Sexual Assault In India (Rape is everyone's issue)

We all know that Rape is one of the most prominent crimes in India and a serious issue throughout the world. When we mention this topic, it is assumed to be done against women by a man. But have we ever thought vice versa? In the olden days, Rape is considered a crime solely against women but with time, it has been seen that other genders such as Males, Homosexuals and Transgender communities are also equally affected by this crime. To be precise, Sexual assault can happen to anyone regardless of their age, gender, or sexual attitude. Persons other than a female who has been sexually assaulted or abused may have many of the same feelings and reactions as other survivors of sexual assault, but they may also face some additional challenges because of social attitudes and stereotypes. First of all, We have to accept the fact that the victim and perpetrator of rape can be of any gender and it can take place anywhere. Only after leaving the stereotypical thoughts about the sexual offence that it can be done only against women, one can understand the seriousness of this issue. We have just built a world that makes it hard for everyone to admit it.

There exists a notion that a man is too strong to be subdued, and victims of sexual offences are weak. Though there are a large number of cases, most of them go unreported as people fear that reporting such cases will raise a question about their potency. 

 A major setback in a case of proving sexual offence against a man is physiological factors. It is contended that an engorged penis is proof of consent. This assertion is as incorrect as saying that a woman had consented to a sexual act because she had vaginal lubrication during it. A majority of males also feel confused or guilty because they ejaculated, or had an erection, during the assault. Laboratory studies indicate that during instances of sexual assault, a fight or flight response gets activated by the nervous system and adrenaline is released, resulting in excessive blood flow and lubrication in the genitals. The study conclusively argued that men do get erections unwillingly during sexual assaults. 

For centuries, it has been noted that hanged men often display an erection after they are dead. Physiological factors, like an erected penis or lubricated vagina, are responses to sexual stimuli and are out of the control of a person. therefore, no proof of conscience consent to sexual acts. It has been already established by courts in the USA that having an orgasm during a sexual assault will be inconclusive as proof of consent. Some radical feminists like Cristine Boyle claim that making such laws gender neutral would be against the feminist movement, and would be dangerous to the women's community, whereas other feminists support the recognition of male rape. 

Some examples of how society wants an "ideal man" to behave include the notion that a man cannot show his emotions, cannot cry in public, has to remain strong all the time, or that a man feels no pain. This is also the reason why some men, even if they support gender inequality, are embarrassed to speak out about it. One other notion that a patriarchal society has against men is that they are expected to be interested in sexual intercourse all the time. Men themselves feel pressured to have sex due to society's existing opinion about men and sex, and the idea that refusing to have sex would make them less of a man or might be perceived as gay. It has also been continuously asserted that men react differently to sexual assault than women do. Ignoring harm caused to man is a term seen in the writings of radical feminist writers.

Sexual offences have been recognised as women-centric in India. In India, laws are made to only protect women from sexual harassment or rape. There are no legislations or statuses to protect men from ruthless acts of sexual harassment or rape. Only women can be legally considered a victim of sexual violence and at the same time, only a man can be legally considered to be the perpetrator. In cases where a man is the victim is not considered a crime under the penal code of 1860. 

Several countries like Australia, Denmark, the United Kingdom and more than 60 countries in the world have proposed and accepted gender-neutral laws. It is startling that despite these changes around the world, the Indian judiciary has continued to rebuff the demand to introduce gender-neutral laws against sexual violence in India. These gender-biased laws create a feeling of inferiority amongst men and prevent them from attaining justice. 

According to section 375 of the Indian penal code, rape is a crime that only sees men as the perpetrator and women as victims and not vice versa because it is believed that women cannot rape men. The penile penetration condition is a requirement for rape. However, these justifications are misleading as a woman engaging in conjugal relations with a man without his consent commits rape and should be punished accordingly. 

Indian judicial system works hard to protect women from sexual violence, and while that is a great feat, it is discriminatory to neglect the plight of men who are subjected to sexual violence. Men who survive sexual violence can experience serious psychological and emotional fallout, including post-traumatic stress,  symptoms of depression and anxiety, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse problems and sexual dysfunction. yet we rarely hear about any of this on the news. 

In today's age, the media is playing an important role in shaping the minds of people. The mainstream Indian media doesn't show men as victims of sexual violence and paints an unrealistic picture of an ideal man. The iconic dialogue of the most renowned Indian actor, stating that a real man feels no pain, is still the yardstick of masculinity in the minds of the people. Indian movies and a few television shows use sexist humour and use comedy to dilute the seriousness of sensitive issues like misogamy. The stereotyping and harassment of gay and transgender characters is another concerning issue, which is used comically by the media. The issue of the molestation of a man has also been used comically. The situation is the same for the books. 

Surveys were conducted by the saving family foundation and my nation foundation on 1,00,000 men during that one year over the internet. from which they found out that about 98.2% of men had faced serious domestic violence from their wives and inlaws. Some of the violence men face are Physical, Verbal, Economical, Sexual and  Emotional abuse. 34.3% of men were affected by economic vilence.28.6% of men were affected by physical violence. 27.5% of men were affected by emotional violence and the lowest violence that all men surveyed faced was verbal abuse. 

People raise their voices when injustice is done to women, but why don't they do the same when the man is the victim? Everyone should be treated equally in the eyes of law and there should be no discrepancies in the name of gender equality. 

With growing technology, Education and global access to information, people are coming out of their shells and coming to an understanding that talking about their experiences is not only going to uncover the tragedy but is also going to set them free emotionally, physically and mentally. For example, many movements such as #MeToo and #Timesup movement, which originally started as a way to encourage women to come out of their shells and share their experiences of domestic and sexual violence, have also encouraged men to face their perpetrators. 

Patriarchy may look advantageous for men in the face of it, but in reality, it has several drawbacks for men too. The Indian legislators choose to turn a blind eye to this issue, and refuse to acknowledge that any person, irrespective of gender can be a victim of sexual assault or a perpetrator. Furthermore, the approach of the media, including social media in creating and maintaining stereotypical gender images needs to change, to reflect reality. The media needs to show that a man can have hobbies that are considered "Feminine" and not be less of a man, and a woman can have "Masculine" hobbies and continue to be female. The solution for the recognition of sexual assault on all genders lies first in reframing all the current laws in a gender-neutral. 

- Sravani