The NCW has received 123 complaints of domestic violence in the last 18 days, with the panel saying it has observed a spike in such cases during the lockdown imposed to control the spread of coronavirus.
According to the data shared by the National Commission for Women, from March 23 till April 10, a total of 370 complaints related to women issues were received by the panel.
Out of the 370 complaints, the highest 123 were of domestic violence, the data said.
All these complaints were received through email. The other means of posts have not been taken into consideration here.
From March 23 to March 29, a total of 49 cases of domestic violence were reported while the total number of complaints related to various other offences committed against women stood at 138, the data showed.
From March 30-April 5, a total of 28 cases of domestic violence were reported while the total number of complaints related to other offences committed against women stood at 117, the data showed.
From April 6 to April 10, a total of 46 cases of domestic violence were reported while the total number of complaints related to other offences committed against women stood at 115, the data showed.
The second-highest number of complaints were received from March 23 to April 10 under the 'Right to live with dignity' category at 117.
'Right to live with dignity' also takes into account the emotional abuse many women go through, an NCW member explained.
The NCW on Friday launched a WhatsApp number—7217735372—to report cases of domestic violence.
The NCW said the WhatsApp number is in addition to the online complaint links and emails which are also operational.
"This is an emergency number for women facing domestic violence complaints only," the NCW member said.
In a tweet, the NCW urged people to report such cases through messages on the number so that the agency can provide support and assistance to women in distress or experiencing domestic violence.
The announcement comes amid a rise in domestic violence cases due to the ongoing lockdown. It was found that many women who are victims of domestic violence are more vulnerable during the lockdown period.
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma had earlier said domestic violence complaints have been increasing by the day since the nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 25.
India is currently under the biggest lockdown with around 1.3 billion people asked to stay home in view of the coronavirus outbreak, which has claimed nearly 200 lives and infected more than 6,400 people.
