"We should indeed keep calm in the face of difference, and live our lives in a state of inclusion and wonder at the diversity of humanity." -George Takei

Rape is a crime against the soul, according to a well-known proverb, it kills the victim from the inside out. Rape is an offence which ultimately degrades the soul of a victim.[1] It is not limited to any physical harm or injury but also damages the mental peace and harmony of the victim that imposes a stigma on the victim (be it men, child or women) with which the victim is destined to suffer till the last breath.

Instead of receiving sympathy and treatment, the victim of this crime is socially shunned and humiliated, her character and dignity being forever tarnished, which has an adverse effect on both physical and mental health. It is the most morally and physically abhorrent crime in society since it violates the victim's body, mind, and privacy. A rapist ruins and defiles the soul of a vulnerable female, whereas a murderer destroys the victim's physical form. Rape results in uprooting the entire life of the individual who is subjected to it. A rape victim cannot be considered an accomplice in any way.

Because rape leaves a lifelong mark on the victim's life, a rape victim is held in more regard than an injured witness. It has been observed by Justice Ajit Pasayat, in the case, State of Punjab v. Gurmit Singh & Ors[2]. that:
"of late, crime against women in general and rape, in particular, is on the increase. It is not merely a physical assault, it is often destructive of the whole personality of his victim. A murderer destroys the physical body of the victim but a rapist degrades the very soul of the helpless female. The courts, therefore shoulder a great responsibility while trying an accused on the charges of rape".

The societal norms have a huge impact on the people, and due to this reason, people are of the view that the offence of rape can only be committed on a woman, holding a man liable to be a perpetrator of the heinous and brutal crime, and the woman as a victim. The legal provisions in India also do not criminalize the offence of male rape, thereby increasing the risks of violence upon the males.

There are various laws to regulate such heinous crime but when it comes on the implementation part, we lack somewhere or we need to make an attempt to have a hold upon it.[3] Thus, abruptly leads in interpreting the crime in diversified way which sometimes even leads to miscarriage of justice. As per Section 375 (b) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 that a man is said to commit rape if he inserts any object or a part of the body, not being the penis, into the vagina, the urethra or anus of a woman or makes her to do so with him or any other person. The change in definition of rape is due to the liberal interpretation of the term, it is the need of the hour and we have to move according to the present scenario legislature and judiciary are trying to curb this issue defining these term in a more concrete manner.

Female Rape and its concept

"of late, crime against women in general and rape, in particular, is on the increase�.Rape is not merely a physical assault- it is often destructive of the whole personality of his victim. A murderer destroys the physical body of the victim; a rapist degrades the very soul of the helpless female. The courts, therefore shoulder a great responsibility while trying an accused on the charges of rape[4]" - Justice Arjit Pasayat

The word "crime" is a very common word that comes across in day to day life. The semantic meaning of 'crime against women' is direct or indirect physical or mental cruelty to Girls and women's. Crimes which are directed specifically against women and in which only women are victims are characterized as "Crime against Women". Rape is the most heinous crime committed against women by men. It is a considered as a shame and insulting for the woman and her family and so must be dealt with as a gravest act against human dignity. A murder destroys the physical body of the victim, but a rapist degrades the very soul of the helpless female.

The Supreme Court of India, while showing its concern over the most heinous crime rape observed that, "Rape is a crime not only against the person of a woman but a crime against the entire society. It destroys the entire psychology of a woman and pushes her into deep emotional crisis. Rape is therefore the most hated crime.

It is a crime against basic human rights and violates the victims most cherished rights, namely right of life, which includes right to live with human dignity contained in Article 21"[5]. Sexual assault on women is a common phenomenon in our country. The offence "sexual assault" also includes various other separate offences defined in the Indian Penal Code, 1860 called molestation, eve-teasing, child sex abuse, rape, marital rape, domestic violence.

Of all these crimes, Rape is the most violent crime which is committed against women. According to Section 375[6], Rape means an unlawful intercourse done by a man with a woman without her valid consent. Rape outrages a woman's modesty. After a rape incident, a woman lives a pathetic life which includes fear, depression, guilt complex, suicidal action and social stigma.

Male rape: is it an offence?

Rape against men?
Firstly, there is nothing called male rape or sexual assault or any sexual related offences against men recognized in the Indian legislations yet. As masculinity appears to have strong implications in terms of how men are judged both in society and as victims, exploring whether this has an effect on blame attributions seems an appropriate step to initiate research on the appearance of male victims of sexual assault.

Until now, the sexual assault of men was ignored and considered a rare event, in part due to the narrow legal definition of rape in the Indian legislation for example, that men cannot be raped but rather takes a gender neutral approach that is based on the fact that men are also assaulted by other men or women. However, Indian legislations is not gender specific and do not consider male as a victim especially in sexual related offences.

The absence of legal action against male sexual victimization is mostly due to decreased reporting of male sexual violence and victims' reluctance to come forward. If a male is sexually assaulted by another male, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 applies; but, if he is assaulted by a girl, no particular legal provision exists. It is critical to pay close attention to the definitions, categories, and types of sexual victimization that need to be altered in order to minimize gender prejudice.

In the report published by the US Statista Research Centre, in December 2020, it was shown and reported that approximately 52,336 cases are registered, where men were raped or sexually assaulted among the countries in the world, thereby increasing the risk of male vulnerability. It is thus required that the laws should be redesigned in order to protect innocent men from sexual assaults, violence, and rapes.

Basically, rape is a crime against basic human rights and violates the victims most cherished rights, namely right of life, which includes right to live with human dignity contained in Article 21[7] wherein the term 'victim' is a subjective term which is gender neutral that means the victim can be male or female. Similarly, by birth men also inherits the rights equally guaranteed under the grundnorm i.e.

Constitution[8] of the country. However, there is still a lot of stigma and underreporting of male rape due to social norms and beliefs about the masculinity. It is important to raise awareness about male rape and provide support and resources for male survivors because it is a common misconception that only females are the victims of sexual assault or rape, but in reality, people of all genders.

Reasons behind Rape?

1. Low status of women:
   In India, gender equality is still prevailing. Also, India is amongst the countries in the world that have the lowest women's health and safety. Women are treated as inferior. A wife's duty is considered to serve his husband.
    
2. Inappropriate guidance in sex education:
   We Indians hesitate in talking about sexuality, reproductive rights, menstruation, or sexual desires. But the reality is this aspect has a lot of potential to change the current landscape. Providing adolescent education or sex education in primary school might remove the root cause of the problem.
    
3. Lot of laws but no justice:
   India has too many laws, but the problem lies with the enforcement. Delay in trials, slow investigation, and low rate of conviction is other important cause. The conviction rate in India is around 26%. India has about 15 judges for every 1 million people, while China has 159 judges. In the Hyderabad case, the police refused to lodge a complaint and did not track her phone, saying that she must have 'eloped with her boyfriend.' The woman's family had also told the National Commission for Women that Hyderabad Police wasted precious time, which could have saved her life.
    
4. Lack of Public Safety:
   There is no safety for women. Women who drink, smoke, or go to pubs are seen as morally loose in Indian society. No matter what time of the day it is, a woman is seen as an object of entertainment. Street lights in many cities are still extremely poor. Also, the absence of women's toilets is a cause of serious concern to women's safety.
    
5. Blaming clothing:
   People often judge girls by their clothes. Nevertheless, the victims are often blamed for wearing provocative clothes. A legislator in Rajasthan suggested banning skirts as a uniform for girls in private schools, citing it as the reason for increased sexual harassment cases.
    
6. Less number of female police:
   According to studies, it can be concluded that women are more likely to report sexual crimes to female police as they are more comfortable with them. When a woman reports to male police, they often have a fear of being demeaned by them. Women, most of the time, prefer to stay silent or ignored when they face sexual violence. They believe that if they speak up, nobody will support them.
    

Gender Neutral offence

The Committee also suggested to add the provisions to protect the men as well for sexual related offences because due to rapid increase of sexual related offences committed against the males, transgenders' or homosexuals. Digital rape is a gender neutral term that covers all types of victims and offenders wherein Indian legislations only define female as victims and male as offenders.

It's high time to bring up the strict and specific provisions to safeguard the dignity of men as well as there are plenty of cases reported of sexual exploitation and cruelty against men which has not been recognized as an offence yet. In 2013, after the Indian government amended the definition of rape under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 to make it gender neutral which recognizes both men and women as potential victims of the rape.

Additionally, despite this amendment[9], there are still no specific laws in India to address rape within the LGBTQ community. The law[10] earlier recognized rape by a man against another man as an "unnatural offence," under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which was declared unconstitutional. There is a gender disparity in the rape laws.

There are legal provisions that are only subjected to female rape cases, and in this process, the male rape cases either go unregistered or are not informed about the same to the police station. So there is a need for gender-neutral laws in the society that should be promulgated by the government and the legislative bodies in order to keep in pace the developments made in the society and also that the Constitutional mandates and legislations are not breached, which provide equality for both men and women.

The PIL for the gender-neutral laws was filed by the NGO named Criminal Justice Society of India by stating the contention to legalize gender-neutral laws in the context of rape, contending that the definition of 'rape' under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code violates the basic Constitutional rights under Articles 14, 15, and 21, as it does not provide protection for rape of men and transgender person and is thus held ultra vires and discriminatory on the Constitutional means.

The Supreme Court however has rejected the plea of the NGO, stating that it does not fall within the jurisdiction of the court to make gender-neutral laws, and the power and the authority are only given to the Parliament for the same. Thus, there should be an introduction of gender-neutral laws in order to protect both men and women from the clutches of this horrendous crime of rape.

Conclusion
Rape cases in India are rising day by day and still striving for justice. Women are not safe, neither in the daylight nor in the night. In India, a woman is reportedly raped every 15 minutes. Moreover, Rape is the fourth most common crime against a woman in India. Although there are laws in India to protect a woman from sexual offences and rape, talking about justice, is rarely received in India. Also, the conviction rate is too low in India.

Often, rape victims do not report to the police because they hesitate to make a complaint due to the stigma attached to it in society. Society, most of the time, blames only the victim either by saying they have male friends or they wear provocative clothes, or they walk out of the home at night. Majorly, victims do not come forward to complain because they are not aware of the laws that have been made for their protection and safety. India still needs to make more strict laws for rapes.

The women neither ask nor deserve to be raped, abused, or assaulted. In my view, providing self-defense training to a woman should be made mandatory at the school level. Providing adequate sex education at the primary level of school can also help reduce rape in India to some extent. Measures need to be taken by the Government to introduce laws to every citizen. We should establish zero-tolerance policies for sexual harassment and violence at the place where we live or work.

But, again, the question that arises is what if the laws have been made and there is no change in the society? What about the mentality of the people living in society? What about customs & traditions? Over time, the government has only dealt with the crime of rape in response to widespread outcry following new, more heinous cases.

As a result, the victims are still not given a secure and protective atmosphere by our system. Notwithstanding the laws' progressive revisions, there are still some contentious issues that require quick consideration, such as marital rape and the gender neutrality of rape legislation, according to the Justice Verma Committee's report. The vagueness and consistency of the court rulings have come to light in a number of situations. There are many incidences that go unreported because the victims are afraid of social stigma.

At every turn, from police stations to courtrooms, victims are subjected to harassment. Every stage of the victims' battle for justice, from the poor healthcare system to the criminal enforcement system, adds to their agony. Our society significantly contributes to creating obstacles to getting justice. The absence of legal action against male sexual victimisation is mostly due to decreased reporting of male sexual violence and victims' reluctance to come forward.

If a male is sexually assaulted by another male, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 applies; but, if he is assaulted by a girl, no particular legal provision exists. It is critical to pay close attention to the definitions, categories, and types of sexual victimisation that need to be altered in order to minimise gender prejudice. In India women are still seen and treated as merely the personal asset of men within social and legal discourses. The fact that marital rape is not recognized because it is assumed that a man cannot harm himself. Marriage is an institution where the identities of man and a woman get merged and they become one in the eyes of law.

Such standards don't look at marital rape as a serious or heinous crime rather they treat it more as an ethical issue linking it to family honour. However, this belief system fails to recognize the very fact that rape is an aggressive, heinous and violent crime against a being where the object of law should be to deter violence at any cost. So, until and until change originates from inside the society together with the legal reforms, the impact of the laws will never be fully realized. Many incidences go unreported because the victims are afraid of social stigma. At every turn, from police stations to courtrooms, victims are subjected to harassment.

Every stage of the victims' battle for justice, from the poor healthcare system to the criminal enforcement system, adds to their agony. Our society significantly contributes to creating obstacles to getting justice. Therefore, until and until change originates from inside the society with the legal reforms, the impact of the laws will never be fully realized. Capital Punishment is allowed for anyone convicted of raping children under the age of 12.

But what about rape of a woman above 12 years, Rape is Rape. There is no difference between committing Rape of a girl below 12 years or above 12 years, then why such a huge difference is there in the punishment. Why death is penalty only for rapist of children below12 years of age. This new law may protect children below 12 years, because rapist will think several times before raping a child below 12, as there will be fear of death among such people, but what about girls who are above 12. Committing Rape, not only injures a girl physically, but also injures her mentally. It spoils the whole life of a girl.

While committing this heinous crime, accused is in his sense. There is always presence of mental element to make physical relationship with a girl even without her consent. Granting imprisonment for several years can't change the mindset of the accused person. A rapist is not safe for the society and hence should be given death penalty i.e. Capital Punishment, so that there could be an example in front of society and the cases of rape can be reduced. In rape cases, age of the victim should be considered immaterial for granting death penalty to the rapist.

There is a significant difference between will and consent. There is a proper definition of consent under the Indian Penal Code. On the other hand, the will is still not being clearly defined. Due to no proper definition consent and will is being interpreted as the same thing and therefore the decision passed by the court is vague and no proper justice is being served to the victim.

Therefore there is a dire need to introduce a formal definition of a will under the Indian Penal Code. Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code is one of the talked about sections due to the increase in the number of rape cases in India in the amendments brought in the past few years have brought significant changes in the section but still there are quite many existing flaws which need to be addressed.

We have numerous regulations in place to regulate such horrible crime, but when it comes to implementation, we either lack someplace or need to make an effort to control it. As a result, the crime is interpreted in a variety of ways, which can lead to a miscarriage of justice. The same needs significant changes which can be achieved by changing legislative minds.

End-Notes:

1. Rafiq vs State Of U.P, 1981 AIR 559, 1981 SCR (1) 402
2. State of Punjab v. Gurmit Singh & Ors; 1996 AIR 1393 1996 SCC (2) 384 JT 1996 (1) 298 1996 SCALE (1) 309
3. https://www.writinglaw.com/rape-indian-penal-code/ last accessed on 3 March 2023
4. Shri Bodhisattwa Gautam v. Miss Subhra Chakroborty, 1996 AIR 922; State of Punjab v. Ramdev Singh, AIR 2004 SC 1290: (2003) 6 Suppl. SCR 995: (2004) 1 SCC 421: JT 2003 (10) SC 416: (2003) 10 SCALE 791
5. Indian Penal Code, 1860
6. Constitution of India, 1950
7. Ibid
8. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013
9. Indian Penal Code, 1860

Award Winning Article Is Written By: Ms.Kuhu Maithil

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