The ordeal of male victims of rape in India
Law
Delhi-based Centre of Civil Society has found that ~18% of the surveyed Indian adult men have reported as having been forced to have sex. 16% of these claimed as being afflicted by female perpetrators while the rest 2% by male perpetrators.
Some examples:
A Tihar Jail inmate was sentenced to 2.5 years for sodomising his co-prisoner.
In June 2019, Mumbai police arrested a 42-year-old man as he had allegedly forcefully performed unnatural sex on a 37-year-old manager of an advertisement firm.
What is a male rape?
Medically, male rape is defined as “a sexual violation of a man by another man through a forced anal intercourse, either during incarceration or in aberrant socioeconomic settings”.
Explained further as “a penetrative sexual act (forced anal intercourse) committed by a male or female in which the victim is unable or unwilling to give uncoerced consent”.
India, its men, and the laws
Presently, the law - Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, covers only female victims and thus, has left all adult male victims in the grey zone.
According to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), rape is something that only a man can do to a woman. There is no room for adult male victims, let alone for those aggrieved by female perpetrators. The current rape laws leave out a large swathe of male victims, who cannot come forward for fear of stigma and a lack of legal recourse.
The ordeal
After the Nirbhaya incident, male rape survivors also began voicing their ordeal. In 2013, The Centre passed an ordinance substituting the term “sexual assault” for “rape”, thereby making the crime-gender neutral (for both the perpetrator and the victim).
This move of the government was opposed by some human rights advocates and women’s rights activists. These groups argued that rape was an explicitly patriarchal crime directly arising from abuse of male power and privileges.
At the mercy of interpretation of Indian laws
If sexually assaulted by a male, it is covered under IPC section 377. There is no specific legal section dealing with the crime, if assaulted by a female.
Insertion of a foreign object into the anus/urethra/vagina of a female without consent is considered rape as per 375 IPC. However, there is no legal provision for such offence if done to a male.
Section 377 of IPC says “whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment extending to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine”.
Taking a cue from other countries
United States law now recognizes that rape with an object can be as serious and traumatic as non-consensual penile penetration.
The Republic of South Africa too has amended its rape laws to address female and male victims alike.
The French Penal Code terms rape as a gender-neutral crime.
Philippines recognizes that both male and female can be victims of rape, but the punishment for male and female accused is different.
Need of the hour
There is a need to bring full attention to the definitions, categories and types of sexual victimization that should be revised to eliminate gender bias.
The legal system which presently lacks in acknowledging and providing strict punishment needs to alter existing laws and introduce some more. Rape should be made gender-neutral, and equal punishment for both male and female perpetrators should be introduced.
The rape of males in India should be reported as widely as that of women. This would bring the magnitude of the issue to the fore. More importantly, male victims need to come forward and report rape crimes.
Society needs to understand and acknowledge that men can be raped too; male victims are just as much affected mentally, physically, emotionally and, psychologically by rape, as victims of other genders are. Addressing the issue of male rape is important!
How do athletes deal with periods?
Sports
Earlier this week, The Telegraph released a report around the England vs India Women’s Test Series 2021 which mentioned that “Over the course of England's Test against India around half the team were on their periods”.
In the same report, Tammy Beaumont, an English cricketer, spoke at length about how periods affect the athletes, sparking an important question: How do these people deal with the red angry monster that decides to visit every month?
It is estimated that around 20% of women* globally experience extreme cramps. This is a condition known as dysmenorrhea and is supposedly intense enough to derail their daily lives. These are just extreme cases. Many women complain of very bad cramps, loss of energy and emotional PMS symptoms that have to have a hand in lowering their productivity at their workplace.
*Source: American Family Physician
But surely, an athlete, a large part of whose job warrants prime health and fitness levels, has to have a way of getting around dealing with this?
Apparently not. A research study* consisting of over 1000 athletes shows that 55% of the group complained of extreme period pain but only 22% were willing to report and seek help for it.
*Source: Female Athlete Health Group
Even in the recent report by The Telegraph, Tammy Beaumont spoke of various issues from anxiety over the all-white apparel to the performance and training being impacted due to period pain.
A few other instances
British tennis player, Heather Watson said she was feeling low because of ‘girl things’ after she lost her Australian Open round.
During the Rio Olympics, Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui said "It's because I just got my period yesterday, so I'm still a bit weak and really tired. But this isn't an excuse for not swimming well." When asked why she was crouched down in pain after an event.
On the other hand, British runner Paula Radcliffe mentioned that was on her period at the Chicago Marathon in 2002 and broke a world record.
Is it the same as anyone getting the stomach flu?
Is it fair to have the same policy for someone who accidentally had food poisoning to someone who has to deal with a bodily function that predictably occurs every month?
While accommodating all menstruaters is a big need, it comes with its challenges - from the speculation that having a different policy for menstruating athletes will only ostracize them further from a sport to the fact that the taboo around periods usually leads to athletes not adopting the policies grafted for them.
So how do the athletes deal with their periods?
During a time when period awareness was low, the athletes usually were prescribed multiple painkillers (both hormonal and non-hormonal) to alleviate their period pain (and sometimes, their periods entirely). This led to drastic side effects ranging from raging migraines to long-term fertility issues.
Today, some coaches and institutes, have taken up period tracking for their athletes voluntarily. This, first and foremost, ensures lighter training while on their period and helps the athletes not push their bodies to a breaking point.
Another advantage is analysing their period health thoroughly to identify the deep-rooted cause for the period pain. At the end of the day, the belief is that a period is the reflection of a woman’s health and identifying the root cause helps combat the chronic pain.
Apparel
Another huge trigger for period anxiety is apparel. From all-whites for test cricket to short white skirts in tennis, the athletes face significant anxiety over staining their clothes mid-play. Especially given that washroom breaks are few and far in between during a match.
Double standards for attire required in men's sporting events vs the womens' has been an ongoing debate. This just proves the case further.
Author's opinion
Is this reason to not accommodate menstruaters in sport?
Absolutely not. This just sheds immense light on how different groups of people have different needs and the world cannot run with a ‘one glove fits all’ philosophy. These findings generally also extend to jobs that are physically intensive like police officers and construction workers and throwing a light on how the current system works against them is a first step towards recalibrating the world.
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