Peace and Equality Cell

Legal activist Prita Jha talks to us about the problems with implementing laws pertaining to violence against women and child sexual abuse

The piece is about a podcast episode featuring legal activist Prita Jha, where she discusses challenges in implementing laws related to violence against women and children in India. She explains that while laws like the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act are progressive, lack of awareness and inconsistent judicial application limit their impact. The episode also tackles the widespread fear of women filing “false cases,” explaining that there’s little reliable data to support such fears and that how “false cases” are legally defined poses problems. Additionally, she talks about complications in how child sexual abuse laws can sometimes inadvertently criminalise consensual adolescent relationships.