Crime Against Men in India

India is believed to be a male dominated country were every society is patriarchal in nature. Society believes that men have been dominating women since forever. Even after decades has passed to an extent we can still find the fact in existence. But when it comes to law is India really male dominating country?

In this blog I shall discuss the crimes against men and the ways to deal with it.  

GENDER EQUALITY MEANS EQUALITY FOR MEN TOO

When we say or talk about gender equality all we consider is equality for women.. Crime against men or equality for men is not something in common , that we get to see or read on a regular note . Not so surprising but most of the times men refuse to come up about it. Even the Indian laws are not so supportive regarding the crime against men. Thus, such matters remain unreported and unsupported.

We often raise voice for equality of women and I totally stand for it.   all these we forget that men can be victim of sexual abuse too. Indian legislation has neglected the fact that men too can be a victim of sexual violence and assault And if we talk about equality then does equality really exist? For example- We have seat reserved for ladies in a public bus, what about  a man who  might be suffering from high fever and needs a seat immediately. We stand together if injustice has been done to a women but none comes forward when the same has been done to a men. I question again “Is India really a male dominated society”?

While talking about law, then Section 375 of IPC deals with rape and legal provisions against it but mentions nothing against men. Nonetheless, it impersonate that if a rape has been done then women is the victim and men is the culprit. Also, Section 354 A, 354 B, 354 C, 354 D, dealing with sexual harassment, stalking, undressing, voyeurism, etc accepts women as a victim and men as the perpetrator.

There is a Section 377 of IPC which deals with crime against men but that too is stultified as it only incorporates penile sexual intercourse and thus non-penile abuse victims are not presented before law.

So, when we talk about gender equality we need to focus on the term ‘equality’. It’s high time now that we actually need to stand up for men and their rights . We can say that there are not much cases related to crime against men. The truth is there are not much people coming up to report the cases which is a harsh reality of many  nation. The Indian people actually need to change the notion “men don’t cry”. They do but they don’t show up due to the mind set we have towards men. It would be quite unnatural for us if a man comes up and tells that he has faced some kind of undesired sexual attitude from a person of his opposite gender.

TYPES OF CRIME AGAINST MEN

Not very amusing to say, but yes men too can be a rape victim where the perpetrator can be of opposite gender or of same gender too. But due to lack in provisions of Indian legislation, men fear to come up and report and also they fear that they will be humiliated in society and thus they prefer to stay quiet.

In many parts of the country, men are forced into marriage and they could not deny as they are threatened to death. Might sound surprising, but this is the scenario of present world. Innocent men are usually target and they are trapped for rest of their life as they are forced to marry a girl they hardly know and then pressurised to look after her.

Domestic Violence

Who said that only female has to face domestic violence in their life. Men too can face domestic violence and they do face this in their day to day life. It is just that we stand up and fight for the wrong done to women and the same goes neglected for men. A number of domestic violence keeps happening to a man around us which we don’t even realise.

False dowry cases

This is the most critical situation these days. Law take strict actions against the one taking or supporting dowry. This was one of the best thing done until and unless women started misusing the law in their favour. Women these days often register false dowry cases to threaten her husband and his family and also to get benefits of her marital life. The sad part is there are rarely cases where a men can prove his innocence and mostly is found guilty despite of doing nothing.    Though, the law in many states have made changes to verify whether a man is accused of such case.

False rape and other charges

Usually, in rape cases women are considered to be the victim and there are high chances of women getting the case in favour. If a women reports a rape case, the culprit will immediately be taken into custody and will anyhow be looked down in a society as Indian people stands for rape victims. Taking advantage of the strong feminism movement, there are women who report false rape cases intending to take revenge or any such grudges etc. and thus many innocent men has to face punishment for things they did not do. Also, their whole life is a taint. Some even prefer to end up with their life.

MEN ARE SILENT- WHY?

I, have repeatedly mentioned that cases related to crime against men stays unreported and unregistered most of the time. Men usually do not come forward to fight for their justice. Have we ever wondered why? Let us know some of the reasons why do men suffer silently:-

• The prior reason is that they feel ashamed and thus do not report the cases.
• Even if somehow they manage the fortitude against wrong done to them, then comes family who pressurizes the victim to stay quiet because they are men and cannot portray themselves weak.
• Then what about laws in India? Are they in support of male victims? The law which are made to safeguard the interest of women can be used to destroy the life of an innocent men by claiming false charges towards men.

These are some of the reasons why men prefer to stay quiet. Forget society, even law which is said to be equal for all is not equal for a men and a women. Thus, to live a life of respect and stay away from court matters which will eventually end up in favour of women, men prefer to stay silent.

STAND FOR MEN TOO

Usually men do not show up or come forward as they fear the rejection and humiliation. Also, they are pretty aware of the fact that they have to face a lot of judgments and at the end no one will believe them. Rather will be considered as the one making stories. The typical mind set we have for men has made disclosing fact even to families a very difficult task.

Well, in such situation what can we do is to follow some simple steps like:

• Listen to what they say because listening doesn’t cost but opening up needs a lot of guts. You can make them feel that they matter by listening to their problems.
• Making them believe that you believe them is all you can do. They need justice too.
• You can express your concern towards them which will eventually make them feel better.
• You can help them by providing appropriate resources which can be difficult for them to reach.

These are the simple and the easiest thing one can do to make a men fighting for justice feel better. Even if he is not fighting for justice he will have the guts to open up and live a life of dignity. Equality is for all and each and every one should get it.

CONCLUSION

Everyone is equal in the eyes of law and thus deserves to be treated equally. The stereotype attitude towards masculine gender needs to change. Men are not suppose to be weak but  might fall weak at some point of time. They need listeners too. They cannot be strong all the time and it’s not that all the wrong done in a society is done by a men. Society sometimes need to support a men just like they support a women when it comes to justice. Gender equality means equality for all and not just for a women. People need to get that straight in their mind and the world will be a better place to live in. Let, the true motive between the gender equality come into force.