Gender, Law and Social Justice: Balancing Protection, Accountability and Inclusive Rights in India and Beyond

Gender justice in contemporary legal systems depends on the alignment of substantive legal protections with procedural integrity and institutional capacity. This study examines gender-protective legal frameworks in India through a doctrinal and socio-legal methodology, supported by a structured comparative analysis of the United Kingdom, the United States and Nordic jurisdictions. The analysis situates statutory protections within their operational contexts, focusing on how institutional arrangements mediate the translation of legal rights into enforceable outcomes. Focusing on domestic violence, sexual offences and maintenance regimes, the study critically examines statutory design, judicial interpretation and NCRB data alongside comparative institutional practices. The analysis suggests that enforcement outcomes may be influenced more substantially by institutional functioning and procedural design than by the existence or expansion of substantive legal provisions alone. In particular, variations in investigative capacity, evidentiary handling and inter-agency coordination emerge as key determinants of enforcement effectiveness. The comparative literature reviewed in this study suggests that jurisdictions employing specialised investigative units, structured evidentiary protocols, early-stage evidence preservation mechanisms and coordinated multi-agency support systems tend to demonstrate greater consistency in enforcement and procedural reliability. In contrast, fragmented institutional design, discretionary variability and uneven procedural implementation contribute to enforcement gaps and outcome inconsistency. The study further finds that concerns regarding misuse are often better understood in relation to evidentiary limitations, procedural attrition and institutional constraints, rather than as evidence of systemic false reporting. Across jurisdictions, low conviction rates are more strongly associated with investigative bottlenecks and procedural breakdowns than with deficiencies in legal intent or statutory adequacy. The study concludes that sustainable gender justice requires an integrated institutional framework that prioritises procedural standardisation, investigative strengthening and coordinated service delivery, rather than relying primarily on the expansion of substantive offences.