-The Telegraph Bench condemns the practice as ‘regressive’ and ‘invasive’ New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday banned the decades-old “two-finger” test on rape survivors and said anyone violating the directive would be held guilty of misconduct. The two-finger test is conducted on victims of sexual assault and rape to determine whether they are habituated to sexual intercourse. Condemning the practice as “regressive” and “invasive”, a bench of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Hima...

-Press release by Every Woman Treaty dated September 30, 2022 Every Woman, a coalition of more than 1,700 women's rights advocates in 128 countries, including India, has developed the findings-based draft instrument (Zero Draft EWT), informed by extensive consultation with experts from all regions of the world, including survivors, frontline activists, medical specialists, practitioners, scholars, human rights attorneys, and policy-makers. This Draft of global binding norm focuses on violence prevention and...

-The Telegraph SC says meaning of ‘rape’ must be understood as including marital rape, solely for the purposes of the MTP Act The Supreme Court on Thursday declared that all women, married and unmarried, are entitled to safe and legal abortions till 24 weeks of gestation under India’s Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act, 2021. The apex court also held that the meanings of the expressions “sexual assault” and “rape” under the rules...

-Newsclick.in Across states, Adivasi women have been at the frontline when it has come to stand up for their lands. However, gender-based violence against them continues unabated till today. New Delhi: Adivasi women in India continue to pay the price for being defenders of their lands, shows a report by advocacy group Survival International released on the occasion of International Women's Day. The report titled ‘Brutalized for resistance: The assault on Indigenous women...

-Hindustan Times Bhanwari Devi’s legal battle birthed India’s sexual harassment protection laws for women, and forms the backbone of the Supreme Court’s landmark 1997 Vishakha guidelines for workplaces. Yet, her case has not resulted in convictions Bhateri, Rajasthan: Thin and frail and in her early sixties, Bhanwari Devi sits, an orange ghunghat covering her head, her forehead furrowed. The last year has not been kind to her. As her hands sprinkle water...