Legal Reforms and Shifts in Reporting of Violence against Women

• In Event: Gender Based Violence

Abstract

Do legal reforms influence reporting of violence against women? Since 1970’s India has seen several legislation that address violence against women, including rape, domestic violence, and dowry related deaths. There are obvious symbolic and ideological messages that accompany formal legal articulations. Whether these legal articulations translate in fundamental social shifts is a larger question. This paper examines the more concrete changes in reporting patterns as a result of legal reforms. Using reported data on violence against women from the National Crime Record Bureau, this paper examines whether legislation like the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1983, the Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 had any impact on reporting of violence against women.

Author

• Suvarna Cherukuri, Siena College