Sanyukta Dev, 35, who had been living with her parents after being fed up with the physical and mental torture inflicted by her in-laws, returned to her own home at Diman in Saptari district in January after police mediated a reconciliation with her in-laws. [break]
However, she was killed in a fire incident two months later, and her parents claimed that it was premeditated murder by her in-laws in collusion with her husband, because she could meet the dowry demand.
Samyukta´s family complained that they lost their daughter because of community-based reconciliation. “She would have been living still had she not returned to her in-laws, putting her faith in reconciliation,” Ramananda Dev, Samyukta´s brother, said.
Samyukta´s is just a representative case of women falling prey again after coming to terms with GBV perpetrators through community mediation centers (CMC) or police-meditated settlements at the community level. Despite such a record of community settlement of GBV, the authorities concerned and police are overlooking the issue.
As per records kept at Siraha District Police Office, around 98 percent of GBV cases are settle in the community itself instead of a legal solution being sought.
Community mediation is done with the involvement of the leaders of political parties, civil society, rights activists and social workers.
In most cases, arbiters exert unnecessary pressure on the victims to come to terms with the perpetrators. Out of 36 cases of gender based domestic violence registered at the district police office last year, 33 were settled right at the community level.
According to Saptari police chief, SP Sanjaya Singh Basnet, GBV cases are settled through facilitation by the Women and Children´s Cell, bringing both parties in one place. SP Basnet was of the opinion that such settlements aim to mitigate conflict.
However, some rights activists state otherwise. They claim that most such community-based settlements are forced through political pressure. Conversely, such practices have only intensified GVB cases in Saptari.
“Community-based reconciliation is the best remedy for domestic violence. However, the motives behind reconciliation and the possible effect on the women and children should be measured beforehand and the reconciliation should be in good faith,” said Abhasetu Singh, a women´s rights activist.
“It is a positive step to resolve domestic violence with reconciliation. But, women and children should not be left as soft targets vulnerable to such violence after settling their cases under political pressure,” she added, underscoring the need for improvements in the community settlement of GBV cases.
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