Sarita Shahi (name changed) filed a case of domestic violence against her husband three years ago. After making rounds of court for more than a year, her husband was found guilty of physically assaulting her.

Her joy, however, was short lived. To her utter dismay, her husband was freed on bail. “He became more violent after he returned home. He made it impossible for me to stay under the same roof with him,” said Shahi, 30, who has been living separately with her two children for the last seven months.

Shahi’s case represents the plight of victims of domestic violence suffering due to a weak law.

Domestic violence is a serious problem in Nepal where women from all castes and ages suffer mental, verbal and physical abuses. According to the government’s recent economic survey, 10,193 women came forward to seek legal service for domestic violence at the 17 service centres established by the state. As many as 8,893 of the cases were solved.

Similarly, 256 cases of domestic violence were registered with the National Women Commission (NWC) last fiscal year. Of them, 118 cases were solved.

Legal eagles claim that the lengthy procedure and minor penalty make women seeking legal help vulnerable to more violence. 

“There are many women who have opted not to seek legal remedy after learning about the punishment provision. The punishment part of the Act needs to be reviewed in order to provide total justice to women,” said Advocate Meera Dhungana.

As per the Domestic Violence (Crime and Punishment) Act implemented since 2009, a person committing an act of domestic violence will have to pay a fine up to Rs25,000 and spend six months in prison or face both.

Stakeholders say that along with making the punishment severe enough for a person to think seriously before abusing a woman, the government also needs to add more service centres and create safe shelters for women who file complaints against their own family members.

“Domestic violence takes place within the family so there is the need to address the safety concern of the victim who lodges a complaint. The cases need to be solved quickly so that the victim does not drop the case mid-way due to family pressure,” said women rights activist Babita Basnet.

In order to help women who are suffering violence silently inside their homes to come out and seek help, she added, the victims should be compensated properly so that they have the economic freedom to choose whether or not to live with the abusers.

The government has so far opened up service centres in Jumla, Doti, Panchthar, Kanchanpur, Baglung, Sunsari, Solukhumbu, Nawalparasi, Kavrepalanchok , Makwanpur, Dang, Sarlahi, Saptari, Tanahun, Bardiya, Pyuthan and Rautahat districts.