Trigger warning: Mentions child abuse
I Still remember the incident vividly. Two years ago, I was doing an internship under the Delhi Legal Services Authority. During one of my court visits, I observed a policewoman escorting a young boy into the in-camera proceedings room. Shortly after, a woman around 34 years old also entered. I became curious about why the boy was taken into the in-camera proceedings room. Later, I learned that he was the victim of a sexual assault. In that moment, I was surprised at the realization of how it was possible for a boy to be a victim of such a crime.
Instances of sexual violence affect men as well, with approximately one in six men experiencing sexual abuse during childhood. While historically, rape was often considered a crime solely against females, there’s a growing recognition of male victims, leading to increased criminalization and discussion.
Unfortunately, societal stigma and misconceptions still surround male victims, contributing to underreporting. The taboo nature of male rape can result in negative perceptions among both heterosexual and homosexual men, impacting how communities and service providers respond. Reporting is particularly challenging in societies with strong masculine norms, as male survivors fear judgments about their sexual orientation or concerns about appearing unmasculine.
These misguided beliefs offer a false sense of invulnerability to many men, leading them to perceive sexual assault as an issue only affecting women. Unfortunately, these misconceptions intensify the emotional pain experienced by male survivors, leaving them feeling isolated, ashamed, and questioning their sense of masculinity.
Dispelling these myths is crucial for fostering understanding and empathy, acknowledging the diverse experiences of sexual assault survivors.In India, rape is legally defined as penile penetration or insertion of any foreign object into the vagina without the consent of a woman or girl, as outlined in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
This section specifically describes rape as “sexual intercourse with a woman against her will, without her consent, by coercion, misrepresentation or fraud, or at a time when she has been intoxicated or duped or is of unsound mental health, and in any case, if she is under 18 years of age.”
Upon analysis, it becomes evident that the definition carries two implicit inferences:
1. A perpetrator of rape is necessarily male.
2. A victim of rape is necessarily female.
As a result, the legal framework in India does not encompass specific provisions for male victims of rape or instances where a male is the perpetrator against another male. The current definition and legal language focus exclusively on cases involving female victims, revealing a gap in addressing and legislating against male-on-male or female-on-male rape incidents in the country.
Currently, there are only two laws in India that acknowledge that males can also be victims of sexual assault.
The first is the “Protection of Children from Sexual Offences” (POCSO) Act, which specifically addresses sexual abuse committed against both male and female children.
The second is the UGC’s “Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act,” which recognizes that men can also be subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace, alongside women.
This lack of specific rape laws for males has led to an increased demand for gender-neutral rape laws in India, highlighting the need for legal provisions that encompass the experiences of both male and female victims.
People raise their voices when injustice is done with women, but why don’t they do the same when a man is the victim? Everyone should be treated equally in the eyes of the law and there should be no biasness in the name of gender equality.
According to Justice Krishna Iyer, A murderer kills the body, but a rapist kills the soul. Men in India are raped every day, it is time the citizens acknowledge this fact and support the male victims of sexual violence when they report the cases and both men and women perpetrators of sexual violence should be punished equally under law for this brutal crime.