Can men be raped? | Countercurrents

It was not many years ago that social media was flooded with images of young men across the country holding micro-protests and threatening to go on what they called a “marriage strike.” These men were protesting against the criminalization of marital rape, claiming that such a move was a threat to marriage as an institution and led to unfounded and false rape allegations by women against innocent men. Overall, this was seen as a men’s movement to protect men’s rights.

One cannot help but wonder why there are no similar protests in response to the recent tightening of India’s penal code. Apart from a few legal experts and transgender activists calling the move regressive, not much of a hue and cry has been raised on the issue. On July 1, 2024, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) were introduced to replace their older counterparts: the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1974 and the Indian Evidence Act (IEA) 1872 respectively. As an academic who studies gender issues in India, I think it is important to highlight that there is no provision in the BNS that resembles Section 377 of the IPC. What is even more fascinating is the reaction of the common man to such a move.

The original Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which reflected the morals of the Victorian era, provided for punishment of both men and women for “unnatural sexual acts”. Through years of efforts by several civil society organizations and activists, a welcome change in the archaic morals came in September 2018 when homosexuality was decriminalized and Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code served as a measure to punish any person, whether male or transgender, for cases of non-consensual penetrative sexual intercourse with the penis. It also criminalized sexual acts on animals. The punishment for an offence under Section 377 is ten years or up to life imprisonment and a person found guilty is also liable to a fine.

But with the deletion of Section 377 of the IPC in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), such measures are null and void. Chapter V of the BNS deals with offences against women and children and in the same chapter, Sections 63 to 73 deal with sexual offences. However, there is no provision similar to Section 377 of the IPC that provides protection to men and transgenders who are subjected to non-consensual penile sex. In short, this provision refuses to recognise the occurrence of non-consensual penile sex.

This brings us back to the age-old question: what is the rapeable body? Can a man be raped? From the perspective of patriarchy – no, he cannot. Rape is not simply an act of sexual assault; it is an act of power and subversion. It is not simply about sexual perversion or uncontrolled libido; it is about dominance and control. And in a society supposedly dominated by men, men cannot be victims of violence and domination. Not surprisingly, the definition of rape in the IPC has remained gendered even after several revisions and updates. Similarly, acts of domestic violence are simply based on the assumption that the perpetrators are always male and the victims are always female. This is patriarchy at its most blatant: men are excluded from legal protection and protection.

Unfortunately, the common Indian man also supports this attitude by refusing to admit violence against him. As Alesha Durfee points out in her study on masculinity and domestic violence, fewer and fewer men want to be seen as ‘victims’ or feel comfortable seeking help from the police when abused. The response of the legal system and the tendency of the police to dismiss such cases as well is a major concern. A man’s hypermasculine socialization makes it difficult for him to admit that he has been sexually abused, that someone has used violence against him. Being sexually abused is an expression of lack of power and control. Taking to the streets and demanding legal protection from sexual violence challenges the entire scope of the hypermasculine belief system. Victimization through an expected abuse of the law by women is an acceptable sign of rationality, but expecting sexual abuse (penile penetration) almost sounds like acceptance of defeat.

So the question is: who is really an enemy of men? It is not feminism or women who do not accept violence in the institution of family and marriage. It is the male-chauvinistic patriarchal society and the patriarchal legal system that do not want to acknowledge that men are just as vulnerable to violence as women.

Sabiha Mazid is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi. She holds a PhD in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University and specializes in media, gender and childhood studies.