Judges will finally need to watch their words around women. The highest court has ruled that patriarchal stereotypes like "chastewoman," "seductress," and "wanton woman," which have been used by judges for decades, are unacceptable.
The Supreme Court released a handbook meant to be used by the judges as a guide to gender just language. Instead of "spinster," judges will now refer to "unmarried women," mistress will be replaced by ‘woman with whom a man has had romantic or sexual relations outside of marriage’; and the word ‘prostitute’ will be replaced with ‘sex worker’. The handbook tells judges to use ‘street sexual harassment’ instead of ‘eve teasing’.
Releasing the handbook, CJI D Y Chandrachud said, “It is vital that judges not only avoid relying on stereotypes in their decision making and writing, but also actively challenge and dispel harmful stereotypes. If harmful stereotypes are relied upon by judges, it can lead to distortion of the objective and impartial application of the law. This will perpetuate discrimination and exclusion.” The guidebook, whose draft was created by Professor Jhuma Sen, Justices Pratibha Singh of the Delhi High Court, and Moushumi Bhattacharya of the Calcutta High Court, also tackles the more recent problem of gender fluidity and incorporates terminology supported by the LGBTQIA+ community.
Under the sub-chapter ‘Understanding gender stereotypes’, the handbook explains that while ‘sex’ refers to the biological attributes of individuals, ‘gender’ refers to socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men and gender diverse individuals.
“Gender identity is not limited to a binary (girl/woman and boy/man) but rather exists on a spectrum and can evolve over time. Further, gender is a social construct and includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with a particular gender identity,” the handbook notes.