Under this Act, domestic violence assumes a broader meaning ranging from “verbal abuse to taunts for not bearing a male child or bringing dowry, not been allowed to work or study to marital rape”. The Act, it is hoped, would empower women to report acts of violence suffered at the hands of family members.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, nearly 70 per cent married women in the age group of 15 to 49 years in India face “rape, beating and verbal abuse”. Under the new Act, the men booked under the law would face a minimum one-year jail term or a fine of Rs 20,000. However, he could be booked under different sections of CrPC for different acts of violence.

The law focuses on married women or those who are in a live-in relationship, but also gives similar protection to sisters, mothers and even daughters within a family.

Learning from the experience of other social legislations like Dowry Prohibition Act, the Act specifies that a full-time “protection officer” would book cases. In earlier legislations, district-level government authorities were given extra charge as enforcement officers, leading to delayed disposal of cases.

To make the law user-friendly, the rules notified recently have it that the complainant would be asked to fill in a formatted complaint in front of the protection officer.

Even relatives, friends and NGOs can file complaints on behalf of the women.

Another highlight of new law is the appointment of “counsellors” to help the litigating parties.

The women have the option of lodging an FIR and not pursuing it after counseling. There are also options like compulsory medical attention, right to stay in the home where she faced abuse, protection, temporary shelter etc.

However, some sections have criticised the Act for “treating married and live-in couples” at par.