Combating Violence against Women in India

Violence affects the lives of millions of women worldwide, in all socio-economic and educational classes. It cuts across cultural and religious barriers, impeding the right of women to participate fully in society. Violence against women is considered a major violation of human rights. It is also a major public health problem. A wide range of physical, mental, sexual and reproductive and maternal health problems can result from violence against women. Violence against women is associated with sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS, unintended pregnancies, gynecological problems, induced abortions, and adverse pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, low birth weight and fetal death. The age old cultural beliefs and tradition have identified various issues of gender-based violence that over the period of time has become a major cause of harassment faced by the women. The present paper has three objectives : first,to clarify the meaning of violence against women; Second, to examine global or international as well as national efforts made so far to combat violence against women; and lastly, suggest ways and means to improve the situation. Naturally, the sources and material used in such an analysis are mainly secondary in nature and this paper is no exception to it.