Rape Laws In India: Gender Neutral?

Authors: Dhruv Bhanushali, student of SVKM’s NMIMS’ Kirit P. Mehta School of Law & Lekisha Daga, student of Jindal Global Law School

Best Citation – Dhruv Bhanushali, Rape Laws In India: Gender Neutral?, Indian Journal of Legal Review (IJLR), 3 (1) of 2023, Pg. 49-54, ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract

The Oxford Dictionary defines rape as the unlawful act of forcing someone to have intercourse when they do not want to or are unable to consent. This definition is a very gender-neutral definition. S.375 of the Indian Penal Code defines what is ‘Rape’. It starts by saying ‘A man is said to have committed rape if he-’. There is an emphasis on the person who is committing the act to be a man. A woman cannot be said to have ‘raped’ another woman. At maximum, she can be held for outraging another woman’s modesty, but not rape. This was held in Priya Patel v. State of Madhya Pradesh, which we will explain in depth in the paper. Another interesting aspect of the Indian Penal Code is that a man cannot be said to be ‘raped’. He can be held as to be ‘sodomized’ as covered under S.377 of the IPC but not ‘raped’. Even socially people believe that a man cannot be raped. Is this country in the right state of society now to make provisions for sexual offenses of the highest degree gender neutral? Will it result in a higher number of countersuits to rape accusations, or will it result in higher chances of justice for male victims? This is a question that needs to be discussed in greater detail. 

Keywords: Rape, Gender Neutral, Indian Penal Code