Legal Protection and Institutional Challenges in Addressing Crime Against Women in Urban India

Abstract

Crime against women continues to be a major issue with regard to the law and institutions in urban India even with the availability of a wide range of constitutional and legislative safeguards to women. This research seeks to understand the protection afforded to women by law and the issues within institutions that have an impact on the prevention, reporting, investigation, and prosecution of crimes committed against women in urban areas. The study employs a socio-legal research approach that involves both doctrinal analysis of the constitutional provisions, legislation, judicial precedents, and institutional reports, together with empirical analysis of official crime data and institutional records. The findings reveal that India has built up a fairly rich legal regime for the protection of women, though there are some gaps between the formal legal protection and its actual application. Issues within institutions such as police indifference, delay in investigation and judgment, limited access to help and support, lack of coordination, and cybercrime continue to be a problem for women accessing justice. The study concludes that the protection of women requires legislation, as well as gender-sensitive policing, investigation, legal aid, victim support services, institutional accountability, and coordination between institutions involved in justice delivery.