Rights and law

Start with what is happening, then understand which rights, laws and institutions may apply. Legal information should expand choices, not promise outcomes.

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Safety and freedom from violence

Understand behaviour first, then the possible civil, criminal, workplace or child-protection framework.

Work, money and property

Economic rights change the practical power to leave harm and choose a life.

Equal pay and work

The current wage framework, records and retaliation risks.

Workplace sexual harassment

Prevention duties, committee routes and SHe-Box.

Property and inheritance

Why personal law, documents and property type matter.

Using legal and service systems

Know what a route does, what it may disclose and what to do if it fails.

Police, courts, hospitals and complaints

Compare functions, privacy costs and possible next steps.

Free legal assistance

Women and children are eligible groups under the legal-services framework.

Plain-language legal library

Start with conduct and possible routes. Every explainer states limits and avoids promising a result.

Domestic-violence protection: what the law can do

India's Domestic Violence Act recognises physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse in a domestic relationship and provides protection, residence, monetary, custody and compensation remedies through a Magistrate.

Sexual violence, consent and unwanted touch

Consent is a voluntary, specific agreement, not silence or lack of physical resistance. Indian criminal law contains distinct sexual offences, and the applicable provision depends on the act, age, gendered statutory definitions and surrounding facts.

Stalking, voyeurism and being stopped from leaving

Repeated following or unwanted contact, watching or recording a private act, and obstructing a person's movement are different forms of harm with different legal elements. One event may involve more than one offence.

Dowry law: demands, gifts and connected abuse

The Dowry Prohibition Act prohibits giving, taking, abetting and demanding dowry as defined by the Act. Voluntary customary presents and demanded marriage-linked transfers are not the same thing.

Workplace sexual-harassment law

The POSH Act requires prevention, a complaint mechanism and a fair inquiry into sexual harassment of women at workplaces. Internal or Local Committee action can operate alongside a criminal complaint.

Child sexual abuse and the POCSO Act

POCSO protects every person under 18 from defined sexual offences, requires reporting and creates child-friendly procedures. Adults must protect and report—not investigate or negotiate privately.

Child marriage and forced marriage law

The Child Marriage Act prohibits marriage where the woman is under 18 or the man is under 21 for this law. Adult forced marriage is addressed through autonomy, protection and the specific coercive acts used, not one universal offence label.

Online abuse, sextortion and intimate-image abuse

Indian law does not place every form of online abuse under one offence. Threats, extortion, stalking, identity misuse, privacy violations, sexual-content publication and child sexual material must be matched to their specific legal provisions.

Trafficking and organised exploitation law

Trafficking is not simply movement or migration. Criminal law focuses on recruiting, transporting, harbouring, transferring or receiving people for exploitation through specified coercive or deceptive means, with special treatment where children are involved.

Property, inheritance and stridhan

A woman's own property does not become her husband's or in-laws' property because of marriage. Inheritance rules depend on the applicable succession law, religion, family form, title, will and facts, so precise advice matters.

Equal pay and equality in employment

Constitutional equality protections and the Code on Wages address sex-based discrimination in wages and recruitment. The legal test, forum and remedy depend on the work relationship and facts, including informal and non-standard work.

Free legal aid and complaint routes

Women and children are among the categories eligible for free legal services under the Legal Services Authorities Act. Legal aid can help with advice, representation and access, while police, courts, committees and helplines perform different roles.

How this content is governed

Reviewed and approved by the project team. Official legal and service sources are listed with the relevant content.

Publication review: Reviewed and approved by the project team
Sources checked: 2026-08-30