To,
The Law Minister, Home Minister and the Prime Minister of India

Sub: Appeal for the creation of a law against structural abuse, which is defined as any kind of violence (emotional, sexual, mental or physical) against an individual or their privacy

The Petition:

This petition is being written to appeal for the criminalization and awareness of structural abuse in the country. We, the undersigned, protest against any kind of behaviour (by a group of people, a single citizen, or an authority), that is a violation to anothers privacy, liberty, or sense of integrity.

Structural abuse can be explained as a systematic form of violence (emotional, mental, physical, or sexual) that an individual faces under a system or authority. We believe that structural abuse should be acknowledged as a legal offense, and that the violators accountability be questioned.

Through this petition, we appeal for:

A Immediate creation of a formal law against structural abuse, just like the ones for rape and sexual harassment

B That the terms of the law be written by a core group of people, who understand the legal, psychological and social implications of structural abuse

What does structural abuse mean?

Structural abuse can be of many kinds. Individuals face harassment, pressure, and violence from authorities every single day at educational institutions, at the workplace, and at home. When we say structure, we are referring to a social system. Any kind of violence and harassment from authorities or people who hold power over others directly or indirectly amounts to a specific, systematic form of abuse.

Thanks to those whove fought, today one can atleast go and file a complaint against (some kinds of) rape and sexual harassment. But what does one do if they are violated in ways that the law does not even acknowledge? And how does one speak against their violators, when the one who has abused them holds power over their survival?

Potential instances of structural abuse may include:

Women being harassed to succumb to certain social norms

Children being humiliated emotionally, mentally and physically in schools by authority and teachers

Children being beaten to death in schools

College students, adolescents being pressurized, by parents, teachers or peers, into taking careers or making decisions that they do not want to

Imposition of a political or intellectual school of thought through an institution

Any form of censorship

Women (and men) being forced to marry against their will

Women (and men) being forced, or even pressurized into sex in their relationships

Women being forced, and pressurized into pregnancy, or to conceive

Any kind of moral policing

All kinds of gender violence: be it on heterosexual men, homosexuals, transsexuals or heterosexual women

Violence on animals and any kind of exploitation of non-humans

Women being psychologically and emotionally harassed at the workplace

Junior employees being harassed at the workplace

Creating disadvantage for an individual/s on the basis of stereotype, bias or prejudice

Children being pressurized and harassed to live up to certain expectations by parents at home

Senior citizens being thrown out of the family, neglected, humiliated, or marginalized at home

Women being marginalized from property or denied equal financial rights

Minorities or members of any community (religious, linguistic) discriminated or violated against, by the government, police, an institution or another individual/s

Couples harassed in public spaces

Sexual harassment from bosses, teachers, or officials

Discrimination or harassment against an individual from peers or other members of a particular social setting



Structural abuse can mean ANY kind of behaviour that violates an individuals privacy, under an authority. The victim must be given the opportunity to stop blaming himself or herself; it is the violator who needs psychological guidance and help. The victim must be rescued from the situation and given immediate justice.

Justice and judgment of the offense must be sought through an independent inquiry into the situation, based on the details provided by the violated, in order to arrive at a conclusion on what the victim has undergone.

The purpose behind this petition, and movement for the acknowledgement and criminalization of structural abuse, is to basically generate accountability. When the last word is with the authority, most individuals are afraid to complain, or even speak its not easy to face the consequences of losing a job or a seat.

Structural abuse is one of greatest social hindrances to democracy and liberty. Please pass a law against such behaviour.