Law Versus Reality: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

Domestic violence remains one of the most serious yet underreported social problems affecting women in India across socio-economic, cultural, and regional backgrounds. Although India has introduced several legal measures to address gender-based violence, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005 emerged as a significant legal framework aimed at providing civil protection, immediate relief, and institutional support to survivors of domestic abuse. The Act expanded the legal understanding of domestic violence by recognizing physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, and economic abuse within domestic relationships. However, despite its progressive legal provisions, substantial gaps continue to exist between the objectives of the law and its implementation at the ground level. The present chapter critically examines the effectiveness of the PWDVA by analysing its legal framework, implementation challenges, and institutional response mechanisms in India. The study adopts a qualitative and descriptive research methodology based entirely on secondary sources including government reports, judicial observations, policy papers, recent research articles, news reports, and institutional publications related to domestic violence and women’s legal protection. The chapter particularly evaluates the role of police, judiciary, Protection Officers, and non-governmental organizations in addressing domestic violence and facilitating women’s access to justice. The analysis reveals that procedural delays, shortage of trained Protection Officers, weak institutional coordination, patriarchal attitudes within enforcement agencies, limited legal awareness, and socio-economic dependency continue to weaken the effectiveness of the Act. At the same time, NGOs and community-based organizations have emerged as important support systems for survivors through counselling, rehabilitation, legal literacy, and shelter assistance. The chapter further proposes policy recommendations such as gender-sensitive policing, digital legal accessibility, fast-track support systems, integrated institutional coordination, and community-level awareness programmes. As a contribution to the broader discourse on Social Problems in India, the chapter highlights the need for stronger implementation mechanisms and survivor-centred governance to bridge the gap between legal protection and lived realities of women in India.