Now these words will not be used in the court for women - Supreme Court

Now these words will not be used in the court for women - Supreme Court

New Delhi . The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday (16 August) released a handbook, which gives a detailed glossary of gender-injustice terms. It suggested that henceforth these words should not be used in legal arguments and judgments.

The handbook states that such words perpetuate gender stereotypes. Along with the imprecise words, a list of alternative words is also given, whose use is considered accurate and appropriate. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said,

 “The handbook aims to help judges and the legal community to deal with gender stereotyping, identify, understand and counter stereotypes about women. It includes a glossary of gender-injustice terms and suggests alternative words or phrases, which can be used in pleadings as well as while drafting orders and judgments.

The handbook mentions how many gender-injust words have been wrongly used by the courts in the past. It tries to explain why the use of these words was considered inappropriate and why they may distort the application of law. The handbook reads, 'Stereotypes are generally held against individuals on the basis of their membership of a group.

They are assumptions or beliefs that individuals belonging to specific social groups have certain characteristics or qualities. The handbook states that a person affected by sexual violence can identify himself as a 'survivor' or 'victim'. Both terms apply unless the person has expressed a preference regarding the term to be used for himself. In case a particular term is requested by him/her, the preference of the person should be respected The Supreme Court has removed a total of 40 words from its handbook, including prostitute, hooker and mistress. Alternatives to all these words are also suggested in the handbook.