Asegurando la igualdad: un enfoque de género neutro para la Ley de Violencia Doméstica en India

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWD-VA), provides legal measures to address Domestic Violence (DV) in India. To em-power women and ensure gender equality in India is the aim of this Act. However, many concerns have come to light regarding false complaints and the failure to address the domestic abuse experienced by men. It has been argued by critics that the broad definitions of DV, which include acts like “insults” and “ridicule,” have a tendency to interpret trivial disputes being reported as DV. Critics have also argued that the Act is being utilized to target other women in the families, including mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. Difficulties in implementing the legislation stem from insufficient numbers of Protection Officers and a lack of responsiveness from the police, leading to inadequate investigation and documentation. This facilitates frivolous allegations, encouraging the exploitation of the legal provisions, thereby perpetuating gender dis-parities and injustices in legal proceedings. It is imperative to revise the clauses of the existing Act to enhance its effectiveness and mitigate harm. Overlooking this matter may result in an unwarranted rise in the cases of domestic violence and overload the judicial system with cases that deviate from the legislative objective