STREET SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN INDIA: A SOCIO-LEGAL STUDY FROM NORTH GOA
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Abstract
Woman is subjected to violence, cruelty, and harassment from time to time. Various laws are made in India to protect and punish offenders. But till now there is no separate provision, rules or regulation to punish offenders against ‘street sexual harassment against women’. Street sexual harassment is rampant in our society, the criminals are not punished, and such harassment continues. The concept of street sexual harassment is unexplored, no socio-legal study is done specifically in this field in India. Thus, the authors have conducted the socio-legal study and put forth the data obtained from various stakeholders including respondents who are victims of street sexual harassment and law enforcement authorities. The stiffest challenges faced by women are that of sexual harassment in public spaces. This form of exploitation of women and their privacy, only because of their gender, is today turning out to be a pervasive and overly complex crime to control. Such crimes do not limit itself to certain locations, situations nor time of day. The present research study seeks to bring to attention that women and girls experiencing even slightest abuse are forced to break out of their childhood innocence, tolerate it and helplessly suffer in silence. The authors conclude that the current provisions of law are not sufficient to curb street sexual harassment. Thus, there is a need to introduce stringent provisions in the matters relating to street sexual harassment against woman.
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American feminist journalist & Social political activist
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“Whoever, being a public servant,
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(b) knowingly disobeys, to the prejudice of any person, any other direction of the law regulating the manner in which he shall conduct such investigation, or
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