On November 25, the world commemorated the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women 2022. As may be apparent, international days such as this one are not just moments to celebrate the collective progress of humanity in confronting the issues of the day but also occasions to reflect on how much more needs to be done in the future. And indeed, when it comes to confronting violence against women and girls (VAWG), the road ahead, globally, is long and harrowing. According to the UN, even before the pandemic, it was estimated that one in every three women had experienced physical or mental abuse over the course of their lives, most often at the hands of an intimate partner. The COVID-19 lockdowns and the socioeconomic stress that accompanied them only served to supercharge the problem of VAWG, so much so that the UN labelled the increase as a 'shadow pandemic'. Consider some of the figures put out by a UN study exploring the effects of this shadow pandemic. One in every two women reported experiencing violence or knowing someone who has experienced it since the pandemic; seven in 10 women have reported feeling that domestic violence has increased since the pandemic; three in five women reported feeling that sexual harassment in public spaces has gone up since pandemic; only one in every 10 women stated that they would seek help from the authorities in case they experience domestic violence. Global context aside, crimes against women also saw a dramatic increase in India during and after the pandemic. According to the 2021 edition of the report by the National Crime Record Bureau, crimes against women increased by 15.3 per cent in 2021 over 2020, totalling 428,278 registered cases. The majority of these cases were registered under domestic abuse (31.8 per cent), followed by 'assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty' (20.8 per cent), kidnapping and abduction (17.6 per cent) and 'rape' (7.4 per cent). The important thing to note here is that these are only the cases that were registered with the authorities and actual figures for crimes against women in India are hard to estimate. As noted above, India is not alone in this increase and violence against women is a problem that shames and burdens humanity as a whole. But what sets India apart in regard to such crimes is a pattern of apathy and outright social shaming of victims of such violence, a perception of such crimes that often seeks to assign some level of blame on the victims rather than pointing fingers at the criminals that commit such crimes and the systems that enable them. Consider the reaction to the horrific murder of Shraddha Walkar by a prominent minister who claimed that live-in relationships are giving rise to crime. The minister stated that girls are responsible for leaving their parents to pursue live-in relationships that lead to crime. Furthermore, the minister stated, if the girls have to pursue such relationships, they should go in for proper registration with the courts. As shocking as the statement is coming from a prominent leader, it is only the latest in a line of similar comments that seek to shift the burden of rising crimes against women onto the victims. These range from comments that blame victims for the clothes they wear, how they speak, where they walk, what they post on social media, the relationships they keep, etc. Such a line of victim-blaming also appears to at least be partially responsible for India not having a formal law against marital rape, with opponents of the law contending that such a law can be potentially 'misused' by women and their families. It is for this reason that the crime itself is not the end of suffering for the women of India who face such acts of violence. Women who face abusive relationships or are otherwise subjected to mental and physical abuse are oftentimes pressured to not report such crimes. Even if women do want to report crimes or exit abusive relationships, they are held back from doing so due to a lack of proper support, whether it be from their families, from society or from the government. Oftentimes, these women may also be disadvantaged by having a lower socioeconomic status and lacking proper access to healthcare, education and gainful employment which makes them even more vulnerable to such violence. That said, as is evident in the tragic case of Shraddha Walkar, socioeconomic status and access to education are not enough to safeguard women, even within their own homes. In confronting and eliminating the evil of violence against women, what is needed first is for people to comprehend the scale of the problem, to understand that this violence cannot simply be explained away by using factors such as education, religion, substance abuse, etc. Until then, the shadow pandemic continues.