Author: Piyush Rajpurohit

Women always been surpass and suppress in social and political view; despite Indian’s constitutional  commitment to gender equality, women’s lived experience has been often surrounded with harsh survival  time, domestic violence, workplace harassment. The national crime records bureau (NCRB) 2022 reported 4,45,256 cases against women in India. There are many more cases which was not recorded and reported by the fear of society, position and future of life. The silent torture which they feel and work with every day. 

Domestic Violence 

Domestic violence as any action, committed in the constraints of a relationship or marriage, as any action,  which forces the aggrieved part to lead an immoral life or any action that delivers harm or injuries to the  aggrieved person describe under domestic violence Act, 2005. 

∙ Physical Abuse: any form of harmful injury, assault, life threatening impact by the person family, relative, husband, any human 

∙ Sexual Abuse: person intensely forces another person by the physical force, threat to the life and try  to from physical relation without concert/force concert. 

∙ Verbal and emotional abuse: include ridicule remark, insult and personal talk with bad words  which impact your mental health and sometime it escalate in form of physical act by the person. ∙ Economic Abuse: any form of economic or financial resource involve; any person control the other person’s all kind of property to keep them dependent fell bounded without physical abuse. 

(Derogatory remarks and sharing any erroneous photo in which person feel stressed are consider in  Verbal and emotional abuse such conduct inflict the serious harm on mental health and even without it  leave physical mark but it create impact in mind) 

Observation/statistics 

∙ The national crime record bureau 2022 report mention 4,45,256 case of crime against women in  India, a 4%increae from previous year approx. average 51 complaint every hour. 

∙ In comparison with national average, Delhi (144.4), Haryana (118.7), and Telangana (117.6)  recorded rates almost two to three times higher than the national average. 

∙ National family Heath survey 2019-2021: reported 32% married women in India have experience  physical harassment, emotional violence by their husband and family. While 6% reported sexual  harassment. 

∙ Domestic Violence in India: A Summary Report of a Multi-Site Household Survey: mention  about the physical violence. Women reported 15%(1,462 women) reported major physical abuse,  4,322 women report physiological abuse also the reported women’s 50% also experience violence  time of pregnancy.[ Figure overall prevalence of violence page no 10] 

∙ Report also mention 9,938 women in the survey, approximately one out of every four (2,596 women or 26%) had experienced slapping, kicking, hitting, beating, threat or use of a weapon, or forced sex  in the last 12 months.[ Table 2 lifetime marital physical violence page no11]. 

The Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005 

The Act defines domestic violence broadly to include physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse, and economic abuse, as well as any conduct that harassment, or endangers a woman to force her or  any related person to meet an unlawful dowry demand. 

Who is protected 

Any woman in a domestic relationship with the respondent wife, live-in partner, mother, sister, widow, or  other female relative sharing a household is covered, regardless of marital status. 

Available Relief (Section18-22) 

1. Protection Order: restrains the respondent from committing further violence, contacting her by the  any form written, oral, or also provide aid. 

2. Residence order: secures the right to her to live in the shared household, restrain to remove from  house and property.

3. Monetary Relief: provide the compensation for loss of earnings, medical expenses, and also provide  maintenance to provide standard of living to the women. 

4. Custody order: The Magistrate may grant temporary custody of any child or children to the woman,  and may also regulate the respondent’s visitation rights if it is likely to harm the child’s interests. 

Process for seeking Relief (Section12) 

∙ Aggrieved woman, Protection Officer, or any other person on her behalf can file an application before  the Magistrate. 

∙ Magistrate must fix the first hearing within 3 days of the application being filed 

∙ Magistrate is required to dispose of the application within 60 days from the first hearing 

Breach of Protection Order (section 31) 

∙ Breach of a Protection Order or Interim Protection Order by the respondent is a cognizable and non bailable offence. 

∙ Punishable with imprisonment up to one year, or fine up to ₹20,000, or both 

∙ The Magistrate trying the breach may also frame charges under Section 498-A IPC (now BNS) or any other applicable law, if the facts support it. 

Workplace Harassment 

The harassment is when someone behaves unwanted badly with women at work place that make a women feel  uncomfortable, unsafe or pressured in the work place. That include unwanted bad touch, personal sexual  remarks; also indirect try to demand for sexual favor showing inappropriate content to connect her work place. 

G²LM|LIC Policy Brief No. 79 Seventy Percent: The Reality of Workplace Harassment in India: online  survey mention Regarding the workplace harassment all over India 70% women face at least one form of  harassment in Firms with follow of sexist hostility (60%) and sexual attention(40%) women’s also reported the  unwanted touch and creepy behavior. Simple thoughts then what they do? Women carry the self-defence  product like pepper spray, little knife and other self-defence items. Higher they can do is switch their job but it  will go harsh for their professional journey also it will also never sure about the solution of safety in work 

place. 

The Ministry of Women and Child Development launched the SHE-Box portal duly encompassing various  provisions of ‘the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace) Act, 2013. The portal provides a publicly  available simple reporting way of information related to Internal Committees and Local Committees formed  across the country whether in government or private sector. It also provides a common platform to file  complaints and track the status of such complaints for women safety. 

The mission Shakti a comprehensive umbrella type scheme of safety, security and empowerment for women  under Nirbhaya fund The one stop centre (OSC) provide women affected by violence and who are in distress  with a range of integrated services under one roof such as Police facilitation, medical aid, providing legal aid  and legal counseling, psycho-social counseling, temporary shelter up to 5 days. 

What is POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Act, 2013? 

The act enacted followed the Supreme Court’s direction in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997), guideline  treating sexual harassment at the work place. After this the POSH Act,2013 created define sexual harassment at  work place prohibit it and set up a structured way to address complaint with binding consequences for  employers. 

∙ Under Section 2(n), Sexual harassment define as any unwanted physical contact, demand any sexual  favor, try to making sexually remarks, show pornography and other form written and oral harassment. 

∙ Under section 2(o) Workplace: workplace is not limited to the office building. It includes any place  visited by the employee during work, including during official travel, and transportation provided by the  employer for commuting to and from work.

∙ Complaint process under POSH ACT[ Chapter IV & V] 

1. Filing the complaint: The woman submits a written complaint to the Internal Committee within  3 months of the incident. If there were genuine reasons preventing her from filing earlier, the  Committee can extend this by another 3 months. 

2. Assistance in filing: If the woman is unable to write the complaint herself due to disability,  illness, or any other reason, the Committee or any member must provide reasonable assistance to  help her file it. 

3. Conciliation: Before starting a formal inquiry, the Committee may, only at the woman’s request,  attempt conciliation between her and the respondent. However, no monetary settlement can be  the basis of this conciliation. (OPTIONAL) 

4. Formal inquiry: If conciliation isn’t requested or fails, the Committee proceeds with a formal  inquiry, following principles of natural justice meaning both sides get a fair chance to present  their case and evidence. 

5. Interim relief during inquiry: While the inquiry is ongoing, the woman can request transfer of  herself or the respondent, or leave of up to 3 months for herself. 

6. Timeline for inquiry: The Committee must complete the inquiry within 90 days from the date  the complaint was filed. 

7. Report submission: Within 10 days of completing the inquiry, the Committee sends its findings  and recommendations to the employer (or District Officer, if it’s a Local Committee). 8. Employer’s action: The employer must implement the Committee’s recommendations within 60  days of receiving the report. 

If the complaint is found false or malicious The Committee may recommend action against the complainant but  importantly, the Act clarifies that merely failing to prove the case is not enough to treat it as a false complaint;  bad faith or malicious intent must be shown separately. 

ANALYSIS 

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and the Sexual Harassment of Women at  Workplace Act, 2013 both reflects a deliberate legislative effort to translate India’s constitutional promise of  gender equality into enforceable, accessible remedies. Both Acts move beyond a narrow, physical injury  understanding of violence, recognizing verbal, emotional, and economic abuse within the home, and hostile  environment harassment within the workplace of women, as equally serious violations of a woman’s dignity and autonomy. The availability of time-bound procedures, protection and residence orders, monetary relief, and  institutional mechanisms such as Internal Committees, Protection Officers, the SHE-Box portal, and One Stop  Centers demonstrates that the law has, at least on paper, evolved considerably since the Vishaka guidelines of  1997. But the ground reality is maybe very different women report and acknowledges there harassment but the  limit of time and society bond, thinking pull back action. 

The data NCRB’s 4,45,256 reported cases against women in 2022, NFHS-5’s finding that 32% of married  women report experiencing violence, and survey findings that 70% of women face some form of workplace  harassment reveal a persistent and troubling gap between legal entitlement and lived experience. A significant  proportion of violence continues to go unreported, suppressed by fear of social stigma, professional  consequence, or simple disbelief that the system will respond in time. Mechanisms such as job-switching or  carrying self-defence items, as women resort to in the absence of confidence in workplace redressal ,are  symptomatic of a system where awareness, enforcement, and trust remain weaker than the statute itself. 

Maybe is not a failure of legislative intent but a failure of implementation depth inconsistent functioning of  Internal Committees, fear of reputation in work place. The low awareness of rights among women in rural  sectors, and inadequate sensitization of those tasked with enforcing these laws. Sustained protection for women  whether within the home, at the workplace. 

Reference 

1. Press Information Bureau Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development, 19JUL 2019 2. Several steps taken by Government to promote safety, security and empowerment of women, Ministry of  Women and Child Development, 18 DEC 2024 

3. The Protection of Women Form Domestic Violence Act, 2005

4. G²LM|LIC Policy Brief No. 79 | October 2025 Seventy Percent: The Reality of Workplace Harassment in India. 5. The sexual harassment of Women place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act,2013 6. Domestic Violence in India, A Summary Report of a Multi-Site Household Survey, International Clinical  Epidemiologists Network (INCLEN) 

7. The three-volume report Crime in India 2022 , National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, December  2022