrapped in violent homes where even making a phone call has become difficult,” explains Salunke.

Urmila Salunke says domestic violence during lockdown is not just an Indian phenomenon. It is being reported all over the world.

According to Salunke, sportspersons and actors have the ability to reach out to more people. Though she says, so far, the chief minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray posting about the campaign on social media has “been very impactful”.

Dia Mirza

Others who are associated with the campaign include Ajinkya Rahane, Anushka Sharma, Dia Mirza, Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Mithali Raj, Nandita Das, Rahul Bose, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Vidya Balan, Virat Kohli, and more. Talking about the initiative, Rahul Bose, says, “From my first-hand experiences from the 2004 Tsunami to the times of this current crisis, it is a devastating fact that calamities, natural or manmade, hit women hardest. During this lockdown period incidences of domestic violence against women have spiked alarmingly. I am glad to be associated with #LockdownOnDomesticViolence.”