‘Rapes of men are rare and unheard of incidents but are real truth in this savage society’. Poulami Chakrabarty presents here some startling facts about male rape victims and diagnoses the prevailing laws and the commonly held notions about rape
The headlines of newspapers, magazines and other social media are often overwhelmed with the news of women being raped or sexually assaulted. But have we ever known about the other side of the story – that even men are being raped! Am I sounding too alien? I might, but this is the TRUTH.The literal meaning of rape means to have a forceful sexual intercourse with the opposite gender without the consent of the person. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) unnatural offence means,whoever voluntarily has carnal inter-course against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation – “Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section”.The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines rape as: “The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”
Ajay ( Name Changed), a 28 year old Chennai based man, currently unemployed lives with his parents and brother. He has come out to the society as a gay and look-wise is a very ordinary guy with nothing striking about him. In June, a police officer found out that Ajay was gay, and he started taunting and molesting him. Ajay was raped a number of times, every time with a warning that if he lodged any complaint his family would see his beheaded body after they rape him again before them. Let’s hear it from Ajay as he describes his traumatic experience – “When those men raped me there was nothing left of me anymore except pain, apathy, disgrace, disgust, guilt and humiliation beyond measure. As I got dressed one of them told me that they have pictures and videos of me now. He said “Now there is nothing you can do but listen to us and do as we tell you. We have recorded everything. You can chose to obey us or you can chose to go to jail where you will be raped for life by criminals. It won’t be as pleasant as this. All I’ve to do is submit the proof, book you under section 377 and arrest you”. They were courteous, because they picked him up from his home with the help of goons, a knife pointed at his back. And considerate they were, because they gave him a tablet that would numb his senses, before they did the‘thing’ to him. And thoughtful they were, because they said they’d use protection. And decent they were, because instead of raping him in the open, they took him to a cold room with a blaring television and a bed and savagely assaulted his honour. They even dropped him home later that evening. What more could he ask for?
Another incident that took place in Dehradun that left people wondering as to where the society is heading towards. The plaintiff claimed that he was threatened with dire consequences if he went to the police. His story is not less than any movie. He told police that a few women approached him on the afternoon of 9th April 2014 and asked for direction of a road. Suddenly, one of them sprayed something on his face and made him comatose. He was then taken to a nearby building and sexually molested by the women, during which a video was shot to threaten the victim. Later, he was dumped near a bus stand with a warning that he would be killed if he informed the police or anyone.
When news of the brutal rape of a 23-year-old Nirbhaya in the nation’s capital broke, it brought Vinodhan’s ghosts back to life. A few days after the woman died, he sat down at his computer and typed: ‘I am a rape survivor’. Vinodhan was gang raped by six men at the age of 18. Even though, it occurred 12 years ago, he is still scared of sleeping alone. He doesn’t feel safe among unknown men.
Many male rape survivors like Vinodhan ( Name Changed) lead lives of quiet terror as they don’t get support from their families, society or police. Like him, many of them have spoken up after the Delhi rape.Vinodhan was gang raped when he went to meet a person he had befriended online. “What was waiting for me was something else. I was raped by six drunken men. They verbally abused me for being a homosexual, and took turns filming the whole thing,” he says.
“I was sexually assaulted when I was 29 in a small town in Kerala,” says Krishna. “I had got off a bus and was walking to my aunt’s house when I noticed a man following me.” In the dark lane that led to his aunt’s house, the stranger accosted him.”The gate was locked when I reached, and the moment he realized it, he pinned me down. The sheer shock and shame at what was happening left me with no voice”says, Krishna.
The Justice J S Verma Committee recommendation and new ordinance on sexual crimes against women seeks to bring about change. “In the ordinance, rape has been termed sexual assault and is gender neutral,” said advocate SudhaRamalingam to the media fraternity.
Not just in India but across the globe this problem is evident. It is noted that incidents of male sexual violence was used as a weapon of wartime or political aggression in countries such as Chile, Greece, Croatia, Iran, Kuwait, the former Soviet Union and former Yugoslavia. A 26-year-old Seattle woman Chantae Gilman is facing rape charges after a man woke up to find her on top of him in his apartment, pinning his arms down. Twenty-one per cent of Sri Lankan males who were seen at a London torture treatment center reported sexual abuse while in detention. In El Salvador, 76% of male political prisoners surveyed in the 1980s described at least one incidence of sexual torture.
A study of 6,000 concentration-camp inmates in Sarajevo found that 80% of men reported having been raped. About 3% of American men — or 1 in 33 — have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. In 2003, 1 in every ten rape victims was male in the US and 2.78 million men have been victims of sexual assault or rape. The case of Cierra Ross’ sexual assault of a man in Chicago gained national headlines and Ross was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and armed robbery with a bail set of $75,000. While a male criminal could face up to a life sentence in prison but in case of a female criminal the punishment is less severe.
While trying to look for a statistical data for male rapes, it is seen that less than 1% of the rapes that happen, are been reported. Reasons of rape vary from using it as a weapon of violence during war, proving one’s power or as a mode of revenge. According to the Center for Disease Control’s national survey on sexual violence, more than 5 million men in the United States have been ‘made to penetrate’ by someone else in their lifetime, whether by coercion, intimidation, or because they were incapacitated.
People are of the notion that males cannot be the victims of rape; they are not vulnerable to sexual crimes and that they are too practical to think it emotionally rather the facts are other way round; men are also vulnerable to such assaults when they are emotionally weak, drugged or sick.
Men are traumatized more as they cannot share their story with their friends, family or other acquaintances and it is a deep insult to their male ego. Such horrifying incidents shook them from within and when they try to tell it to others people often tend to leave them alone making their situation worse.
Rapes of men are rare and unheard of incidents but are real truth in this savage society. Before we claim of women being the only target of sexual abuse, we need to re-consider the position of men in the society. Rapes and sexual abuse are topics which should be gender neutral as the victim feels helpless whichever gender the person belongs to. A crime is a crime and we must think about it.
This article might be of a rare type but it is time we think of such issues which can never be accepted in our society. Let us think before we say it to boys, “what would you know about what girls feel when sexually abused” because we never know that they might also be a silent victim of such violence.
