Burn victims at Victoria Hospital miss out on compensation

Victoria Hospital admits hundreds of domestic violence burn victims annually, but none of them has received compensation from the government’s Victim Compensation Scheme. Reason: The victims decline to file police cases owing to fear or social pressure.

Most women leave their husbands after the incident, but find it difficult to sustain themselves without any financial support. Whereas they can get compensation ranging from Rs 2 to Rs 8 lakh under the scheme, depending on the severity of the injury.

Between January 2020 and April 2023, Victoria Hospital admitted nearly 600 burn patients who were subjected to domestic violence, said Satya Devi of NGO Aweksha, who works with the hospital to support victims. "This includes cases where the husband or partner burned the women, or where the women attempted suicide owing to continued harassment.”

The stats

To get compensation, victims should first file an FIR. But FIRs have been filed only in 33 cases, of which 28 were deaths caused by homicidal burns, dowry-related violence, and abetment to suicide. The other five were survivors.

Victims may get compensation after court proceedings, but for interim relief, they can approach the Karnataka State Legal Service Authority (KSLSA). Only two have come to the authority so far, Devi said. And only one of them, where the attacker was a third party and not the husband, received an interim compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh.

Devi said that victims usually don’t disclose the real reason for the burns to doctors or the police.

“Since the treatment usually lasts six to seven months, the victims depend on their husbands for the hospital stay and follow-up visits. So, they pass off the incident as an accident. Victim-blaming and social pressure also deter patients," she said, adding that the police don't investigate cases even when it's obvious that the burns were not from kitchen accidents, as claimed by the victims.

With their continued health problems from the burns, they are unable to land decent jobs. Rent, food and children’s education all suffer, Devi said.

KSLSA Deputy Secretary Raghavendra Shettigar said that the police don’t tend to investigate domestic violence cases seriously and file FIRs. Lack of awareness about the compensation provision is another issue.