How India Handles Crimes Against Women and Children

India's legal framework for protecting women and children is comprehensive on paper: the Domestic Violence Act (2005), the Dowry Prohibition Act (1961), Section 498A IPC/BNS (cruelty by husband and relatives), the POCSO Act (2012), Child Labour prohibition laws, the Trafficking Act framework, and the BNSS's strengthened victim rights provisions collectively create a legal architecture that is more protective than many comparably developed countries. 

The challenge is the gap between legal protection and enforcement reality — a gap that is both institutional (police resistance to registering FIRs, court pendency, forensic limitations) and social (community pressure on victims not to pursue complaints, family honour considerations, economic dependence on abusers).

Representational Image: How India Handles Crimes Against Women and Children

NCRB 2023 data documents: crimes against women 4.48 lakh cases (marginal 0.7% increase from 2022); crimes against children 1.87 lakh cases (9.2% increase); dowry deaths 6,450 cases; acid attacks 227 cases; cruelty by husband/relatives 1.35 lakh cases (30% of all crimes against women). These figures represent reported and registered cases; actual incidence is significantly higher. 

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) documents that 32% of ever-married women report having experienced physical, sexual, or emotional domestic violence — a figure that, applied to India's married women population, represents tens of millions of women experiencing violence annually compared to the 1.35 lakh Section 498A cases registered.

What You Need to Know

• NCRB 2023 key data: crimes against women 4.48 lakh; cruelty by husband/relatives 1.35 lakh (Section 498A); assault with intent to disrobe 69,000+; rape 31,677; kidnapping and abduction 1.03 lakh; dowry death 6,450; crimes against children 1.87 lakh; POCSO cases approximately 51,000.
• Section 498A BNS (formerly IPC 498A): domestic cruelty — subjecting married woman to cruelty for dowry demand or willful conduct likely to drive her to suicide or cause grave injury; cognisable and non-bailable; maximum 3 years + fine; prosecution rate is affected by "victim turning hostile" in approximately 40% of cases (court data).
• Dowry death (BNS Section 80, former IPC 304B): death of woman within 7 years of marriage by burns, bodily injury or unnatural circumstances, preceded by dowry demand; punishable 7 years to life; burden of proof partially reversed — if death occurs within 7 years in circumstances suggesting dowry demand, presumption against husband and in-laws unless rebutted.
• Domestic Violence Act (2005): civil law; protection orders; right to residence; maintenance; custody; complaint to Protection Officer or magistrate; orders not requiring criminal FIR; Protection Officers (approximately 1 per district) manage civil DV cases; the Act is not a criminal law in the same way as 498A — it provides civil remedies rather than criminal penalties.
• Child labour: Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act 2016; children under 14 prohibited from all work; those 14–18 prohibited from hazardous industries; "family enterprise" exception for non-hazardous work after school hours; NCRB 2023: child labour cases 2,087 registered (significant undercount — estimated 10+ million child workers in informal sector).

How It Works in Practice

1. The DV Act and 498A interaction: A woman experiencing domestic violence has two primary legal options: the Domestic Violence Act (civil protection orders, residence rights, maintenance — through Protection Officer/magistrate route) and Section 498A BNS (criminal cruelty complaint — through police FIR route). The two can be pursued simultaneously or as alternatives; the DV Act is generally more accessible (no police required for initial filing, no criminal arrest of accused); 498A provides stronger deterrence through criminal arrest but requires police cooperation.

2. Child welfare committees (CWC) and POCSO: For child victims of sexual abuse, POCSO creates a specialised institutional pathway: police Special Juvenile Police Units handle initial investigation; Child Welfare Committees (CWC) — statutory bodies under Juvenile Justice Act — manage child placement and care during proceedings; special POCSO courts hear trials with child-friendly procedures; the multi-agency model is more protective than standard criminal procedure but requires coordination that is often inadequate in resource-limited settings.

3. Child marriage and law enforcement: Child marriage is prohibited under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (2006); BNS Section 63 (rape) specifically protects against marital rape when wife is under 18; but child marriage enforcement is patchy: approximately 23% of Indian women aged 20–24 were married before 18 (NFHS-5); enforcement is most effective in states with active local self-government awareness campaigns and less effective in states where child marriage is normalised.

4. Acid attack response: BNS Section 124 (acid attack) mandates minimum 10 years to life; Section 125 (acid attack resulting in death) up to life; free medical treatment at government facilities for acid attack survivors; compensation under the Victim Compensation Scheme; however, acid availability remains a critical gap — Supreme Court orders restricting acid sales over the counter have had limited implementation; survivors face multiple surgeries and lifetime disability.

5. Crimes against senior citizens: NCRB 2024 noted a 16.9% spike in crimes against the elderly; specific provisions under Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act (2007) provide maintenance rights; BNS has enhanced penalties for crimes against elders; the elderly are particularly targeted by digital fraud (digital arrest scams), property fraud, and in some cases abandonment by family; the "Senior Citizen Security Grid" proposal in the NCRB 2024 analysis recommends district-level financial literacy and safety programmes.

What People Often Misunderstand

• Section 498A is not widely misused against innocent husbands: The "498A misuse" narrative — suggesting the provision is routinely used to falsely implicate innocent husbands and in-laws — gained traction after a 2014 Supreme Court ruling adding procedural safeguards; subsequent data analysis found the "misuse" rate was not systematically higher than other cognisable offences; victim-hostile attrition (cases failing when victims withdraw or turn hostile under pressure) is more documented than false case filing.
• The DV Act applies to live-in relationships, not just formal marriages: The Domestic Violence Act's definition of "domestic relationship" includes live-in relationships, same-household relationships, and shared living arrangements; it is not limited to formally married couples; this broader scope matters for women in non-formal relationships who previously had no legal protection framework.
• NFHS data and NCRB data on domestic violence measure different things: NFHS measures prevalence (% of women experiencing violence in the past year) through anonymised household surveys; NCRB measures police-registered cases; the gap between 32% prevalence and ~0.01% registration rate illustrates the registration barrier rather than suggesting the NFHS data is wrong.
• Child labour enforcement targets the most visible, not the most prevalent: NCRB child labour cases concentrate in manufacturing workshops and hazardous industries where inspections occur; the much larger category of agricultural child labour and domestic child labour is almost entirely outside enforcement; the 2016 "family enterprise" exception was specifically designed to avoid criminalising agricultural child labour.
• POCSO has genuinely improved child sexual abuse prosecution in India: The POCSO Act's mandatory reporting requirement (teachers, doctors, anyone who learns of an offence must report to police under Section 19) has substantially increased registered cases; the child-friendly procedures have improved victim experience; conviction rates under POCSO (approximately 31%) are comparable to adult rape prosecution; the systemic improvement since 2012 is documented in NCRB trend data.

What Changes Over Time

The Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill — pending Rajya Sabha passage — will create a comprehensive victim protection framework that includes children; its passage is the most consequential pending child protection legislation. The government's 2024 announcement of a National Child Safety Policy operationalises multiple legislative requirements; its implementation timeline extends to 2030.

Sources and Further Reading

• Drishti IAS — NCRB 2023: https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/crime-in-india-2023-report
• Lawgical Search — BNS: https://lawgicalsearch.com/indias-new-criminal-laws-2023-bns-bnss-bsa-explained-replacing-ipc-crpc-evidence-act-from-1-july-2024/
• Human Rights Watch — India: https://www.hrw.org/asia/india
• Freedom House — India 2025: https://freedomhouse.org/country/india/freedom-world/2025
• CIVICUS Monitor — India: https://monitor.civicus.org

(This series is part of a long-term editorial project to explain the structures, institutions, policies, and governing frameworks that shape modern India for a global audience. Designed as a 25-article briefing cluster on Policing, Crime & Justice, this vertical examines how India's criminal justice system functions in practice — from policing and criminal investigation to prosecution, courts, prisons, forensic systems, cybercrime enforcement, drug control, custodial accountability, victims' rights, and the treatment of foreign nationals within the justice system. The series explores not only the formal legal architecture established by the Constitution, statutes, and judicial precedents, but also the practical realities of enforcement, institutional capacity, procedural safeguards, systemic delays, and ongoing reform efforts. Written in an accessible format for diplomats, investors, researchers, academics, journalists, policymakers, students, civil society organisations, and international observers, these briefings seek to explain how law, order, accountability, and justice operate in the world's largest democracy. Particular attention is given to the interaction between individual rights and state power, the evolution of India's criminal laws, emerging challenges such as cybercrime and transnational crime, and the institutional constraints that continue to shape outcomes across the justice system. This is Vertical 10 of a larger 20-vertical knowledge architecture being developed by IndianRepublic.in under the editorial direction of Saket Suman. All articles are protected under applicable copyright laws. All Rights Reserved.)