ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 focusses on women’s right to a life free from violence. Violence against women is widespread in India, and although its impact differs across disparities in location and across divisions of caste, religion and class, all women are vulnerable to violence. The chapter assesses the extent to which women’s human rights principles and women’s human rights theories have been or could be utilised to advance women’s right to a life free from violence. We use, for example, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 to illustrate how principles and theories of women’s human rights can lead to positive law reform. We examine violence against women through selected (representative) forms of violence – domestic and family violence including dowry violence, sexual violence and honour crimes. In each of these areas, using examples of feminist-driven law reform, policy and judicial reasoning, we illustrate how principles and theories of women’s human rights can be used to understand and strengthen the state response to violence against women and to develop strategies for reducing and ultimately ending violence against women.
