Opinion It’s not easy for women to seek justice — a study of Haryana proves it

In discussions about how violence against women can be effectively addressed, a frequently recommended nostrum is that women should be encouraged to speak up and take the first step by making an official complaint. The implication is that once the system is activated, justice is sure to be delivered. That the path of legal remedy is not so straightforward for women is demonstrated by a study of over 4 lakh FIRs in Haryana, published recently in the American Political Science Review. It has found that not only are cases of violence against women, in which women are the primary complainants, less likely to be registered and more likely to be dismissed in court or result in acquittals, a gender bias is visible even in other types of cases, from registration to prosecution, resulting in, what the researchers call, “multi-stage” discrimination.

The revelation that women complainants are at a greater disadvantage is, of course, not entirely surprising. Reports and anecdotal evidence have long shown that complaints by women — not just in Haryana, but across India — are less likely to be taken seriously at the level of the police station. Women are made to wait longer and are frequently “counselled” to withdraw complaints. The inequality persists at every level of the legal process, shored up by the sentiment, often publicly expressed, that women tend to exaggerate their complaints or misuse the law. Consider the recent comment by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Rajan v. The State of Madhya Pradesh, about the “misuse” of Section 498A (cruelty to women) of the Indian Penal Code — wives these days file “a package of five cases” against their husbands and in-laws. Or the Calcutta High Court’s observation in August in Swapan Kumar Das v State of West Bengal, that Section 498A is used by women to unleash “legal terrorism”. As the data from the study shows, not only do such pronouncements have no basis in fact, they further discourage women from seeking justice.

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That one half of the population faces such odds not only in the quest for justice, but simply to be heard should cause disquiet. It’s not enough to find procedural solutions such as more all-women police stations and fast track courts. Increasing the number of women in the police force — presently at an abysmal 11.7 per cent, as shared by MoS for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in the Rajya Sabha earlier this year — should be prioritised, as should greater sensitisation and training at every level of the system, from the thana to the bench.