Abstract

Recognizing male victims of sexual abuse as a distant reality has been overlooked by framing sexual violence as a feminist issue. The absence of legal action against male sexual victimisation is mostly due to a lack of reporting of male sexual violence combined with victims' reluctance to come forward. Adult male sexual victimisation was once thought to be impossible, if not outright impossible. Due to the lack of recognition of adult male victims of sexual assault or rape, legal assistance and other remedial procedures are underdeveloped and insignificant in comparison to those available to female survivors. Given that females are more likely to be victims than males, it may be argued that punishment should be based on offence rather than consequence to promote equality before the law.

Introduction

“There is no dearth of cases in which fake allegations are levelled against men for ulterior motives. Our helpline remains flooded with such complaints in which the real victims are men.” - Dr. Indu Subhash (Woman Activist fighting for Men’s Rights in India)

Source: Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Rape is "Malum in se," a Latin word that refers to something that is bad or evil in and of itself. "Malum in se" is not the same as "Malum prohibitum," which is incorrect solely since it is prohibited. Rape is a kind of sexual violence that involves sexual intercourse or even other acts of sexual penetration upon a person without that individual's permission. Rape is described in India by Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and only a man can perform rape and only a woman can be the victim of this crime, as per Indian rape rules and regulations. The purpose of this research article is to discuss the backward and contentious nature of the assumption that only women can be identified as rape victims, it will delve into critical analysis on how even there is a misuse of Section 375 against men.

Abuse of Authority

Source: Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Section 375 was created to make India a safer place and to create an equitable system. It was a well-considered decision that in order to protect women from sexual harassment, there was a need to create a shield to their misery and helpless societal value. However, after the 2012 Nirbhya Rape Case, the entire country was shocked, and it was noticed that stringent regulations should be enacted to stop sexual harassment of women.

To address this pressing need, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013 was forwarded, which created an exception for the criminal laws, stating that if a woman criticises a man of sexual harassment or rape, the standard of proving will fall on the man (accused) to demonstrate that the allegations levelled on him are fraudulent and that he is innocent and is being wrongfully blamed. This was an exception considering, in most criminal laws, the complainant bears the burden of proof. "A man is guilty until proven innocent, and a woman is innocent until proven guilty," is one of the popular phrases about Section 375.

The laws that were designed to inspire women and allow them to believe safe in male supremacy social structure eventually transformed into the blade that brutally killed men's self-respect in society through false allegations, or it can be said that women began employing the very law that was intended to safeguard her as a weapon and that represents a risk of harm to menfolk, even in our advanced societal structure where women have been encouraged to a considerable extent in contrast to our historical past, but there are still Women Help Organizations and other community organisations. Some Women have maliciously manipulated these organisations and public sympathy to attain their deceitful goals. Some Women have exploited them deliberately to attain their false goals. Section 375 expressly uses the words "will" and "consent."

Will and Consent :

The conundrum question of playing with words

Section 375 defines will as the intention to engage in sexual intercourse, whereas consent is the agreement to engage in sexual intercourse. This provision has been wrongfully used by some women in terms of approval. In today's world, some women falsely accuse men of having sexual relations with her without her consent, putting the burden of evidence on men and forcing women to sit back and observe. Those very activities are done by women with the intent of extracting revenge, money, or humiliating men in societal structure, because some men in society, mostly even innocent men, have also suffered. Blackstone's ratio says,

“It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer”.

Source: Samantha Sophia on Unsplash

While such situations contain the most significant component to consider, that is whether or not sexual intercourse occurred, and if it did, was consent granted. The issue that has arisen in our modern society is that women either have sexual intercourse by providing oral consent and then reject it, or they do not have any sexual relations and start accusing males of having it without their permission. In both circumstances, the burden of proof falls on the male, who must show his innocence.

Reports and data facts towards how men are actually targeted under false Sections?

India's conviction rate is 32%, which is self-explanatory given the high amount of false rape charges made in the country. According to an article published in the Times of India in 2018; in every four incidents of rape, only one is convicted, raising the possibility that those not found guilty in court after a full judicial procedure who are charged with rape are clean and were wrongfully charged.

The Delhi Commission of Women produced a report in 2014 highlighting the fact that 53.2 percent of all rape cases reported between April 2013 and July 2014 were found to be fake. This statistic was quoted eagerly by men's rights activists and others to argue that women who spoke out about rape or sexual abuse were most likely lying or seeking revenge on males. As per the inquiry, the complainant became aggressive in most of the commission and, in the end, it was discovered that the sole motive for filing such a complaint was to seek vengeance or even settle a score. Such instances, however, were sometimes used to threaten innocent men for ownership, money, and any other want.

The subject of a false rape accusation suffers the same fate as the victim of a rape. No one can comprehend the shock, pain, mockery, and shame that a person goes through after being wrongly accused of rape. Not only the individual, but also his family or close friends, face a variety of disadvantages, including separation and humiliation. His future is ruined, and the shame and contempt he faces from society are enough to crush anyone so deeply that they can't imagine ever surviving the way they did before.

Recommendations and Suggestions

The architects of Section 375 and The Criminal (Amendment) Act of 2013 had a single viewpoint in regard to Section 375; they only worried about women's rights but did not devise any solution to protect helpless men in societal structure. As a result, the question of what we can do to protect defenseless individuals from society generally emerges. While it cannot be claimed that the section 375 should be made gender-neutral since it will remove the final fragment of justice that this section delivers which will result in providing a barrier for women who must register a genuine rape case.

The question becomes, "What can be done?" In such a case, the legislative and courts must collaborate to strike a proper balance between men and women by assuring that they are adequately represented by the concept of justice. The approach for delivering justice in rape cases is not new. In a growing society, laws should be drafted in such a way that they meet the needs of the moment and can be better effective in the future.

Conclusion

To assure that the spirit of justice is preserved, the judicial and legislative branches, in my opinion, must focus on what I term the "Perjury in a rape case" policy. This rule should be written in a way that it can bring justice to victims of false rape accusations. The punishment (imprisonment) should be long enough to give women an understanding of what they will face if they make false claims against other innocent men in social structure, and they should also be instructed to make up the difference men for damages sustained during the trial, which may comprise court fees, litigation fees, and other trial expenses.

Disclaimer:

Please note that whatever opinions are shared in this article, Reflections.live team and the author aren't liable for any kind of manipulation of public mindset, discrimination, spreading hatred towards any caste, gender, race and colour. The article only talks about a perspective and readers might agree or disagree on the same for which no ideas or thoughts are being imposed on anyone. No one at Reflections.live team or the author are liable for any sort of legal actions for by reading to this article “readers” have provided their consent on to read it at their own best understanding.

.    .    .

References:

Discus