The Union government has proposed that the offence of rape be made ‘gender neutral’. The law should be amended so that sexual assault by women on men can also be proceeded against under the same statute. It also plans to make specific laws on stalking and acid attacks on women. The change in the rape law is being drafted by the ministry of women and child development as part of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2011. The Bill has replaced the word rape with sexual assault. It also deals with some other tricky issues. Sodomy is punishable under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. This was struck down by the Delhi High Court in 2009 while dealing with a petition filed by an NGO fighting for gay rights. But the Court also held that non-consensual sexual acts remain an offence. It is also not clear whether men and women are treated as equals in the eye of the law for homosexual relations.
There is some confusion about the word rape in the legal sense. Of course, the Supreme Court is moving fast towards gender equality in every respect as it did in the case of the adultery law. But for obvious reasons, a woman cannot actually rape a man. So, the term sexual assault has been used. Cases of sexual harassment by women in high position of male juniors are anything but unusual. It has been the theme of films like Disclosure in English and its Hindi adaptation, Erteraz. There should be no distinction between male and female offenders on this count. The new law will also deal with sexual abuse of young boys by women. The government should go for a review of all laws which are obsolete and update them. New legislation should be enacted to keep up with changing technology and societal mores.