The document provides historical background on crimes against women globally and in India. It discusses various forms of violence perpetrated against women by individuals and states internationally. It then outlines important milestones in recognizing and addressing such crimes on the international level from 1979-2013. For India, it describes the prevalence of violence against women resulting from patriarchal systems and lack of access to education and support for victims. It also outlines constitutional provisions and legal measures enacted over time to protect women's rights and prevent crimes against women in India.

1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
OF CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN
Dr. MADHURI IRENE

2. Introduction
• Violence against women can fit into several broad categories.
• These include violence carried out by individuals as well as states.
• Some of the forms of violence perpetrated by individuals are: rape,
domestic violence, sexual harassment, acid throwing, reproductive
coercion, female infanticide, prenatal sex selection, obstetric violence,
online gender-based violence and mob violence; as well as harmful
customary or traditional practices such as honor killings, dowry violence,
female genital mutilation, marriage by abduction and forced marriage.
• There are forms of violence which may be perpetrated or condoned by the
government, such as war rape; sexual violence and sexual slavery during
conflict; forced sterilization; forced abortion; violence by the police and
authoritative personnel; stoning and flogging..

3. Milestones
Some of the most important milestones on the international level for the prevention of
violence against women include:
• The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW), which recognizes violence as a part of discrimination against
women.
• The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, which recognized violence against
women as a human rights violation, and which contributed to the following UN
declaration.
• The 1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women was the first
international instrument explicitly defining and addressing violence against women.
This document specifically refers to the historically forever-present nature of gender
inequalities in understanding violence against women.

4. • The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, linking
violence against women to reproductive health and rights, and also providing
recommendations to governments on how to prevent and respond to violence
against women and girls.
• In 1996, the World Health Assembly (WHA) declared violence a major public
health issue, and included in the subtypes recognized were intimate partner
violence and sexual violence, two kinds of violence often perpetrated as violence
against women. This was followed by a WHO report in 2002 (see below). The UN
also created the Trust Fund to Support Actions to Eliminate Violence Against
Women.
• In 1999, the UN adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and designated 25
November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against
Women.

5. • In 2002, as a follow-up of the WHA declaration in 1996 of violence as a major
public health issue, the World Health Organization published the first World
Report on Violence and Health, which addressed many types of violence and
their effect on public health, including forms of violence affecting women
particularly strongly. The report specifically noted the sharp rise in civil society
organizations and activities directed at responding to gender-based violence
against women from the 1970s to the 1990s.
• In 2004, the World Health Organization published its "Multi-country study on
Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women", a study of women's
health and domestic violence by surveying over 24,000 women in 10 countries
from all regions of the world, which assessed the prevalence and extent of
violence against women, particularly violence by intimate partners, and linked
this with health outcomes to women as well as documenting strategies and
services that women use to cope with intimate-partner violence.
• The 2006 UN Secretary General's "In-depth study on all forms of violence
against women", the first comprehensive international document on the
issue.
• The 2011 Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating
violence against women and domestic violence, which is the second regional
legally-binding instrument on violence against women and girls.

6. • In 2013, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW) adopted, by consensus, Agreed Conclusions on the elimination
and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls
(formerly, there were no agreed-upon conclusions).
• Also in 2013, the UN General Assembly passed its first resolution calling
for the protection of defenders of women's human rights.
• The resolution urges states to put in place gender-specific laws and
policies for the protection of women's human rights defenders and to
ensure that defenders themselves are involved in the design and
implementation of these measures, and calls on states to protect
women's human rights defenders from reprisals for cooperating with
the UN and to ensure their unhindered access to and communication
with international human rights bodies and mechanisms

7. CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA
• Violence against women in India refer to physical or sexual violence
committed against Indian women, typically by a man.
• Common forms of violence against women in India include acts such
as domestic abuse, sexual assault, and murder.
• In order to be considered violence against women, the act must be
committed solely because the victim is female.
• Most typically, these acts are committed by men as a result of the
long-standing gender inequalities present in the country.

8. • Perpetuation of violence against women in India continues as a result of many
systems of sexism and Patriarchy in place within Indian culture.
• Beginning in early childhood, young girls are given less access to education than
their male counterparts. 80% of boys will go to primary school, where as just
over half of girls will have that same opportunity.
• Gender based inequality is present even before that however, as it is reported
that female children are often fed less and are given less hearty diet.
• Later in life, the social climate continues to reinforce inequality, and
consequently, violence against women. Married women in India tend to see
violence as a routine part of being married.
• Women who are put in a situation where they are being subjected to gender-
based violence are often victim shamed, being told that their safety is their own
responsibility and that whatever may happen to them is their own fault.
• In addition to this, women are very heavily pressured into complicity because of
social and cultural beliefs, such as family honor.
• Even when a woman who is a victim of gender-based violence or crime does
decide to report the incident, it is not always likely that she will have access to
the support she would need to handle the situation properly.

9. • In the ancient Indian women held a high place of respect in the
society as mentioned in Rigveda and other scriptures.
• Volumes can be written about the status of our women and their
heroic deeds from the vedic period to the modern times.
• But later on, because of social, political and economic changes,
women lost their status and were relegated to the background.
• Many evil customs and traditions stepped in which enslaved the
women and tied them to the boundaries of the house1

10. • The official statistics showed a declining sex-ratio, health status,
literacy rate, work participation rate and political participation
among women.
• the spread of social evils like dowry deaths,
• child marriage,
• domestic violence,
• rape, sexual harassment,
• exploitation of women workers are rampant in different parts of
India.
• Humiliation, rape, kidnapping, molestation, dowry death, torture,
wife-beating etc. have grown up over the years

11. Crimes against women
• “The Semantic meaning of “crime against women‟ is direct or indirect
physical or mental cruelty to women.
• Crimes which are „directed specifically against women‟ and in which
„only women are victims‟ are characterized as „Crime Against
Women‟

12. CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL PROVISION FOR WOMEN
• Article 14 - Men and women to have equal rights and opportunities in the political, economic
and social spheres.
• Article l5(l) - Prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, cast,
sex etc.
• Article 15(3) - Special provisions for women to make affirmative discriminations in favour of
women.
• Article 16 - Equality of opportunities in public appointments for all people.
• Article 21- Supreme Court has laid down some special provisions for women by way of
compensation to rape victims and prevention of sexual harassment
• Article 39(a) - State shall direct its policy towards securing all citizens men and women,
equally, the right to means of Livelihood
• Article 39(d) - Equal pay for equal work for both men and women.
• Article 42 State to make provision for ensuring just and humane conditions of work and
maternity relief.
• Article 51 (A) (e) - To renounce the practices derogatory to the dignity of women.)

13. Legal Provisions for women
• Factories Act 1948: Under this Act, a woman cannot be forced to work
beyond 8 hours and prohibits employment of women except between 6
A.M. and 7 P.M.
• Maternity Benefit Act 1961: A Woman is entitled 12 weeks maternity
leave with full wages.
• The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961: Under the provisions of this Act
demand of dowry either before marriage, during marriage and or after
the marriage is an offence.
• Sati Prevention Act 1987 - prevents Hindu married women from
committing Sati on the pyre of their deceased husbands.
• The Equal Remuneration Act of 1976: This act provides equal wages for
equal work: It provides for the payment of equal wages to both men and
women workers for the same work or work of similar nature.

14. • The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929: This act raises the
age for marriage of a girl to 18 years from 15 years and that of
a boy to 21 years.
• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act,2008
• Indian Penal Code: Section 354 and 509 safeguards the
interests of women.
• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971: The Act
safeguards women from unnecessary and compulsory
abortions.
• Amendments to Criminal Law 1983, which provides for a
punishment of 7 years in ordinary cases and 10 years for
custodial rape cases.

15. • 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act reserved 1/3rd seats in
Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies for women.
• The National Commission for Women Act, 1990: The Commission was
set up in January 1992 to review the Constitutional and legal
safeguards for women.
• The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993:
• The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994.
• Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
• The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,
Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013
• The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2019.