The nation-wide outrage in India over the tragic gang rape incident of December 16, 2012 in New Delhi propelled the government to drive the issue of violence against women to the centre stage of political discourse. Consequently in April, 2013 the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act was passed, which is popularly known as the Anti-rape Act. It was perceived that this Act would serve as a deterrent by ensuring that the criminal justice system of the country protects women’s basic human rights and debars any future offenses against women. In the light of the amendments made to the criminal law in 2013, this study aims to understand its impact on gender issues and to examine the level of awareness regarding the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 among the male and female youth of the urban areas of the state of Haryana. The objectives of the study are to find out various dimensions of crime against women in society and to examine the role of police in dealing with the offenses against women. The study has been undertaken in five districts of the state of Haryana namely Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Ambala, and Panchkula. Interviews and focused group discussions were conducted on male and female youth of all the five districts. The results indicated that appropriate and efficient laws alone are not sufficient to protect the right to live with dignity of women. Unless and until people are ready to fight for it, things will not change. To handle violence against women effectively society’s perception needs to be completely altered. However, to enable women to fight against discrimination and abuse it is necessary to empower them by ensuring for them appropriate and effective legal aid. Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 is a successful step in this sense.