"Not man enough" - India's take on male rape victims

India has had a long struggle fighting violence against women, and the battle continues to rage on. However, what about cases lurking in the shadows? Instances of men being raped in India are many, but their existence is almost always diminished to nothing. Even our judiciary stands blinded to the gender - neutrality of rape. The Indian Penal Code defines rape as what a man does to a woman, mercilessly excluding the plethora of cases that do not fit this mould.

The society that we inhabit has a condescending definition of masculinity, a checkpoint Indian men have had to face at some of the other points in their lives. With the traditional notion of men not being vulnerable, male victims of sexual assault are usually laughed at or not taken seriously, by either labelling them as gay or if the perpetrator is female, being teased for not taking up the opportunity when the girl had given consent.

A survey conducted on adult men in India shows that one out of every 5 males is raped or molested at least once in their lives. In several cases, the offenders are women. Most of these men are aware of male molestation and rape but are not sure as to what constitutes as molestation of their sex.

This toxic masculinity is not only an indicator of reverse sexism but also how placing the male gender at a certain pedestal has added to the woes of both men and women. How do we aim to achieve equality when a victim cannot receive justice on the basis of their gender? When will we realise that rape does not make a victim "less of a man"? When will it occur to us that sexual violence against any gender is as grave as the other?

It's time to stop making jokes of "men don't cry" or imposing notions of "men are always strong." Only when we choose to plant the seeds of equality by discarding such stereotypes will this disparity end. Nobody - and I mean nobody is licensed to tag a person as a victim or not. It's time we understand that.

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Writer: Mannat Kandal

Image courtesy: irishhealth.com

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