CEDAW and the Welfare of Women Victims of Violence in India: A Legal Analysis

In the era of the modern world, the perception of the justice delivery system is also evolving. The traditional notion of punishing the perpetrator does not redress the issue. It needs to have a holistic resolution of the problem by giving due consideration or welfare assistance to the victim of violence. This paper focuses on the welfare assistance given to “women victims of violence in India”. This issue is examined through an analysis of the “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)” and the Indian legal frameworks governing the assistance to women victims of violence. India, a non-binding state party to the “CEDAW Optional Protocol”, has to develop a policy-oriented local governance system. The violence that is committed and the assistance that is given to women in India is filled with ambiguity, like insufficient compensation, irregular compensation, differentiation in compensation scheme between the states, insufficient medical expenses and delay in justice delivery. These directly depend on the availability of a compensatory mechanism or nodal agency to monitor and implement. The “Nari Adalat” and empowering them is one such solution, but the ultimate efficiency depends on the implementation of such policies.