Evolution of crimes against women and related criminal law reforms in India: emerging trends and the expanding role of forensic medicine specialists

Crimes against women (CAW) in India have undergone significant quantitative and qualitative shifts over the past decade, influenced by socioeconomic transitions, increasing digitalisation and changing legal frameworks. National data indicate a sustained high burden of registered CAW, with rising reports of cruelty by the husband or his relatives, assaults with intent to outrage modesty and cyber-mediated harassment, even as certain categories such as dowry deaths show a gradual decline, and with marked inter-state and inter-district variation throughout. The replacement of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), and of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), together with the continued operation of special legislations such as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), has substantially altered the legal landscape for addressing CAW. Through a structured narrative review of national statistics, government reports and peer-reviewed literature, this article examines the evolution and emerging trends of CAW and related laws in India, highlights the pivotal but under-recognised role of forensic medicine specialists in clinical examination, autopsy, injury pattern analysis, expert testimony and policy-relevant research, identifies gaps in medicolegal practice, and proposes measures to strengthen the forensic–legal interface to improve justice outcomes for women.