VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN : A LEGAL OVERVIEW

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN : A LEGAL OVERVIEW

 **Author:-  Roshni S (5th year BA.LLB-Kerala Law Academy,Trivandrum)

The United Nations defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."Violence can never be seen as a “natural” part of being human. Violence against women is very prevalent not only in under developed or developing countries but also in developed countries. It can be even said that women are subjected to such violence and abuse every day and everywhere. 

Violence against women has skyrocketed in the 2000s. Women are given very little or no security in the nation and are often subjected to some sort of abuse. If a survey is taken to ask any girl or woman whether they’ve faced any kind of violence, the answer will be a yes. Violence against women is of various types and can happen at any place like home, public place, or office.

Indian women “have suffered and are suffering discrimination in silence. Self-sacrifice and self-denial are their nobility and fortitude and yet they have been subjected to all inequities, indignities, inequality, and discrimination” Intimate partner violence takes place in different ways. When a girl doesn’t accept a guy’s proposal then she might experience acid attack. After accepted she might be in a toxic relationship. In the course of marriage, women may be subjected to marital rape and other ways of domestic abuse. It is sad and regretful that there is no end to this. Sexual violence is a grave violation of the sexual rights of a woman. Sexual violence against girls and women has been recognized as a violent manifestation of gender-based discrimination in international human rights law, which has a profound impact on physical, emotional, mental health, and social consequences. They are usually done against will by force, deception, intimidation, manipulation, etc. It mainly incorporates abuse, harassment, trafficking, rape, and female genital mutilation. International law calls for securing legal protection for all persons against rape and sexual violence in all its forms and manifestations. It imposes the obligation of recognising a wider definition of rape that encompasses all forms of non-consensual penetrative sex, that is anal/vaginal/ penetration with penis/object/finger, and oral sex with penis/ vagina. Laws against sexual violence are recognized as necessary for correcting sexual and gender inequalities in society, and for the fulfillment of the Constitutional guarantees of life and equality. Sexual violence against women has been recognized as a violent manifestation of gender-based discrimination in international human rights law, which has a profound impact on physical, emotional, mental health, and social consequences

There are several acts and laws that govern the various offences and injustices against girls and women. Some of them are

• Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

• Child Marriage Restraint Act,1929

• Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act,1971

• Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act,1986

• Equal Remuneration Act,1976

• The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987

• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,2012
  
  Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013

• Domestic Violence Act, 2005

• Section 376 IPC-Punishment for Rape

Realising the need of setting up an agency to fulfill the surveillance functions as well as to facilitate grievances of women,, Government enacted the National Commission for Women Act, 1990. Even though there are acts and provisions in IPC that restrict and prohibit these acts and various precedents based on offences against women, there are still such offences happening at the same rate. Women do not feel very secure due to these horror stories of various outbreaks of violence taking place everywhere.