INTRODUCTION 

About 86% of women victims of violence never sought help and 77% of victims never told anyone about what happened. Domestic violence is not new; it has been around for a long time. The alarming increase in intimate partner violence in India has recently become a major problem during the lockdown. However, this evil has spread throughout the world and continues to develop. 
Women are more vulnerable to such situations and are often targeted, but this does not exclude men. Most countries have laws to deal with such situations; For example, India has a comprehensive law called The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. (hereinafter DVA). 
What is domestic violence? 
Causing mental or physical harm, injury or danger to life, limb, health, safety or welfare. 
Causing pain, injury or danger to a woman forces her or someone close to her to pay a dowry. 
Assault, criminal threats and criminal force are all examples of "physical abuse". 
Forced sexual intercourse, forcing an offending person to view pornography or other indecent material, forcing women to entertain others or engage in other sexual activities, abuse, degradation, degrading or otherwise insulting human dignity are all examples of "sexual exploitation". .' 
Accusation/remark on character or conduct, insult for failure to bring dowry, insult for absence of male child etc. Forcing a woman not to go to school, college or especially an educational institution, preventing her from getting a job, repeatedly threatening to harm anyone she likes, and preventing her from marrying a man she likes. There are many scenarios involving economic exploitation, mostly related to meeting the basic needs of the woman and her children. Failure to provide shelter and removal from the house, failure to provide the body with basic nutrients through food, restriction of access or use of any part of the house, obstructing or obstructing work, failure to pay rent in the case of rent, sale. or charge on stridhan or other assets without prior notice and agreement. Deprivation of salary, income or salary without his consent. Other bills, such as electricity, remain unpaid.

Scope of the Act 
Scope of the Act was discussed in  Bhartiben Bipinbhai Tamboli v State of Gujrat. In this case, the court said that domestic violence is rampant in India. As a daughter, mother, wife, sister, partner or  single woman, many women face this in one way or another every day. However, it is the most underreported form of cruelty, mainly due to social stigma and the attitudes of women themselves. 
Until 2005, legal remedies for victims of domestic violence were quite limited. They can approach a civil court and start divorce proceedings or approach a  criminal court for the offense under Section 
98-A of the Indian Penal Code (cruelty committed by the husband or his relative). In addition, no extramarital affairs were detected. Such considerations forced the woman to remain silent. In connection with all this,  parliament enacted the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005. This law gives a very broad definition of an offended person (including women in a relationship) and aims to protect women from violence  by men and/or women. 
Thus, the law has a wide scope and covers a large number of women, whose legal resources were previously very limited.