The Supreme Court launched a handbook on Wednesday to help judges and lawyers use more accurate and respectful language in legal discourse. The handbook suggested replacing terms like “eve-teasing,” “prostitute,” and “housewife” with terms like “street sexual harassment,” “sex worker,” and “homemaker.”
The handbook encompasses a glossary of gender-biased terms and offers alternative words and phrases for usage. The initiative came to light as a five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, convened to address arguments related to challenges against the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which had conferred special status upon the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chief Justice announced the handbook’s launch during the proceedings.
He stated, “This is intended to aid judges and the legal community in recognising, comprehending... stereotypes about women prevalent in legal discourse.”
The apex court, in a press release, explained that the ‘Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes’ aims to empower judges and legal professionals to identify, comprehend, and counteract detrimental stereotypes concerning women.
The release detailed, “The handbook includes a glossary of terms perpetuating gender bias, proposing alternative vocabulary for legal documentation, encompassing petitions, decrees, and judgments. This compilation exposes prevalent stereotypes about women, refuting their inaccuracies and illustrating how they can impact the implementation of the law.”
The document further encapsulates the prevailing legal doctrine on significant matters, particularly those related to sexual violence.
“Collectively, the handbook strives to equip judges with knowledge and resources to critically assess their own reasoning and writing, thereby ensuring the dispensation of justice that is both impartial and equitable,” the release affirmed.
It hailed the handbook’s release as a crucial stride towards a gender-equitable legal framework, marking a significant milestone in the journey towards a fairer society.
The initiative, under the guidance of Chandrachud aims to eradicate preconceived gender stereotypes from judicial discussions, especially those associated with women. The handbook, spanning 30 pages, provides a compilation of stereotypical terminology, offering alternate choices for use in legal dialogues and court pronouncements.
The guidebook stipulates that phrases like “seductress,” “whore,” or “woman of loose morals” should be replaced with the term “woman.”
Moreover, it discourages the usage of derogatory terms such as “hooker” and “prostitute,” instead suggesting “sex worker.” The document proposes substituting expressions like “concubine” or “keep” with “woman with whom a man has had romantic or sexual relations outside of marriage.”
This initiative endeavours to cultivate a more inclusive, unbiased, and gender-fair judicial system, aligning with the Indian judiciary’s commitment to eliminate gender biases from legal discourse and proceedings.
The word “eve-teasing” will now be termed as “street sexual harassment”, the handbook said, adding that instead of word “faggot”, the term accurately describing the individual’s sexual orientation be used.
“Housewife” will now become “homemaker” for judicial discourses, it said, adding that word “mistress” be now described as “woman with whom a man has had romantic or sexual relations outside of marriage”.
It said instead of word “bastard”, the word “non-marital child or, a child whose parents were not married” should be used.