The fight against gender-based violence in India, now halfway through 2025, is marked by harrowing numbers, persistent systemic failures, and—unequivocally—the resilience of survivors. What stands out most about this crisis is not just the scale, but its stubborn resistance to intervention, even as society becomes more vocal and policy reforms more frequent. Facts demand we discard platitudes for accountability and action.
Criminal Incidence: The Scale No One Can Ignore
Official figures from India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that 445,256 incidents of crimes against women were reported nationally in 2022, an alarming increase from the previous year. These crimes encompass domestic violence, sexual assault, dowry harassment, kidnapping, and murder. The most frequently documented offense: cruelty by husbands or relatives (over 140,000 cases). Rape is another grim category, with 31,516 reported incidents. Assault with intent to outrage modesty hovers at more than 83,000 cases nationally.[1][2]
Nearly one-third of women aged 18–49 in India admit to having experienced domestic abuse in their lifetimes, a figure confirmed in both the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) and recent academic research. These findings, aided by improved reporting mechanisms, reveal not just the prevalence but the social normalization of violence against women.[2][3][4][1]
Geography of Violence
The burden of violence falls more heavily on some states and cities than others. Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh consistently top the list for crime volume and intensity. Delhi remains infamous for per capita rates, underscoring that urbanization and economic advancement do not guarantee women’s safety.[1][2]
In Uttar Pradesh—the state contributing nearly 15 percent of all GBV cases—the legislative and executive branches routinely fail women. Less than 4% of the vital Nirbhaya Fund, earmarked for women’s protection, has been utilized, even as politicians pay lip service to women’s safety while perpetuating regressive attitudes in public and policy.[1]
Social Determinants and Discriminatory Layers
Gender-based violence in India is neither uniform nor isolated from broader social fractures. Caste and religion make Dalit and Adivasi women, along with religious minorities, particularly vulnerable—Dalit women face a conviction rate for rape at just 2% compared to the already-low national average of 25%. This points to entrenched impunity and profound system neglect. Their labor and suffering are chronically erased from narratives; almost 98% of manual scavengers are women from oppressed castes.[1]
Violence rooted in patriarchy is so endemic that 49% of survey respondents in 2025 said men and women face violence equally, a dangerous misconception that undermines the severity and specificity of women’s experience. Instead, facts show the overwhelming majority of crimes against women are perpetrated by men in domestic and community contexts.[2]
Reporting, Stigma, and New Threats
Despite growing awareness, much gender-based violence goes unreported. Stigma, fear of reprisal, lack of economic independence, and social ostracisation silence survivors. On the other side, digital advances—while aiding some survivors—introduce new problems. A recent Asia-Pacific report revealed that 76% of women parliamentarians have faced psychological violence online, while 60% have experienced direct threats through social media platforms.[5]
Child marriage also persists at a rate of 23%, adding another layer to the matrix of control and violence imposed on women, especially in rural India.[3]
Government and Institutional Responses
India has, in recent years, expanded the legislative toolkit against gender violence. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (2023) increased sentences for sexual offenses and broadened definitions, while the government rolled out One-Stop Centres, Women Helplines (181), and Emergency Response Systems across the country. The Nirbhaya Fund and special Fast-Track Courts are designed to improve survivor access to justice and speed up trials.[6][2][1]
Yet, the disconnect between policy and practice is glaring. States with the highest GBV rates remain reluctant or slow to utilize central funds for women’s protection. Trials for high-profile cases last for years; conviction rates stay stagnant; perpetrator impunity remains the norm, not the exception.[1]
The Cost of Inaction: Personal and National
Economic advances and social mobility for women are hindered by violence. India’s youth female literacy rate is now 96% and labour force participation stands at 45%, milestones reached over decades. But every act of violence robs these gains of their value and meaning, forcing many to abandon work, education, or public life altogether.[2]
Married women are expected to rely on husbands, and divorces or widowhood leave women financially dependent on family members who may themselves be abusers. In rural areas, widowhood can make women burdens to their families, further restricting their autonomy.[2]
Fact-Driven Solutions Must Replace Rhetoric
The facts underscore an urgent need for more than symbolic reform. Real change requires:
- Mandatory gender sensitization in schools and workplaces. Education must break the cycle of normalized violence early, bolstered by evidence-based curriculum and teacher training.[2][1]
- Universal, accessible support infrastructure. One-Stop Centres and Helplines should be boosted with more funding and staff to address the needs of survivors with trauma-informed care.[6]
- Justice reforms to improve conviction rates and reduce trial length. Fast-track courts must operate at full capacity, with police and judicial actors held accountable for delays and failures.[1][2]
- Economic empowerment for women. Policies should enable survivors to pursue education and find employment, reducing financial dependency.[2]
- Technology for protection, not exploitation. Law enforcement must adapt rapidly to new digital threats, training officers in cybercrime and prioritizing online safety, especially for women in public life.[5]
Responsibility of Leaders and Society
Elected officials and civil society have a unique responsibility. Leaders must reject platitudes and manifest real intent—by allocating resources quickly, measuring outcomes honestly, and enforcing laws without bias. Civil society should amplify survivor voices, ensuring stories do not disappear behind statistics.[1]
Conclusion: Confronting the Crisis with Facts
India’s gender-based violence crisis is not a mystery lacking solutions: it is a test of national will and honesty. Facts alone lay bare the limitations of silence and lip service. Only when the country commits fully to fact-driven progress—spanning education, justice, economics, and social attitudes—can cycles of violence be broken.
In this task, editorializing is a call not merely for outrage but for remedy. Women’s safety, dignity, and freedom cannot wait. The facts demand it, and so must our laws, leaders, and communities.[5][2][1]
(The author is an Indian writer and economist, author of three books)
- https://cjp.org.in/mapping-gender-based-violence-in-india-trends-determinants-and-institutional-frameworks/
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/india-country-policy-and-information-notes/country-policy-and-information-note-women-fearing-gender-based-violence-india-august-2025-accessible
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11932463/
- https://ijmr.org.in/violence-against-women-in-india-comprehensive-care-for-survivors/
- https://www.ipu.org/news/press-releases/2025-03/60-women-mps-asia-pacific-report-online-gender-based-violence
- https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2025/mar/doc2025329529701.pdf
- https://www.emro.who.int/emhj-volume-25-2019/volume-25-issue-4/gender-based-violence-in-new-delhi-india-forecast-based-on-secondary-data-analysis.html
- https://www.mospi.gov.in/publication/women-men-india-2024-selected-indicators-and-data
- https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2116557
- https://data.unwomen.org/global-database-on-violence-against-women
- https://www.isdm.org.in/blog/its-womens-day-but-on-ground-little-has-changed