Gender Neutral Rape Laws: Not As Simple As You Might Think
ADITYA RAJ Genixcoin
fter the Ninthaya Rape case in Delhi, com mittee led by Justice Vermaa former Chier
Justice of the Supreme Court, was es tablished in December 2012 to make recommen dations for amendments to the Criminal Law that would expedite the legal process and strengthen punishment for those found guilty of sexualas. sault against women Justice Leila Seth, a for mer High Court judge, and Gopal Subramani. um, a former Solicitor General of India, were the other members of the Committee
On January 23, 2013, the Committee submitted its report. It included sug. gestions for changes to the law pertaining to rape, sexual assault traf ficking child sexual abuse, victim medical ex. aminations, police and electoral and educational reforms but the govern ment rejected their rec. ommendations and passed legislation making rape a crime against toth sexes, making it gender neutral
What followed was a lot of backlash from femimist groups. It is impor tant to note that gender neutrality was not the only reason why there was a backlash, but also because they did not take any of the recommenda tions from the Commit. tee, including recognis. ing marital rape and keeping the age of con. sont at 16. Marital rape is still, even in 2022, not rec ognised by our constitution.
Prominent womens rights advocate Flavia Agnes also voiced concern against the bill, "1 oppose the proposal to make rape inws gender neutral." She also added that women's groups had also protested against gender neutral Child Ses ual Abuse Laws
DO BOYS NOT GET 5,451,000 men report. gender neutral rape will deny justice to fe. ABUSED?
ed being forced to per laws. They believe that male on male rape vic. India had pledged to etrate in their lifetime there should be sepa- tims. And as is the trol safeguard its children while 1.581.000 men rate laws instead ley problem, you run from all types of sexual were penetrated by where complaints can over the side with fewer exploitation and abuse Smeone else hence be filed against women hories... right? when it ratified the around four times more when there is a clear Well however you United Nations Conven. men are made to pent power dynamic such as may choose to answer tion on the Rights of trate than that are pen-hastel wardens, teach this moral paradox, the the Child in 1992. The etrated by someone else ers and so on.
centre repealed the first extensive govern in the US. I made to "They hold that the bill. According to the ment-sponsored re penetrate is also men who benefit from
Indian penal code. search study to evalul considered rape, sender neutral rape
men cannot be ate the scope and form which it is, then
Laws are much fewer
raped. Not of child abuse in India the majority
than the women who
even by was commissioned as a of male
will have to sufresult of growing con rape vice cerns about female in tims are fanticide, child rapes, raped by and institutional abuse women of children. Shockingly. Unfortu. a government comminately we sioned survey revealed have no that more than 50% of data at all Indian youngsters expe- for male rape rience sexual abuse or victims in Inassault. With almost dia. Hence the ball of the victims of situation can child sexual abuse be only be assessed ing bays
based on speculations In 2012, Delhi advo- and analogies. The cate Vrinda Grover countries are in ex
other men; said: "Why should rape tremely different stages
though they do have a Laws he gender neutral of gender equality but it for Female
legal course to justice There are no instances should give us some con- on Male rape vic via sodomy laws. When of women raping men text
tims are likely to be sta in 2018 activists tried to
Another reason why tistically quite small make rape laws gender DO MEN NOT GET feminists opposed gen. On the other hand, neutral once again, the RAPED BY WOMEN? der neutral rape laws is around 3 million women centre said that rape There is a misconce that they believed that face sexual violence laws cannot be gender tion that men are more if the laws are not get every year and 99% of neutral after consulta. likely to be raped by der specific, the perpe- those cases are never tion with Women's other men. This miscontrator can file a counter reported
Groups ception originates fromcase against the victim This is the trolley This topic is still a rape statistics in the to mislead the court problem. I rape laws matter of debate USA. In truth, the state's Intimidating the vic. are made gender neu amongst feminist definition of rape is tims into taking their tral then it will give a groups; with the young flawed, it does not con complaints back
course of justice to male erand intersectionalise sider "made to pene Instead, they argued rape victims, but will generation being in fa. trate as rape Formale in favour of the perpe- also
your of gender neutral victims, the sex of the trator being sender spe harm female victims laws, while the older perpetrator varied by cific and the victim be by giving more Icelay and experienced one ar the type of sexul vio ing kender neitrali e ntes to rapists. On the Rues against it, hoiding lence experienced.
There is little evi- other hand, if the rape the view that India is The Malarity of Maledence to support or dis laws are gender specir just not ready Rape Victims (93.3%) prove this claim, how. ic. then they "Reported Only Male ever, this is an opinion Perpetrators.
shared by many Lawyers For Three Of The and judges, including Other Forms Of Sexual justices from the Su. Violence, A Majority of preme Court Hoid. Male Victims Reported ing the view that Only Female Perpetra Indian society tors: Being Made To is not yet Penetrate (79.2%), Sexu ready for al Coercion (83.6%), And Unwanted Sexual Contact (521%)
For Non-Contact Unwanted Sexual Expert ences. Approximately Half of Male Victims (49.0%) Reported Only Male Perpetrators
And More Than One Third (37.7%) Report ed Only Female Perpetrators
