National News

Supreme Court Gender-Sensitive Judgment Report

August 12 , 2026 20 hrs 0 min 22 0

The Supreme Court of India released ‘Judgments and Gender: Sensitivity and Compassion in Writing Judgments’, replacing the 2023 Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes.
The report recommends replacing the term ‘prosecutrix’ with neutral terms such as victim, survivor or complainant.
It asks courts to avoid moralistic language, victim-blaming and irrelevant questions about a survivor’s past sexual history.
It recommends a trauma-informed approach, respectful treatment of witnesses and protection of survivors’ dignity and privacy.
It also promotes the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) framework for inclusive judicial language.