Here’s about Is India’s Law Enforcement Tough Enough on Crimes Against Women?
Indian women’s crimes have been at the forefront of the nation’s and global concerns for decades. From rape and dowry harassment to domestic violence and human trafficking, the terrain of gender violence is as widespread as it is varied. Even as the issue has been at the very center of policy discussion, on protest marches in people’s imagination, and in law and reform, the issue on which has always remained in the balance is: Is Indian law machinery tough enough on these offenses?
The Harsh Reality in Numbers
India still records an impressive number of crimes against women annually. Thousands of these cases come in each month, ranging from husband or family brutality to assault, rape, and harassment. Statistics not only tell us about the magnitude of the issue but also, one might add, awareness and reportability.
But beneath the reassuring particularity lies the ugly reality — more of them are delayed, under-investigated, or dismissed on suspicion. The process of law re-victimizes victims, deterring many from reporting altogether.
Legal and Institutional Reforms: A Step Forward
With a sense of seriousness, India has undertaken various major legal and administrative reforms in recent years. There are new codes of criminal law that have graded the crimes — and indeed crimes against women and children — according to class, prosecuted, and punished.
Some major reforms are:
A new special section in the new criminal code for women’s and children’s crimes.
Electronic First Information Reports (e-FIRs) made easily accessible for facilitation.
Increased punishment for gang raping child victims.
Investigation and forensic analysis timelines placed greater emphasis on.
National endeavours have also been increased and broadened to include emergency response infrastructure, women police stations help desks, and enhanced forensic laboratories.
Though these actions are a good-faith effort to augment police action, the weakest point remains enforcement. Laws will only be as effective as their enforcement — and that’s where India is failing:
Judicial Backlog: Huge pendency of case of crime against women pending for years. Pendency percentage in some courts is 90–95%.
Low Conviction Rates: Even if cases are presented in courts, they are of low conviction rates owing to poor quality investigations, failure to obtain timely medical and forensic evidence, and threats/intimidation of witnesses.
Police Insensitivity: In spite of training workshops, survivors reported insensitivity, victim-blaming or indifference while reporting a case to the police.
Under-reporting: Fear of retaliation, mistrust of the system, cultural stigmatization of reporting crime, and poverty dissuade many women from reporting crime — so the figures must be enormously higher than they would seem to be from official reports.
State Inequality: Police responsiveness and ability are extremely unequal between states. Some have more officers who are trained, more female officers, and more equipment — but others are always short of equipment.
Conclusion: India is at a crossroads. India has superior laws, louder decibels, and higher awareness than ever — but justice to women is kept waiting and denied all too frequently. To be “tough” in the true sense, the police must also be punctual, courteous, and answerable.
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