Efficient state intervention can help prevent gender-based violence in India
United Nations data over the past decade has maintained that as many as one in three women globally have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. Indian women too reel from exposure to risks of gender-based violence (GBV), exacerbated by an entrenched patriarchy and limited state capacity to intervene. To its credit, India has enacted strong legislative frameworks to instil deterrence against GBV and provide survivors with protective support.
Apart from stringent penalties under the Indian Penal Code for sexual assault and harassment, dedicated gender-responsive laws address intimate partner and familial violence, workplace sexual harassment and female foeticide. The government has proactively conceptualized policies that set up one-stop crisis centres (OSCs), fund safety upgrades in public spaces (Nirbhaya Fund) and establish women’s shelter homes (Swadhar Greh). Multi-pronged efforts and rising public awareness have helped India dent the under-reporting problem to a certain extent, with recent trends indicating more survivors coming forth to report GBV.
However, even accounting for this, GBV casts an ominous shadow on India’s aspirations to foster women-led development. The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, observed on 25 November, and the ensuing 16 Days of Activism are thus an opportunity to reflect on what India can do better to prevent GBV and protect survivors. Improve resource allocation: First, we need to re-examine the resources allocated to combat GBV.
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