Abstract

India maintains an extensive legal framework for GBV prevention yet gender-based violence continues to be a widespread permanent human rights violation throughout the country. The study identifies statutory protection implementation failures through investigations of social norms together with law enforcement indifference and procedural delays and patriarchal system preferences which prevent victims from obtaining justice. This analysis examines legal reform effectiveness through Indian Penal Code and Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 in response to Nirbhaya case and other major incidents using legislative instruments. The research analyzes the implementation of these laws by police mechanisms with judicial process whereas infrastructure in forensics and identifies the operational limitations that block survivor-focused justice systems. The research framework applies a rights-based intersectional approach to suggest the need for legal accountability support from institutional improvements through capacity development and gender-responsive policy delivery. This study includes empirical learning from international utmost practices to develop a structure which improves accountability together with survivor dignity and cultivates a culture of deterrence. This study emphasizes that bridging the divide between legal systems and justice outcomes needs meaningful laws with systematic changes to make gender-violence victim recovery accessible and effective through justice mechanisms.

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