THE GENDERED CONTAGION: 
               PERSPECTIVES ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 
                                          DURING COVID-19
                                Gender, Human Rights and Law 
                                                     Volume - 7
                                                         Editors
                                              Sarasu Esther Thomas
                                                     Indira Jaising
                                                   Akshat Agarwal
                                                     Manisha Arya
                                                   Prannv Dhawan
                                                     Vani Sharma
                                                     Published by:
                                      Centre for Women and the Law
                                 National Law School of India University
                                       Nagarbhavi, Bangalore-560 242
                                                           India
              The Gendered Contagion : Perspectives on Domestic Violence During Covid - 19                     i
              Published by:
              Centre for Women and the Law
              National Law School of India University
              Nagarbhavi, Bangalore-560 242
              India
              The Leafl et
              C-68, II FLOOR, HARSHA ROAD
              A-13, Nizamddin East
              New Delhi – 110013
              The Law and Society Committee
              National Law School of India University
              Nagarbhavi, Bangalore- 560 242
              Year of Publication: 2020
              © The copyright vests with the publisher
              ISBN: 978-81-948677-5-3
              Price:  ` 250/-
              Printed at:
              National Printing Press, Bangalore
              The Gendered Contagion : Perspectives on Domestic Violence During Covid - 19                     ii
                  Contents
                Foreword ..........................................................................................................  vii
                Preface ..............................................................................................................  xi
                Note from the Editors .....................................................................................  xix
                About the Editors ............................................................................................  xxvi
                Notes on Contributors ....................................................................................  xxix
                1.  THE SHADOW PANDEMIC .......................................................................  1
                    1.1     Transcript of Panel Discussion ‘The Shadow Pandemic: 
                            The Challenge of Domestic Violence  ............................................  3
                    1.2     Stay Home Stay Unsafe: The Violent Fallout of A Gender-
                            Blind COVID-19 Response ...............................................................  25
                    1.3     How the Coronavirus Pandemic Disrupted Children’s Lives .... 34
                    1.4     Muslim Women and The Silent Pandemic: of Relief, 
                            Domestic Violence, and Advocacy During Covid – 
                            An Interview with Zakia Soman, Founding Member, 
                            Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan .................................................  41
                    1.5     Call for Safe Space: Intersectional Experiences 
                            of Minority Women facing Domestic Violence 
                            during Coronavirus Pandemic in India .........................................  48
                    1.6     The Dalit Woman and the Pandemic: Exploring 
                            Domestic Violence from an Intersectional Perspective .............. 58
                    1.7     Tracing the intersectional silence on understanding and 
                            addressing the violence in the lives of disabled women ............. 69
                    1.8     The Urgency of Treating Domestic Violence as a 
                            Healthcare Issue ...............................................................................  75
                The Gendered Contagion : Perspectives on Domestic Violence During Covid - 19                                  iii
               2.    The Dysfunctional State Protection  .....................................................  
                   2.1    Implementation of the Protection of Women from 
                          Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005 during Lockdown .......... 91
                   2.2    Why women can’t ‘stay home, stay safe’: 
                          Domestic violence in the times of Lockdown ...............................  99
                   2.3    “STAY HOME, STAY SAFE?” In Lockdown with the Abuser ........ 107
                   2.4    Interplay between Domestic Violence Law and 
                          Laws Protecting Senior Citizens ....................................................  117
                   2.5    Moving Mountains, Moving Machinery: Documenting 
                          Experiences of AALI during Pandemic – 
                          An Interview with Renu Mishra and Shubhangi  .........................  123
                   2.6    In Conversation with Prof. (Dr.) Asha Bajpai: Child Rights 
                          in Abusive Households during COVID 19: A Blindspot ................ 136
                   2.7 Annexure  ...........................................................................................  148
                   2.8    Caste, Domestic Violence and the Pandemic- 
                          Interview with Kiruba Munusamy ..................................................  151
                   2.9    Covid-19 crisis - No Lockdown for Domestic Violence: 
                          Analyzing The Aichls V. Uoi Judgement. ........................................  158
                   2.10  The ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’ Paradox ...............................................  166
                   2.11  Analyzing the Utility of Domestic Violence Laws in 
                          Light of the Pandemic ......................................................................  175
                   2.12  Domestic Violence within Tribal Community: 
                          Challenges and Possible Remedies in the wake of COVID 19 ..... 183
               3.    QUEER VULNERABILITIES ....................................................................  193
                   3.1    No Lockdown on Domestic and Community Violence 
                          against Queer People during Coronavirus Pandemic ................. 195
                   3.2    The Blind Spot in our Domestic Violence Legislation: 
                          Analysing the Exclusion of Sexual and Gender Minorities ........ 203
               The Gendered Contagion : Perspectives on Domestic Violence During Covid - 19                             iv