Unit II: Sexual Offences

1.Rape
2.Incest
3.Indecent Assault(Ashyakarni)
4. Pedophilia
5.Sexual Harassment at work place
6. Polygamy
7.Unnatural sexual offences
 Rape
Rape

mens rea

actus reus

Absence of consent
• The crime of rape is old as old as human society.
• When the human society has been evolved then several
crimes emerged against person and property including rape.
• It might be one of the oldest crimes against human body than
any other crime like crime against property.
• It might have the so long history as long as history of murder
since it concerned with the human temptation(pralobhan)
• Human temptation born with human beings.
• Rape is heinous crime.it is also considered traumatic crime
mostly committed against women.
• The term ‘Rape’ means to have sexual intercourse, which is
initiated by one or more people against another person without
that person’s consent.
• The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse
of authority or against a person who is incapable of valid
consent,one who is unconscious, or under the legal age of
consent.
• Rape refers to the sexual intercourse by the man to woman
without her consent. It connotes penetration with penis into
vagina without consent of woman which refers to penile-
vaginal intercourse only.
• The essential element of Rape is lack of consent and use of
force.
• The traditional sense of rape is limited within the vaginal
intercourse and the penetration. Now the meaning of rape is
changed in criminal Jurisprudence.
• the Lack of consent and use of force are major elements of
rape, however only these elements are not enough to explain
the emaning of rape. Sexual intercourse may be oral, vaginal,
annals, interventions by any means of object without consent
that become crime and falls under the sexual criminal
behavior.
• The term ‘rape’ originates from the Latin term ‘rapere’, means
‘to snatch, to grab, to carry off.
• In Roman law, the carrying off a woman by force, with or
without intercourse, constituted rape.
• Black’s Law Dictionary has defined ‘rape’ as the unlawful
carnal knowledge of a woman by a man forcibly and against
her will. carnal knowledge means ‘the act of a man having
sexual bodily connections with a woman.’
• The symptoms of rape have been explained by Modi’s
Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology(book)
 Age of victim
 Marks of resistance, if any, on the person of victim and of the
accused.
 Marks of violence on the genitals of the victims and of the
accused
 Stains of blood or sperms(or other fluids, urine or faeces) on
the clothes of the victim or the accused
 Presence or absence of semen/blood in vagina
 Rupture of the hymen, if necessary
 Capacity of the accused to commit rape
 Indications of penetration
 Indications of communication of any venereal disease.
 • Legal Provisions on Rape
• Cambridge Dictionary =Penetration= the act of putting penis or
another object into someone else’s body (prabesh)
• Some countries have neutralized the rape from gender
perspective. Whereas some have not. Here Neutral means no
difference in treatment for sexual offences against persons.
• Like Rape law of England, New Zealand has provisioned, rape
can be committed against any person by any person. A victim
can be of third gender as well.
• England
• The sexual offence Act, 2003 of England has defined rape
neutrally and made this offence as gender neutral. It means that
rape can be committed against any persons by any persons.
 • India
• The parliament of India brought huge change in rape law
through the amendment of Indian Penal Code after the
Nirbhaya case(2012). Where punishment from two years
increased to death penalty.
• However, rape by man with man has been described as
unnatural offence.
• It IPC defines:
• A man is said to commit rape if he:
• a. Penetrates his penis, to any extent, into the vagina, mouth,
urethra, or anus of a woman or makes her to do so with him or
any other person ; or
• b. inserts, to any extent, any object or a part of the body, not
being the penis, into the vagina, the urethra or anus of a
woman or makes her to do so with him or any other person; or
• C. manipulates any part of the body of a woman so as to cause
penetration into the vagina, urethra, anus or any part of body
of such woman or makes her to do so with him or any other
person; or
• D. applies his mouth to the vagina, anus, urethra of a woman
or makes her to do so with him or any other person,
• With or without consent, when she is under 16 years of age.
• Explanation: penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual
intercourse necessary to the offence of rape.
 • Canada
• The Canadian criminal code has defined rape as sexual
assault. Sexual assault means sexual contact with another
person without consent.
• France
• ‘any act of sexual penetration’. Up to 15 years imprisonment.
• New Zealand
• The rape law of New Zealand is one of the progressive laws. It
has used the word person, not men or women.
• South Africa
• The rape law of south africa is progressive law. It has used the
term person.
 • Chapter-18
• Offence relating to Rape
• Section 219: Prohibition of committing rape:
• : (1) No one shall commit rape.
• (2)Where a man has sexual intercourse with a woman without
her consent or with a girl child below eighteen years of age
even with her consent, the man shall be considered to commit
rape on such woman or girl child.
• Explanation: For the purposes of this Chapter
• a) Consent obtained by way of coercion, undue influence,
intimidation, threat, misrepresentation, or kidnapping or taking
of Hostage shall not be considered to be consent
• b) Consent obtained at the time of being of unsoundness of
mind shall not be considered to be consent,
• c) The penetration of penis into anus or mouth, penetration of
penis, to any extent, into anus, mouth or vagina, insertion of
any object other than penis into vagina shall also be
considered to be rape.
• Imprisonment
• a) Life Imprisonment, if she is a girl child below ten years of
age, completely disabled or handicapped or of above seventy
years,
• b) Imprisonment of eighteen to twenty years, if she is a girl
child who is ten years or above ten years of age but below
fourteen years of age.
• c) Imprisonment for a term of twelve to fourteen years, if she
is a girl child who is fourteen or above fourteen years of age
but below sixteen years of age.
• d) Imprisonment for a term of ten to twelve years, if the
woman is sixteen or above sixteen years of age but below
eighteen years of age
• e) Imprisonment for a term of seven to ten years, if the woman
is eighteen or above eighteen years of age
 • Additional punishment
• Sub section 6: a man who commits rape in spite of knowing
that he has human immune deficiency virus (HIV positive) or
a sexually transmitted disease shall be liable to the following
additional sentence;
• Commits rape in spite of knowing that he has human immune
deficiency virus (HIV positive), punishment= upto 10 years
• Imprisonment not exceeding three years and a fine not
exceeding thirty thousand rupees in the event of the
commission of rape in spite of knowing that he has any other
sexually transmitted disease
• A man who commits rape on a woman in a gang or on a
woman having pregnancy of more than six months or on a
woman who is disabled or suffering from physical or mental
illness, or commits rape showing arms shall be liable to an
additional sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding
five years, in addition to the sentence set forth in sub-section
(3).