NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 25 The much-awaited law against domestic violence comes into force tomorrow. Touted as a "landmark" pro-women legislation, the Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act, 2005 seeks to address issues linked to status of women within their homes that often gets pushed under the carpet.

Under this Act, domestic violence assumes a broader meaning ranging from "verbal abuse to taunts for not bearing a male child or bringing dowry, not been allowed to work or study to marital rape". The Act, it is hoped, would empower women to report acts of violence suffered at the hands of family members.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, nearly 70 per cent married women in the age group of 15 to 49 years in India face "rape, beating and verbal abuse". Under the new Act, the men booked under the law would face a minimum one-year jail term or a fine of Rs 20,000. However, he could be booked under different sections of CrPC for different acts of violence.

The law focuses on married women or those who are in a live-in relationship, but also gives similar protection to sisters, mothers and even daughters within a family.

Learning from the experience of other social legislations like Dowry Prohibition Act, the Act specifies that a full-time "protection officer" would book cases. In earlier legislations, district-level government authorities were given extra charge as enforcement officers, leading to delayed disposal of cases.

To make the law user-friendly, the rules notified recently have it that the complainant would be asked to fill in a formatted complaint in front of the protection officer.

Even relatives, friends and NGOs can file complaints on behalf of the women.

Another highlight of new law is the appointment of "counsellors" to help the litigating parties.

The women have the option of lodging an FIR and not pursuing it after counseling. There are also options like compulsory medical attention, right to stay in the home where she faced abuse, protection, temporary shelter etc.

Wife-beating was declared a crime in India yesterday as legislation was introduced to combat the high levels of domestic violence.

Some 7,000 women are killed in dowry disputes every year in India, with a further 18,000 raped and 175,000 suffering other minor crimes, according to India's national crime records bureau. But under The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, women are to be given substantial protection, including rights to financial compensation, when they suffer domestic abuse.

Much of the violence is rooted in dowry issues, where women are beaten, threatened, burned and even killed to extract further gifts of money, jewellery and consumer durables from their families.

The law also criminalises marital rape which, until yesterday, was not an offence unless the wife was under 15 years of age.

In addition to a one-year jail sentence and a fine of 20,000 rupees (£235) for those convicted, magistrates will have powers to place women in safe custody.

Indira Jaising, a senior human rights lawyer at the Supreme Court of India who worked closely on the legislation, said she hoped the law would embolden Indian women to stand up for their rights. "I think it sets a very important benchmark on how we as a society expect women to be treated," she said.

A survey by the International Institute for Population Studies five years ago found 56 per cent of Indian women believed wife-beating to be justified in certain circumstances.