Although there may be many cases of men getting raped, most of them have not been reported because people feel that the reports will raise question on them and the effectiveness on the report. There is actually a need for a proper legal system.
It is necessary to admit that victims and offenders of rape case can be of any gender a irrespective of private or public place and crime can happen in at any place.
21st Century:
Even in 21st Century, it is difficult for rape victims to report sexual abuse and we live in such a society where male sexual abuse is laughed out loud and men does not feel comfortable in discussing the problems and he thinks he can protect himself by having strong male power.
Indian Laws on Rape:
Section 375 IPc defines rape as the offence of sexual intercourse with woman against her will without her consent, by coercion, misrepresentation or fraud or at any time when she has been intoxicated or duped or is of unsound mental health and in case she is under the age of 18.
Rape is considered when:
- Penetration in a woman’s vagina, mouth, urethra or anus in any way or forces her to do so on him or others.
- Inserts any object or body part other than the penis into a woman’s vagina, urethra or anus to any extent;
- Manipulates any part of a woman’s body to force her or others to enter into her vagina, urethra, the anus or any part of the body.
- put his mouth on the woman’s vagina, anus, urethra, or force her to do this to him or another person.
Our law talks about men raping women but what:
*When a woman forces a man to have sex with her, it is not considered but a woman is considered a perpetrator.
Legislation for males:
Section 377:
Section 377 talks about unnatural sex and criminalises sexual intercourse against the order of nature with a man, woman or animal. As per Indian laws, men can only be sodomised.
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act:
It criminalises sexual assault of male child but there is no such provision of rape of adult men. It’s high time now, India shall have laws for adult men for protection from rape.
Lack:
Article 14 says that every person is equal before law and Article 15 says that state shall not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, caste or religion, however this is not true in the case of other laws and this contradicts as, “Section 354,376,509 of our criminal law deals with sexual assault on women, but unfortunately, no protection is given to men under any section.”
The court ruled in Tukaram v. State of Maharashtra that “everyone has the freedom to select their sexual partners. Every person is assumed to refer to both males and females in this context”
Further, In the State of Punjab V. Ramdev Singh it was held by the Apex court, “Rape is not only an offence against the person or a woman rather a crime against the entire society. It breaches the most valued fundamental right protected by Article 21 of the Constitution and is a crime against basic human rights”
Gender Neutral Law:
It means there shall be equal treatment of men and women. Gender Equality is an adjective that is suitable for or applicable to every individual irrespective of any gender and it shall describe the idea that policies, language and other social institutions shall not distinguish roles according to people’s sex or gender.
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