June 28, 2023 Global Indicators Briefs No. 20 How Did India Successfully Reform Women’s Rights? Part II: Answers from the Movement on Protection from Violence Julia Constanze Braunmiller,* Isabel Santagostino Recavarren,* Aparna Mittal,** and Tanvi Khatri** T his two-part policy brief series traces the development and reform of law in India related to three critical areas that a ect women’s rights and economic opportunities: women’s property rights, domestic violence, and sexual harassment in the workplace. It explores the underlying factors and driving forces that led to reforms as well as the broad processes and extensive timelines required for change. It also highlights remaining gaps, including the absence of robust implementation as well as how inadequate administrative and infrastructural support for reform hinder true gender equality in a deeply patriarchal society. e achievements in India, which are the result of years of concerted e orts and thought leadership by multiple governmental and nongovernmental players, private actors, and women’s rights activists, could function as a “how to” guide for other countries that may want to carry out similar reforms in the future. is second Brief in the series explores the decades-long journey that led to the adoption of the 2005 Domestic Violence Act and the 2013 Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, and highlights remaining legal and implementation gaps in the e ective elimination of violence against women. Guaranteeing women’s freedom from violence is violence, not only on individuals, but also on rms and societies key to achieving inclusive economic growth as a whole (CWW 2020; Deloitte 2019). Judicial, medical, and police expenses (Rhys et al. 2019), as well as reduced women’s Legal frameworks play a signi cant role in expanding labor force participation and productivity, lead to a signi cant women’s economic participation and empowerment. e cost and losses for economies, which amount to hundreds of World Bank Group’s (WBG) Women, Business and the Law billions per year (EIGE 2021; Yount et al. 2022). project shows the critical links between gender equality under the law and positive outcomes for women’s employment and Successful reforms on violence against women in entrepreneurship. Better performance in the areas measured by India shared several common factors the Women, Business and the Law index, including domestic violence and sexual harassment in employment, is associated India’s reforms in the areas of domestic violence and sexual with better development outcomes (World Bank 2023). harassment are remarkable, and are the hard-won result of successful engagements among a wide variety of public and Reforming legislation to prevent violence against women is private stakeholders. Nonetheless, several gaps remain in the key given that any sustained growth requires the equal existing legal framework and in terms of implementation of the socioeconomic participation of both men and women; this, in laws. For instance, while India was among the rst signatories turn, rests on a foundation of guarantees of basic conditions of and rati ers of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms safety. e impact of violence on women’s physical and mental of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), it has yet to health is devastating. It can lead to economic dependence of the ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Violence survivor and a ect a woman’s capacity to remain or progress in and Harassment Convention No. 190 of 2019. Interviews with the labor market, ultimately a ecting women’s labor force women’s rights experts from local civil society organizations participation. Recent studies show the detrimental e ect of (CSOs), the public and private sectors, lawyers, and academics sexual harassment, and the negative spillover e ect of domestic in India, as well as three panel discussions with these experts, Affiliations: *World Bank, Development Economics, Women, Business and the Law. **Samana Centre for Gender, Policy and Law. For correspondence: jbraunmiller@worldbank.org; isantagostino@worldbank.org Acknowledgements: This Brief is a part of a series focusing on reforms in seven economies, as documented by the Women, Business and the Law (WBL) team. Support for the series is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. This Brief (Part II) would not be possible without the generous contributions of Sohini Bhattacharya, Raavi Birbal, Dr. Aparna Chandra, Khadijah Farooqui, Sanjoy Ghose, Veena Gowda, Palak Jain, . Kanti Joshi, Geeta Luthra, Shweta Luthra, Madhu Mehra, Dr. Anindita Pujari, Dr. Mrinal Satish, Jhuma Sen, Dr. Sarasu Esther Thomas, Dr. Saumya Uma, Dr. Namita Wahi. The team would also like to thank Kanchan Rajeevsingh Parmarn for helpful peer review, and Norman Loayza, Tea Trumbic, Varun Eknath, and David Francis for comments and guiding the publication process. Objective and disclaimer: This series of Global Indicators Briefs synthesizes existing research and data to shed light on a useful and interesting question for policy debate. Data for this Brief are extracted from the WBL database and supplemented by information gained through interviews and panel discussions conducted between December 2021 and January 2022 with women’s rights experts from local civil society organizations (CSOs), the public and private sectors, lawyers, and academics in India, as well as desk research. This Brief builds on the information collected to reconstruct the development of the legal reforms and the success factors that allowed the reforms to pass. This Brief carries the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank Group, its Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. All Briefs in the https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/brief/global-indicators-briefs-series. series can be accessed via: https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/brief/global-indicators-briefs-series. DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 20 revealed the path and common factors of reforms and the role of Women. In particular, the work of the National Commission key players, as well as current areas for improvement; this Brief for Women was key for the advancement of India’s legal draws from these sources. framework on violence against women. is government body is mandated to strengthen legal rights and protection for e Constitution of India, adopted in 1950, three years after women and tasked with reviewing the constitutional and legal the country’s independence in 1947, introduced the foundations framework on women’s rights, making recommendations for of gender equality as a fundamental right. By establishing the reform, and advising the government of India on all policy principle of equality before the law, prohibiting discrimination matters a ecting women. It prepared the rst draft law on the on multiple grounds, including sex, and allowing for a rmative protection of women from sexual harassment at work (upon action measures for gender equality, the new and progressive request by the government of India) in consultations with Constitution set the foundation for reforms in favor of women’s lawyers and CSOs. safety in India. e Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 was one of the consequences of this new constitutional mindset of progressive social reform and promotion of gender equality, A five-decade journey toward specific legislation aiming at restraining and regulating the custom of dowry and its against domestic violence devastating impact on women. India’s journey of sociolegal reforms to address domestic A signi cant factor in the law reform process has been India’s violence followed a unique path spanning nearly ve decades, thriving civil society, which set in motion and signi cantly starting from addressing dowry-related o enses (box 1), to contributed to the legal reforms discussed in this Brief. It recognizing additional o ences in the criminal law, to enacting includes academics, lawyers, judges, nongovernmental and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act in 2005 nonpro t organizations, women’s rights organizations, activists, (2005 DV Act). e landmark legislation represented a and the general public. Collectively, they all have contributed to signi cant step toward the advancement of women’s rights in the intellectual process of critiquing de ciencies in existing law, the country, in alignment with international law on the subject, drafting legislation, and forming a consensus on the direction and created for the rst time a comprehensive framework to the law should take by organizing public opinion and address domestic violence by enabling protective rights and reinforcing democratic processes through campaigns, welfare measures for all women in the country, regardless of discussions, and protests. For instance, CSOs, in particular their religion. Lawyers Collective and Action India, were instrumental in the government of India’s enactment of the 2005 Domestic From a focus only on dowry-related violence to a Violence Act. CSOs’ role spanned di erent stages of the comprehensive de nition of domestic violence process, from drafting the law, to mobilizing and organizing After almost eight years of debate on the need to control the campaigns, to collecting signatures. practice of dowry to avoid its adverse implications, in 1961, the In addition, the Supreme Court of India, the highest court of Parliament of India enacted the Dowry Prohibition Act. e the country (often referred to as the constitutional court), has goal of the law, was to prohibit and penalize the practice of played a pivotal role in upholding the rule of law and dowry, and to curb the associated violence against women in constitutional values. It has progressively interpreted their matrimonial homes (box 1). However, the shortcomings ambiguities and con icts in provisions of laws, enhanced the and loopholes in the Dowry Prohibition Act became rapidly purview of constitutional rights, and prescribed guidelines in evident, given the alarming rise in “dowry deaths”, the narrow the absence of statutory laws. For example, in the area of sexual de nition of dowry provided by the law, as well as the lack of harassment of women in the workplace, the Vishaka Guidelines reference in the law to any associated form of cruelty, violence, issued by the Supreme Court ultimately became the basis for the and harassment against women. Following the heavy criticism subsequent enactment of the Sexual Harassment of Women at by women’s rights activists and CSOs, and a persistent series of Workplace Act of 2013. rallies and protests, as well as the continuous alarming reports of deaths of married women under suspicious circumstances, in Two key bodies of the government of India also played a 1983 the Law Commission of India undertook, of its own critical role in the reforms highlighted in this Brief: the Law initiative, a study on the topic and on the adequacy of the laws Commission of India, and the National Commission for and regulations (Law Commission of India 1983). Taking Box 1 What does dowry have to do with domestic violence? Dowry is the practice of a bride’s family giving gifts, assets, property, and money to the groom or his family upon marriage. It has been prevalent in India for many generations, centuries before the country achieved independence in 1947. e roots for this practice were linked to the traditional and religious custom of “stridhan” (gift to a woman), consisting of voluntary gifts given by families to their daughters upon their marriage for their enjoyment and nancial security, in a social background where women had very limited property rights. However, over time this practice became alarmingly extortionary, with immense nancial pressure and demands put on the bride’s family (in a society that attaches immense social stigma to a woman remaining unmarried). is has led to the perpetuation of gender inequality in India—considering women as less valuable than men and strengthening the preference of male over female children—as well as gender-based violence, nancial demands, and harassment by the husband and his family, often resulting in the death of the wife. Victims of “dowry deaths” invariably involve a young, recently married woman, known to be unhappy because of demands of dowry, where the death took place behind closed doors and under suspicious circumstances, such as burns sustained in a re, injuries, or poisoning, reported by her husband and in-laws as a suicide or accident. e rights enshrined in the 1950 Constitution, paired with a very active civil society, gave rise to the anti-dowry movement, where individuals and many groups joined hands to create awareness, organize campaigns and protests, and build pressure on the government of India to reexamine and reform the laws. Source: Butalia 2020; Calvi and Keskar 2021; Law Commission of India 1983; Nair 2017. 2 DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 20 note of the peculiarities of “dowry deaths,” the Law women’s organizations and activists because it contained many Commission’s report of 1983 not only recognized the gaps in provisions that were not aligned with the recommendations the 1961 Dowry Prohibition Act but also called for the creation contained in the Lawyers Collective bills (Saheli 2005). e bill was of speci c o ences in the criminal law statute, such as not received well on grounds that its scope was narrow, the relief “subjecting a woman to cruelty” and the presumption of a measures not comprehensive, its purview was limited to “dowry-related death.” During the 1980s, Parliament matrimonial relationships, and it required domestic violence to be introduced additional amendments to the laws, including the reiterated to constitute a crime (Jaising 2009). is led to another Indian Penal Code ( gure 1), in alignment with the phase of nationwide campaigns and discussions (Saheli 2005). recommendations made by the Law Commission. However, In response to the feedback, the Parliamentary Standing these changes also fell short in addressing the challenges and Committee on Human Resource Development was tasked with the ground realities and did not result in any substantial change for examination of the bill, and the committee submitted its report to women experiencing dowry-related pressure and domestic Parliament in 2002. However, the dissolution of Parliament in violence (Jaising 2009). 2004 stalled the process. In the meantime, civil society demanded Leading feminist lawyers such as Indira Jaising (founder of the passage of the bill, with Action India collecting more than the NGO, Lawyers Collective) and Flavia Agnes pointed out to 250,000 signatures to pressure the government (Action India 2016; the Law Commission and to the government of India multiple 124th Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee 2002; limitations in the then existing laws and regulations (Jaising Jaising 2009). 2009). In particular, the focus on dowry and related deaths, In 2004, once the new government of India was formed, the violence, and cruelty was considered rather narrow because it bills were taken up again, and, in a culmination of what had been did not take into account other forms of violence in both nearly 12 years of advocacy and several rounds of drafting, the matrimonial and non matrimonial relationships, such as sexual Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act was nally abuse, emotional abuse, or economic abuse. Moreover, criminal passed in 2005 ( gure 1). e 2005 DV Act represented an and civil laws did not establish a comprehensive mechanism to innovative piece of legislation, the result of years of advocacy aimed provide for the well-being, safety, protection, and rehabilitation at eradicating arti cial classi cations and barriers in women’s access of women who were facing domestic violence or cruelty. While to justice, no matter their religion and caste. Key innovations in the not a direct remedy, women were allowed to seek divorce on the 2005 DV Act included a new de nition of “domestic violence” that grounds of cruelty under applicable personal laws. recognized any form of physical, sexual, emotional, and economic In 1993, the National Commission for Women requested abuse; a broader de nition of “domestic relationship” to include the Lawyers Collective to prepare a draft bill to comprehensively not only husbands, but also siblings, parents, children, members of address domestic violence (Jaising 2009). e organization the joint family they live with, and even cohabiting or intimate presented two drafts in 1994 and 2001 to both the National partners; and di erent types of protection orders, as well as the Commission for Women and the Ministry of Women and provision of services for survivors. Child Development (Saheli 2005). is process was accompanied by nationwide campaigns and deliberations, After the adoption of the Domestic Violence Act of including a national colloquium, aimed at providing more 2005, reporting rates of dowry-related and domestic visibility to the proposed bill and to the issue of domestic violence have been increasing violence, and creating consensus among lawyers and judges on the seriousness of the issues and on the inadequacy of the While the reporting rates of incidents of dowry, cruelty and existing laws and regulations (Jaising 2009; Ghose 2021). domestic violence have been increasing, over time the number of dowry deaths has been slowly decreasing (230th Report of In March 2002, the government of India presented its own the Parliamentary Standing Committee 2021; NCRB 2020, draft of the bill to Parliament. e proposed bill disappointed 2021). e increase over time in reporting rates may signal a Figure 1 A decades-long reform process toward specific legislation on domestic violence 1 2 3 4 5 1961 1983 1984 1986 2005 Amendment to the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Amendment to the AND Amendment to the Indian Penal Code 1860 Indian Penal Code 1860 Enactment of Enactment of Dowry to introduce the new Amendment to Prohibition Act, 1961 the Dowry to introduce the new Protection of Women offence of “Cruelty” offence of “Dowry from Domestic (Section 498A) Prohibition Act, 1961 Death” (Section 304B) Violence Act, 2005 & corresponding amendments to the Indian Evidence Act 1872 Source: Women, Business, and the Law database. 3 DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 20 shift in social norms and higher accessibility to and trust in the (5) setting up additional one-stop centers , and at least one justice system, as more women are willing to come forward, and one-stop center at every subdivisional level; (6) introducing it also indicates the alarming prevalence of domestic violence. procedures to le complaints irrespective of the jurisdiction For instance, in 2001 only 3,222 cases were reported under the where the o ence was committed (Zero-First Information Dowry Prohibition Act versus 13,568 in 2021 ( gure 2 panel Reports); (7) strengthening helplines and raising awareness b). Furthermore, between 2001 and 2021, the majority of about their presence, (8) providing adequate public funding domestic violence cases in the country were led under “cruelty and improving the utilization of the funds; and (9) mapping all by husband or his relatives,” a number almost triplicating over NGOs to establish a reliable network of support (230th Report 20 years (136,234 cases in 2021, versus 49,170 in 2001) ( gure of the Parliamentary Standing Committee 2021). 2 panel a). Overall, since 2001 reported numbers increased not only in absolute terms, but also relative to the population, in A progressive law on domestic violence on the books is particular of working-aged women (aged 15 to 64 years old). being hampered by lack of implementation, adequate Also, only 6.8 percent of the cases led completed trials in 2018, infrastructure, and awareness with most perpetrators being acquitted, which shows that the judicial response may be inadequate (Mascarenhas 2022; While the 2005 DV Act has been hailed as a progressive law, NCRB 1995, 2020, 2021). Further, while cases have been its full potential has not been explored or utilized, in part due to decreasing over time, in 2020 alone, 19 women were murdered the lack of implementation, adequate infrastructure, and for dowry every day, for a total of 6,966 cases (NCRB 2020). awareness (Hughes 2017). One area for improvement that needs to be addressed is the lack of support services and mechanisms. Given these alarming gures, in 2021 the Parliamentary ere are still not enough Protection O cers trained to Standing Committee on Home A airs, after assessing the e ectively respond to cases of violence against women. Further, current state of women’s safety in the country, reiterated the while the 2005 DV Act envisages a whole range of support commitment of the government of India to bringing to an end services, such as shelter homes, medical and legal aid, and service all kinds of atrocities and crimes against women and children providers, among others, lack of adequate infrastructure and (230th Report of the Standing Committee, 2021). Some of the funding (UN Women Asia and the Paci c 2012) has led to such report’s recommendations included: (1) enhancing the presence facilities being inadequate. Another area for improvement is of women in the police force; (2) studying the e cacy of removing barriers within the judicial system. e approach of exclusive women police stations already set up across the the judges and magistrates has been inconsistent. While in some country; (3) increasing awareness among public and cities such as Delhi, there is more willingness to provide ground-level o cials about the 2005 DV Act; (4) setting up comprehensive relief to the victim than in other states where additional shelter homes for survivors of violence, providing judges and magistrates are often unwilling to do so. Sensitization adequate food, clothing, medicine, and other basic amenities; e orts and training for members of the judiciary should Figure 2 A 20-year sample of crimes against women, 2001 to 2021 160000 a. Incidents of cruelty by husband or his relatives 140000 136234 120000 113403 94041 100000 80000 60000 49170 58319 40000 20000 0 2001 2005 2010 2015 2021 16000 b. Incidents under Dowry Prohibition Act 14000 13568 12000 9894 10000 8000 5182 6000 4000 3222 3204 2000 0 2001 2005 2010 2015 2021 Source: 230th Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee 2021; NCRB 2020, 2021. 4 DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 20 therefore be a priority. Further, as court backlogs continue to women at the workplace based on the Vishaka Guidelines grow, legal redress to survivors is not fully available on a timely (239th Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee 2011). basis (UN Women Asia and the Paci c 2012). e government requested the National Commission for Women to prepare a draft bill, which, after consultations An active partnership between India’s civil society involving state governments, lawyers, and CSOs, was sent to the and government in the adoption of the sexual Ministry of Women and Child Development in August 2004. harassment law After a national consultation and extensive discussions, the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace e Supreme Court and a thriving civil society played a Bill was presented before Parliament in December 2010. e key role in the adoption of legislation on sexual bill was then referred by Parliament to its Standing Committee harassment in employment. for its recommendations, which were published in its nal report in 2011 (239th Report of the Parliamentary Standing In the early 1990s, the brutal gang rape of social worker Committee 2011). Bhanwari Devi, in the course of her o cial work to combat the practice of child marriage in a village in Rajasthan, led to By then, more than 12 years had elapsed since the Vishaka nationwide uproar and demand for laws protecting women Guidelines had been issued. e law-making process was still from sexual violence at the workplace (Pandey 2017). As a ongoing, when the entire nation was shaken by the Nirbhaya result, the Supreme Court, in its landmark decision of 1997, case, the brutal gang rape and death of a young woman in the Vishaka vs. State of Rajasthan, issued the Vishaka Guidelines. capital New Delhi on December 16, 2012. Widespread and For 16 years, these led the void in statutory law until the unprecedented protests across India took place, calling for a adoption of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace holistic review and overhaul of laws on violence against women Act in 2013. Women’s rights organizations—in particular, (Bakshi 2017). In response, the government of India appointed Vishakha, Women’s Rehabilitation Group, Jagori, and a committee to undertake an extensive review of the laws on Kali—a rming that this was an attack on Bhanwari Devi violence against women in India (Verma, Seth, and during her work as an employee while performing her duties Subramanium 2013). Growing demands and pressure resulted, (Nathan 2018), led a writ petition as a class action suit before in 2013, in Parliament nally enacting the Sexual Harassment of the Supreme Court of India, with an aim to enforce the Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) constitutional and fundamental right of gender equality and ll Act (PoSH Act), and also amending the Penal Code by adding the legal vacuum on this topic (Vishaka vs. State of Rajasthan the new o ence of “sexual harassment.” e new PoSH Act was 1997). built upon the Vishaka Guidelines and the consultations and recommendations received over the previous decade. e then-existing legal framework provided redress measures for sexual crimes against women such as obscenity or outraging e PoSH Act: (1) mandates the constitution of an internal the modesty of women, but the laws did not speci cally address committee (IC) by every employer in India with more than 10 the issue of sexual harassment in employment. Further, multiple employees to inquire into complaints of sexual harassment at factors such as the lack of sensitization of the police personnel, the workplace, in a time-bound, impartial, and con dential the lengthy time frame for the culmination of criminal cases, manner; (2) mandates the establishment by the government of and the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt, dissuaded a local committee (LC) in every district to deal with complaints women from seeking legal justice (Human Rights Watch 2020). of sexual harassment from workplaces with fewer than 10 employees, or from domestic workers, or against the employer In 1997 the Supreme Court of India, in response to the writ of a workplace itself; (3) stipulates a host of duties for the petition, recognizing the urgency for robust legislation to employer and the government, including to adopt preventive prevent and redress sexual harassment of women at the steps and sensitize employees about sexual harassment and the workplace, laid down detailed guidelines (the Vishaka PoSH Act; and (4) provides the mechanism for inquiry into the Guidelines) to address sexual harassment at all workplaces. e complaints, penalties, and related matters. Vishaka Guidelines had the value of law until the Parliament of India enacted the appropriate legislation. ey required the employer to provide a safe working environment, making it Government, employers, and civil society started mandatory for all organizations, both in the private and public collaborating to better implement the sexual sectors, to establish an internal mechanism (in the form of a harassment law complaints committee) for redressal of complaints of sexual enactment of the PoSH Act led to extensive work across harassment, and to take measures for creating awareness for its India. Employers sensitized their workforce and set up ICs in prevention. After the issuance of the Vishaka Guidelines, some charge of handling complaints of sexual harassment (Hari companies, especially in the public sector, started setting up 2017). e government raised awareness and pushed for internal committees (ICs), and courts issued multiple employers’ compliance (Prasad 2018). In 2017 the government judgments on the scope of the guidelines (Parliamentary also set up the Sexual Harassment Electronic Box (SHe-Box, Debates 2011). www.shebox.nic.in), an online portal developed to enable women to le complaints related to sexual harassment at the Between 1997 and 2003, the government of India, in workplace ( e Hindu 2017). In addition to annual lings compliance with the ruling of the Supreme Court, took some under the PoSH Act, since 2018, it is mandatory for companies steps to implement the Vishaka Guidelines (Parliamentary to include in their annual report (under the Companies Act) Debates 2003a): for example, by setting up a monitoring system information about the constitution of ICs in compliance with within the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and the PoSH Act. creating and circulating a Code of Conduct for Workplaces (Parliamentary Debates 2003a). en, in the early 2000s, as the In 2021, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home lack of evidence about the status of implementation of the A airs recommended that: (1) regular orientation and Vishaka Guidelines in the private sector became apparent, and awareness programs under the PoSH Act be conducted, given the government’s pending obligations under CEDAW and especially for vulnerable working women, such as migrants and the Constitution of India, the government of India began those in the informal sector; (2) district administrations drafting legislation speci cally addressing sexual harassment of conduct surveys of di erent workplaces and types of work that 5 DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 20 women in their districts are involved in, and constitute LCs in multiple aspects. Some of its gaps could be lled by the accordingly; (3) budgetary allocations be made for following recommendations: community-based behavioral change programs and services; and (4) coordination between the Ministry of Home A airs, • Establish a special procedure (fast-track) or a specialized Ministry of Women and Child Development, and state court for domestic violence cases. governments be enhanced to improve the utilization of the • Increase the number of rst responders, such as judicial, funds allocated to them, especially under the Nirbhaya Fund, medical, and police personnel, Protection O cers, and which can be utilized for projects for women safety and security NGOs, and make these numbers publicly available. (230th Report of the Standing Committee 2021). Additionally, mandate rst responders’ training and sensitization. Further, the National Commission for Women periodically • Strengthen coordination between ministries and government conducts consultations with legal experts, academics, retired agencies. judges, and CSOs to strengthen the implementation of the • Mandate a periodic update of national and state-level plans, PoSH Act (National Commission for Women 2018) and coupled with an implementation and monitoring and organizes awareness and sensitization sessions and campaigns evaluation system. across India, as well as press conferences, media and advocacy • Mandate speci c nancing, including budget allocations by material, and grants (National Commission for Women Annual the government and tracking of actual use of funds to Report 2018–19). implement the law. • Improve institutional infrastructure and support services Gaps remain in the legal and administrative such as one-stop centers, additional shelter homes with framework to e ectively prevent and combat sexual requisite facilities for victims of violence, legal aid, and health harassment of women at work care clinics, among others. While the PoSH Act stipulates the establishment of LCs Ensure the implementation of sexual harassment legislation across every district in India, and the ling of complaints with LCs for sexual harassment in workplaces in the informal sector Shortcomings of the PoSH Act can be improved to ensure its or workplaces with fewer than 10 employees, or by domestic full implementation. Aspects to consider include the following: workers, limitations to their functioning persist. LCs have not • Establish guidelines and monitoring mechanisms, as well as a yet been set up in all districts in India, and there is still very little system to evaluate the proper functioning of both ICs and LCs. awareness about them. A study conducted in 2018 indicates • Improve the reporting mechanisms for sexual harassment that out of 655 districts across India, only 29 percent con rmed complaints, especially for the informal sector and domestic they had set up LCs, 15 percent had not, and 56 percent did not workers, for instance by including one-stop centers (set up by respond (Human Rights Watch 2020). Further, domestic the government) and credible NGOs to provide assistance to workers remain the most vulnerable because they work in victims. private homes that are not subject of any employment laws and, • Mandate the provision of government services such as legal, given their low economic status, they have very little or no psychological, and social support services, and the periodic bargaining power or job security. us, the PoSH Act speci es publication of national and state plans, coupled with an that complaints from domestic workers should be led with the implementation and monitoring and evaluation system. LCs, which would lead to police investigations under criminal • Mandate speci c nancing, including budget allocations by law. However, this remedy has remained one on paper, due to the government and tracking actual use to implement the law. the lack of LCs, lack of awareness about this process, and • Mandate the presence of an external member as mandatory women’s hesitancy in approaching the criminal law system on quorum for ICs and LCs proceedings and stipulate that the such matters. Finally, there is lack of credible public data with external member must be a lawyer. respect to how many workplaces in India are actually complying • Increase the period to make a complaint to 9–12 months. with the PoSH Act, and whether the LCs and nodal o cers • Centralize, streamline, and digitize the statutory lings to be have been appointed and are working. While employers are made by employers, among others. required to report (anonymized) data annually, there is no visibility on what happens to these data once they are provided The need to continue reforming women’s to the respective district o cers. Further, given the geographical expanse of India and number of districts and district o cers economic rights (details of which are often not easily available), ling these While the incessant and thorough work of India’s civil physical reports is ine cient and cumbersome. society, judiciary, and government led to the adoption of landmark legislations, some gaps remain across several domains Recommendations to remedy remaining gaps in in fully realizing equal rights. ese challenges persist not only India’s laws regarding violence against women in the areas of women’s property rights and gender-based covered in this Brief violence, but also in other domains critical for women’s empowerment. e Women, Business and the Law dataset shows is Brief discussed important strides in India to increase room for improvement particularly in the area of employment, women’s protection from violence. Over the past 70 years, as a where for instance there is currently no law granting paternity result of civil society advocacy and governmental engagement, leave for private sector employees across the country (World women have gained many rights. Yet, gaps remain in the laws Bank 2023). and their implementation to ensure that women can lead their lives on an equal footing with men. India’s advancements over the past decades have shown that change is possible and can be e ective. Closing the remaining Support the implementation of domestic violence legislation gaps will require the continued participation and representation of women in public spaces and decision-making, as well as the While the 2005 DV Act is considered a progressive act and concerted e ort of civil society organizations, government, provides a comprehensive de nition of domestic violence and policy makers, international organizations, and the private range of protection orders, its implementation has been lacking sector. 6 DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 20 References Action India. 2016. “Women, Law and Social Change.” National Commission for Women. 2020. Annual Report 2018–19. 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