WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND LEGAL TRANSFORMATION: LEGAL RESPONSES TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

AUTHOR: R.S MRIDULA, RAMAIAH INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES

Gender-based violence is violence directed against a person due to gender, even though it's important to address the issue of violence faced by both men and women, eventually, it's more prevalent among women. It's essential to ensure that women have access to their specific rights without causing any discrimination against men. This research paper mainly focuses on Gender-based violence and its types which can be, physical or mental, along with the various international legal frameworks one of them being the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women, it is the first global document that contains the definition of gender. In India according to the (NCEB) in 2021, a total of 4,05,861 crimes against women were reported. This research is of qualitative methodology, that also emphasizes the court's role in expanding women’s rights along with recent legal transformation and emerging issues. It also addresses the concerning increase in violence against women in the 20th century, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of which were suppressed due to political reasons. Still, the proliferation of advanced technology and the development of artificial intelligence exacerbated cyber misogyny. In India, the 1972 Mathura Rape case, the 1997 Vishaka case, and the Delhi Gangrape case are some landmark proceedings that played a vital role in promulgating changes in Indian Laws. Therefore, gender-based violence is deeply rooted in gender inequality. With proper measures and stringent laws, the problem of gender-based violence can be eradicated.

Gender, violence, women, rights, men, laws.

Gender-based violence prevails in every society all around the globe in different forms. The terms gender-based violence and violence against women interchange but they are not synonymous. From the prehistoric era to the twentieth century, instead of a decline, women's violence has been increasing. It can start from sex-selective abortion in Northern India, which believes having a girl child is a sin, to those who have been working hard to earn money facing workplace violence. These are just a few of the things that women are facing due to their gender, not only in India but everywhere. It's hard for them to be upfront about it because in many places gender-based violence is something that’s been supported and, in some places, the government just turns a blind eye. Whereas in South Africa the rate of violence is comparatively higher than in the rest of the world and as the police officials are already trained in how to handle gender-based violence, whenever a woman comes with her problem, either they are turned down by saying that they need to sort the matter by themselves with the abuser or its something personal and they shouldn’t file a complaint against it. Even after the tremendous increase in violence, in the 150 years since the first, landmark women's rights convention, not only women won the right to vote, but also, were elected to public offices, still compared to men the journey was immensely covered by hardship for women. To date, only two out of three countries have outlawed domestic violence, and 49 countries currently have no laws protecting women from domestic violence. Therefore, some laws were made to regulate this violence, starting from the resolution adopted by the General Assembly 54/134, officially considering 25th November as the international day for the elimination of violence against women, which calls all the NGOs around the globe to spread awareness.(1) Hence, the main purpose of this paper is to highlight that despite numerous awareness programs, gender-based violence continues to increase due to societal norms, the patriarchal system, and economic inequalities. Hence to completely remove this violence, gender stereotypes should be challenged, rather than teaching what men should do and women shouldn’t instead they should be educating both genders equally. Politically as per the reports of the UN Women's Organization, there are 29 countries where 30 women serve as heads of state. There is also established and growing evidence that women’s leadership in decision-making improves them. In India, the percentage of women MPs in the Lok Sabha currently stands at 14 percent in the 18th Lok Sabha. Therefore increased participation of women in not only political matters but also in economic matters can bring a lot of difference in society.

Gender-based violence that results in physical, sexual, mental, or economic harm. According to the renowned feminist Catherine. A. MacKinnon, “the fundamental idea of gender crime originated in the early 1970’s in the creation of sexual harassment law, substantively, it was in sexual harassment law that rape was first legally recognized as based in gender inequality”. Whereas according to Bell Hook who was an intersectional feminist believed that “gender-based violence was rooted in patriarchy” even though the definition differs but both of the authors are trying to say that how even after the establishment of constitution and parliamentary systems, also by giving the right to votes, it didn’t make much change in the society. For instance, India is a patriarchal society, from the era of Vedas they have been giving prior importance to boys as well as when it comes to property. There are various forms of Gender-based violence like domestic violence, Human trafficking, honor killing, psychological abuse, and sexual harassment. 

Based on the following resources analyzed in this review many changes happened from the feminist movement to the right to vote, some of the changes are as follows–

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF LEGAL RESPONSES 

Historically, due to a lack of depth in knowledge and some complications, people treated gender-based violence as a private matter, and early laws that were during the First and Second World Wars failed to protect women. Soon after in history, there was a convention held called the Seneca Falls Convention, it was the first woman's rights convention in the U.S. (2) At first mostly the movements were focused on abolishment of slavery but later on, white women started dominating through which nineteenth amendment was added in the U.S constitution for the right to vote. During the second wave of feminism, they made reproductive rights the pillar, as nowadays abortions are easily done. Still, there used to be a time(1868) when the law in the UK made performing an abortion or attempting to self-abort a crime punishable with life imprisonment. The second wave of feminism also focused on women's careers, during the world when most men left their jobs to fight war these ‘masculine’ jobs were taken over by women and they also proved that they could do these jobs equally to a man. Therefore by 1960, many women achieved their rights. However, after these protests and movements, various international laws were amended for women's protection. 

International laws and regional treaties 

After the second and third waves of feminism, most of the rights were granted to women after a prolonged struggle even though there were transformations taking place, there were new conventions and amendments one of them being CEDAW, it is a body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, it was adopted by the UN in 1979, it is one of the most important human rights for the women as well as the Beijing declaration and platform for action 1995.

RESTORATIVE WAY OF JUSTICE– this term refers to giving importance to healing victims rather than punishing offenders, after a rape, any other physical touch can create fear in her memory, during this process victims want someone to hear them out.  Some countries that follow this are Norway, Belgium, and Australia.

CYBER VIOLENCE AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE- Currently, the widespread use of artificial intelligence has significantly simplified and improved human life. However, like everything else, AI has its advantages and disadvantages. One notable downside is the ease with which photos can be manipulated, especially with the high usage of social media. This has led to issues such as sextortion and image-based abuse. On the other hand, AI can also be used as a tool to raise awareness among young students.

This research uses a qualitative case study method to analyze how these countries were successful in tackling gender-based violence 

Case Study 1 Mexico 

The general law on women’s access to a life free of violence was enacted in 2007 and updated in 2020. This law mainly states that it promised the victims to protect them from the abusers “The law emphasized in Article One that “the purpose of the present law is to establish coordination of the federation, the states, and the municipalities to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against women”. (3)

Despite having this good legal framework to establish this, it needs to have co corporation with various other countries to eradicate gender-based violence but due to hindrances like corruption they were unable to implement it 

Case Study 2 Hungary 

CEDAW is an international treaty that ensures that women have equal rights to men and that Hungary has violated all of its obligations, so to rectify their mistake they are trying to strengthen the situation of gender-based violence in their country.

Even though Hungary has made great progress in overcoming this problem, still implementing all the obligations by CEDAW is quite a task because of the cultural differences.

Even after enacting and enforcing laws and conventions aimed at protecting women from gender-based violence, both countries continue to encounter significant challenges. These obstacles include deeply rooted cultural differences and widespread corruption that undermine the effectiveness of existing measures. Merely raising awareness about the issue may not suffice to shield women from such violence. Imposing curfews or preventing women from attending school or work cannot effectively address the underlying problem. Instead of solely focusing on implementing legal frameworks and attending to formalities, it is imperative to delve into the root cause, which is deeply embedded in societal attitudes and norms. It is essential to foster a comprehensive understanding of how both genders play equally important roles in maintaining a balanced and harmonious social order.

There are various challenges when it comes to removing gender-based violence, not only government are trying their best to do it but many developing countries like India might take a good amount of years to achieve the goal as the recent RG Kar rape case, which involved a working doctor, created havoc in the country. Instead of restricting women from doing things, there are various other ways to address this problem. The challenges are as follows:

• Many laws are outdated and due to innovations day by day the risk factor of women being victims increases.

• When a case is taken to police officials, 40% think it's an exaggerated story rather than taking the pain to file the complaint. (4)

• In many developing countries the healthcare system is much worse than that of developed countries, these countries don’t have the proper types of equipment to treat victims suffering from gender-based violence.

• Even medical professionals lack training during this situation, they are not prepared to treat the patients when they are faced with such circumstances.

• There are upcoming conventions that focus on gender-based violence and involve the government, civil society, and international organizations such as the UNITE campaign, launched by the US to end gender-based violence by 2030.

• Some policy recommendations like National Action Plan countries like Turkmenistan have adopted this plan mainly to create awareness among the public 

• More than 150 countries have adopted plans for gender-based violence but enforcement is the only problem they are facing.

• Implementation of AI and increase in the cyber security force, as most of the cases are related to technology leading to cyber misogyny, as when a complaint is filed either it's not taken seriously or it takes a longer period to catch the culprit, making the situation worse for the victim. 

• Proper medical facilities, especially the availability of psychologists and all the medical equipment even though it is costly a proper investment by the government can reduce half of the problems.

Gender-based violence Is not something that can only be eradicated by the government instead it is something that’s deeply rooted in the minds of society, and to effectively combat gender-based violence, it is necessary to implement a comprehensive legal system that not only criminalize all forms of violence but would also give a robust support system to the victim. From the era of the Seneca Convention to the third wave of feminism women have fought for the rights to gain the right to vote and the right to work, but as most of the rights were not provided still currently women's active participation in law or medical field have been tremendously increasing. Furthermore, the role of education and community engagement cannot be overstated. When it comes to education, it's crucial to instil the values of equality starting from the home environment. Children should be taught that both genders are equal and possess the capability to achieve great things. In addition to teaching girls about the concepts of good touch and bad touch, it's equally important to educate boys about the significance of recognizing and respecting the personal boundaries established by women. This comprehensive approach to education can help create a more equitable and respectful society for all. Sustained investment strategies are also very important, initiatives like Ireland’s third national strategy on domestic violence, and sexual and gender-based violence. While addressing gender-based violence is a complex task, it is certainly achievable with concerted efforts and collaboration.

1. Jabir Singh Malik, a cross-sectional study of gender-based violence, PMC6437789 (2019).

2.  Emmaline Soken Huberty , Second wave feminism, https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/second-wave-feminism-history-main-ideasimpact 

3.  Grace Flatow, Evaluating Mexico's General Law for Women’s Access to a Life Free of Violence, Dec 1, 2022.

4. Gender-Based Violence in India: Challenges and Solutions, 2024, https://sleepyclasses.com/gender-based-violence-in-india-challenges-and-solutions/