Bill To Make Sexual Crimes Gender Neutral Introduced In Parliament By Sr Adv KTS Tulsi [Read Bill]

Senior Advocate and Parliamentarian KTS Tulsi introduced a private members Bill before the Rajya Sabha on July 12, 2019, for amending criminal laws to make sexual offences gender neutral.

The Bill proposes amendments in the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, to ensure that the words "any man" and "any woman" in the provisions relating to sexual offences in the laws are changed to read as "any person".

The Bill points out that there has been a "spate of incidents resulting in injuries, psychological trauma and death of persons at the hands of offenders belonging to either gender or sex on account of various sexual offences and exploitation committed against them.” Thus, the Bill aims to extend the reach of the law to women, men and transgender persons.

Besides other changes, the Bill also calls for inserting a new offence in the rape laws - to include punishment for "touching" without penetration of the genitals of the victim.

It proposes insertion of Section 375A in the IPC, to punish "sexual assault" defined as "intentionally touches the genitals, anus or breast of the person or makes the person touch the vagina, penis, anus or breast of that person or any other person, without the other person's consent except where such touching is carried out for proper hygienic or medical purposes.”

The statement of objects attached with the Bill claims that it is meant to "provide for effective protection of the Constitutional rights of all persons vulnerable to sexual exploitation and offences, to punish acts of sexual assault and rape of all persons including but not limited to men and transgender persons in addition to the protection afforded to women under the existing penal laws and punish offenders of any sex or gender thereto.”

Last year, the NGO 'Criminal Justice Society of India', of which Sr Adv Tulsi is the President, had moved a PIL in the Supreme Court to raise the issue, however, the court had declined to pass any orders, noting that it was a matter for legislature to examine.

[Read Bill]