As India strides forward in its pursuit of social justice, the call for gender-neutral laws echoes louder than ever, reminding us of the fundamental principle of equality enshrined in the Constitution. But does this principle stand by in terms of laws for protection against sexual harassment?
Sexual Harassment involves any unwanted comment, gesture, or action that is sexual, which is offending, humiliating, or embarrassing. It may be catcalling, asking for sexual favours, or other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature in the workplace or learning environment.
The UNHCR’s Policy on Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Abuse of Authority defines sexual harassment as, “Any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favour, verbal or physical conduct or gesture of a sexual nature, or any other behaviour of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offense or humiliation to another. Sexual harassment may occur when it interferes with work, is made a condition of employment, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment. It can include a one-off incident or a series of incidents. Sexual harassment may be deliberate, unsolicited, and coercive. Both male and female colleagues can either be the victim or offender. Sexual harassment may also occur outside the workplace and/or outside working hours.”[1]
We do not realize that harassment can happen to anyone despite their gender, age, religion, or sexuality. The attention on harassment towards men is not as recognized as much as the attention towards women. Gone are the days when it was a myth that men could be subject to sexual harassment.
If this offense doesn’t discriminate by preying on both women and men alike, then why do the laws do so? There are a number of women-centric legislations in India, but are men in India equally protected against sexual harassment?
Are there no laws that protect men?
Although the maximum of the existing laws protects women against sexual harassment, there are a few that safeguard the Indian men too. For example, Section 377 of the IPC criminalizes sodomy without consent.[2] This law recognizes men as victims of rape. Another example is The Criminal (Amendment) Act 2013, commonly known as the Nirbhaya Act takes a gender-neutral view towards acts like acid attacks and attempts to acid attacks. Anyone regardless of gender can file a complaint under the sections for Acid Attack and Attempt to Acid Attack.[3] The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, 2012 also criminalizes sexual harassment of anyone under the age of 18 is gender neutral in terms of the perpetrator and the victim.[4]
But they are not enough. These laws do not take into consideration situations in which men, especially adults, are victims of verbal, mental, or physical abuse. It also includes demands for sexual favours, voyeurism, stalking, and other forms of harassment. There aren’t enough provisions that ensure remedies to the male victims of such offenses. Men are also prey to sexual violence such as domestic violence, cruelty, rape, etc.
Why do these cases go unreported?
Our society has a very rigid notion of how men and women are supposed to behave. The prevailing belief of masculinity emphasizes on men being strong, invulnerable, and ones who can protect themselves. People fail to acknowledge the fact that men can be victims of sexual harassment too. Due to this very assumption, the men refuse to open up about their experiences of sexual harassment. They tend to feel that they may get ridiculed or mocked for coming forward with their stories. Many men suffer in silence rather than confront the social stigma associated with acknowledging their victimhood. A lot of men are not even sure that what happened to them was harassment. Lack of recognition of such crimes happening against men and lack of rules and regulations are also major reasons for the cases of sexual harassment against men going unreported. Moreover, a lack of awareness regarding sexual harassment in workplaces, educational institutions, public spaces, etc., contributes to the underreporting of cases.
Types of Harassment and their Effects:
Sexual harassment against men can take various forms, and its effects can be just as damaging and significant as those experienced by women. Some common types of sexual harassment faced by men are:
- Verbal harassment: This includes comments, jokes, or remarks of a sexual nature made against a man. This can make the person feel uncomfortable, humiliated, and embarrassed. It can happen in all sorts of locations, including workplaces, educational institutions, etc.
- Physical harassment: This includes the occurrence of unwanted physical contact in any form such as touching, groping, or other type of physical intrusion, that may result in fear, feeling of violation, or even physical injuries in some cases.
- Demand for sexual favours: This type of harassment is also known as quid pro quo type of harassment. Just like women, men too can be and are demanded sexual favours in return for job benefits or opportunities. This may include feelings of coercion, powerlessness, and an increase in stress. Insinuation is a form of sexual harassment that happens at the workplace. Insinuation involves making suggestive remarks, gestures, or hints of a sexual nature that create discomfort or offense for the recipient. This type of behaviour can be subtle and may not always be overtly explicit, but it still creates a hostile or intimidating environment for the victim.
- Online harassment: With a rise in the usage of online and social media platforms, the occurrence of sexual harassment has spread virtually too. Women, along with men face hate comments, explicit images, or cyberbullying.
- Seme-sex harassment: In instances involving a male victim, the perpetrator can be a male too. This may involve any type of the above harassment including verbal, physical, etc., and can have similar effects of discomfort and humiliation.
Sexual Harassment can inflict various negative impacts on men depending on their emotional resilience and their capacities to cope. These effects include:
- Psychological effects: These include anxiety, depression, and other stress disorders, along with feelings of powerlessness and helplessness. This may also lead to an increase in usage of substance abuse, as a way to cope with the stress.
- Physical effects: These include physical health issues such as headaches, muscle tension and pain, digestive problems, sleep disturbances, fatigue and exhaustion, gastrointestinal problems, hypertension, and many more.
- Career and financial impact: Experiences of harassment may also affect the job performance and career advancement of the person and this may also result in the victim feeling compelled to quit the job.
- Relationship strain: The emotional toll on the victim may result in tensions between close relationships such as the ones between family, friends, partners, colleagues, etc.
Women-Centric Laws:
In India, the discourse on sexual harassment frequently centers around women as victims, often presuming men to be the perpetrators. The legislative measures taken up by our country mostly involve laws that protect only women or assume only women to be the victims. As necessary as it is to protect the women of India against such crimes, it is equally important to be conscious of the mishaps towards men.
Although Article 14 of the Indian Constitution talks about equality before the law or equal protection of the law, certain provisions provide remedies only to female victims of sexual harassment, and not to the male victims.[5] For example, Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and its sub-sections, talk about assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty. It also includes voyeurism, stalking, showing pornography, etc.[6] Section 376 mentions the punishment for rape.[7] Section 509 mentions about word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.[8] Other legislative measures such as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986; the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, have been established to safeguard women’s rights and well-being. There are many other provisions that only take into consideration the women as victims, and provide solutions and remedies. They also talk about the procedure of punishment for the perpetrators if such crimes take place. Amongst all these laws, none of them encompass the inclusion of men as victims, and thus, leave no scope to grant any relief to the male gender subject to sexual harassment.
New Criminal Laws:
As per the notification of the Union Government, the new criminal laws of India, namely, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, will come into force from July 1, 2024. Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, which is a replacement of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, too does not acknowledge men as victims of sexual harassment. Section 74 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 talks about sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment.[9] This section along with the other sections of Part V of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 fails to recognize the possibility of men being the prey of this crime and only focuses on women and children.
Laws in other countries:
Various foreign countries such as the US, UK, Australia, Japan, etc., have gender-neutral laws. They treat men and women equally as possible victims of sexual offenses.
In the United States of America, federal law is based upon Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. An employee who faces sexual harassment can file a complaint at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if dissatisfied with the organizational inquiry of the case.
In the United Kingdom, victims of sexual harassment can file their complaints with the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 was amended in 2008 which required employers to protect their employees from customers, suppliers & others they encounter in the course of their work.
In Australia, Sexual harassment is covered under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. A person who faces sexual harassment can officially lodge a complaint at the Australian Human Rights Commission.
In Japan, The Male-Female Equal Opportunity law was amended in 1999 and requires the organisation to take strict action against the harasser. If a victim is dissatisfied with the organisation’s procedure, he/she can demand monetary compensation from the perpetrators as well as the company.[10]
As India rapidly advances and competes with developed nations in terms of economic growth and development, it should also strive to compete globally by implementing gender-neutral laws.
Statistics:
According to a National Commission for Women research from 2022, 1.4% of males in India had experienced sexual harassment, and 3,000 incidences of sexual assault on men were documented in India in 2022. This represents a huge increase from the 2,500 recorded cases in 2021.
According to a poll conducted in 2023 by the Centre for Civil Society, nearly 18% of Indian adult men surveyed reported being pressured or forced to participate in marital relations. 16% identified a female perpetrator, whereas 2% claimed a male perpetrator.
Another poll, conducted by the Economic Times, discovered that 29 to 43 percent of respondents agreed that they were harassed by female coworkers.[11]
It is crucial to remember, however, that these figures only include incidents that were reported to the police. According to experts, the true number of incidents of sexual harassment of males is much higher. This is because many men are hesitant to disclose sexual harassment for fear of shame and sanctions.
POSH Act:
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, also known as the POSH Act, majorly focuses on the prevention and prohibition of cases of sexual harassment of women at workplaces. Although the definition of employee under Section 2(f) of this act does not imply any specific gender, the remedies suggested in this act are directed towards women.[12] Sexual harassment at workplaces can happen to anyone, be it male or female. Thus the solutions and remedies established under the POSH Act should consider men too. As per Section 4 of the POSH Act, it is mandatory for every workplace with more than 10 employees (of any gender) to compulsorily constitute a committee to resolve cases of sexual harassment in the workplace.[13] This is known as the Internal Complaints Committee. Such organizations can also ensure the prevention of such offenses by making the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Policy gender-neutral. Though the POSH Act itself is not gender-neutral, it does not prevent an organization from having a gender-neutral POSH policy. Organizations that have a gender-neutral POSH policy can redress complaints received from employees of other genders using the organization’s gender-neutral POSH Policy.
Conclusion:
Sexual harassment against Indian men is a complex and often overlooked phenomenon that demands urgent attention in our society. With the advent of the 21st century and the increase in crimes against men in particular, which are unable to be taken cognizance of, in the absence of appropriate legislation, it is high time that we devise laws that protect all genders with equality so that we are at par with the other developed nations who have already adequate steps to ensure the implementation of gender-neutral laws.
[1]UNHCR’s Policy on Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Abuse of Authority, 2005, Page 3, Paragraph 2, https://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/UN_system_policies/(UNHCR)policy_on_harassment.pdf.
[2] Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 377.
[3] Criminal (Amendment) Act, 2013, Section 326A, 326B.
[4] The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, 2012.
[5] INDIA CONST. art. 14.
[6] Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 354.
[7] Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 376.
[8] Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 509.
[9] Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Section 74.
[10] Govt laws on sexual harassment in various countries, ET Bureau (Aug. 22, 2010, 12.49 AM), https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/special-report/govt-laws-on-sexual-harassment-in-various-countries/articleshow/6389535.cms?from=mdr.
[11] Mohd Varis Mansoori, Sexual Harassment Of Men: A Hidden Epidemic, LinkedIn (Oct. 30, 2023), https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sexual-harassment-men-hidden-epidemic-mohd-varis-mansoori-74qlf/.
[12] Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, Section 2(f).
[13] Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, Section 4.
Author: Sakshi Firodiya
Juris Centre 