Our society functions on the rigid conceptions of men and women, and the stereotypes surrounding these terms shape societal behaviours and legal frameworks. Such rigid norms may pose serious consequences and might raise questions on gender equality. One such issue is regarding Men Rape Laws in India.
India is a diverse country consisting of different cultures, traditions and ethnicities which shape the broader societal beliefs on masculinity and femininity. Men are often associated with dominance, strength and sexual agency, while women are viewed as modest, vulnerable and sexually passive. Such stereotypes often blurone's own understanding of violence in itself and result in societal prejudice. These neglect the fact that a man can be overpowered by another man too and not necessarily adhere to the popular belief that a man can only overpower a woman. Thus, the real issue here is power imbalance, and not gender. It’s strong versus weak, not men versus women.
But the tragic part is the fact that even our legal framework largely derives from or reflects this broader societal belief. The law as it currently stands doesn’t treat men and women equally; rather, it leans in favour of women. By recognising “rape” as an offence that can only be committed by a man against a woman, men will always be viewed as perpetrators and women as victims; it fails to acknowledge that men can also be victims of rape, thus undermining equal protection of law.
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) had two sections which dealt with the ooffenceof rape-Section 375 and Section 377. Under Section 375, it was considered rape if the man was the perpetrator and the woman was the victim. Section 377, on the other hand, criminalised “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”, which meant that this section did not explicitly declare men as offenders and women as victims, but instead criminalised any offender's unnatural or consensual act between adults. Thus, Section 377 served in favour of men and became the principal provision for ascertaining male victim cases.
But a significant change occurred when the Indian Parliament introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhitaithe023, replacing the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC). The new legal system replaced the colonial-era definition of rape, as mentioned in Section 375 (IPC), under the new Section 63(BNS). It removed section 377 entirely under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). By retaining the gender-specific rape law, it once again neglected men’s rights as victims and denied the right of male victims to seek redressal under section 377.
This poses a serious threat to male rape victims, as they can no longer rely upon the legal system,m which univocally directed that rape can only be committed by a man against only a woman.
Neither society nor the legal system adequately recognises sexual assault against a man; instead, the male victims are met with counter questions on their masculinity, and their inability to fight back, leading to denial or dismissal of their claims. This instils fear among adult male victims, and they are often afraid to speak up, as they know that the law won’t support them.
The old patriarchal norms,s which have historically disadvantaged wom, have also proven disadvantageous to men in these cases. It reinforces ideas of toxic masculinity, and the majority of the boys grow up hearing words like “mard bano”, “Men don’t cry” etc. This toxic bias persists in society even today, which labels men’s vulnerability as weakness. A significantly larger number of rape cases indeed involve women, and thus society believes that rape affects only women. But there are several cases of rape against men, even though fewer in number compared to women; that doesn’t mean that they should be ignored completely. This bias discourages them from seeking help.
When a male victim reports that he has been raped, the reaction from the police or authorities may be disbelief. His complaint is never taken up with the same seriousness as that of a woman and would probably merely be registered as a complaint without any further investigation.
It has been known from the reports of Arambh India Foundation that sexual assault against men in India is heavily underreported. Social stigmas, lack of proper punishment for such an offence, gender-specific laws, and lack of mental health support are some of the causes behind this. Because of the lack of a distinct section dedicated to male rape laws in the Indian Legal System, several cases go unrecorded.
Laws about women’s safety and protection are definitely necessary and justified. However, it should not come at the cost of neglecting other victims. A criminal justice system should be capable of ensuring justice to every single individual who suffers from sexual violence, in this case, rape. Protection from such a heinous crime should be extended to all sorts of victims, including men, women, transgender individuals, and others.
Sexual autonomy is inherent to every human being, and it should not be determined or influenced by the societal perceptions of masculinity or femininity.
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