The State of Gender-Based Sexual Violence Against Women in India: Current State and Future Directions

Sexual violence in India became a worldwide topic of discussion after the brutal Nirbhaya gang rape in late 2012. In response to the widespread protests that followed, Indian legislative bodies passed a series of landmark legislations on sexual violence and made attempts to reform the court process. In 2018, a series of rape cases of young girls brought the state of gender-based sexual violence back into public scrutiny, when the issue was thought to have been addressed in the previous few years. This article provides a review of the legislative reforms that have been implemented since 2013 and aims to assess whether these reforms have made a positive impact on Indian women across the country. Legislation, government data, and news articles, in addition to quantitative and qualitative reports made by non-profit organizations, are analyzed to explore this question. Specifically, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013 and 2018, along with fast track courts, are discussed. Challenges for the effective implementation of these initiatives, such as the mishandling of sexual assault cases by key personnel and the implementation of fast track courts, are then examined. Lastly, future steps in the form of witness and victim protection acts, along with the criminalization of marital rape, are identified as potential future steps.