Sexual Abuse

We must send a message across the world that there is no disgrace in being a survivor of sexual violence-THE SHAME IS ON THE AGGRESSOR.

1. SEXUAL ABUSE PRESENTED BY: MS RUCHI RANA PSYCHIATRIC DEPARTMENT

2. Abuse Abuse  is  defined  as any action that intentionally harms or injures another person. In short, someone who purposefully harms another in any way is committing  abuse .

3. Nine Types of Violence and Abuse

4. Sexual Violence Sexual violence  is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence acts to traffic a person or acts directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.

5. Cont.. The United Nations defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

6. Cont..  A 2018 analysis of prevalence data from 2000-2018 across 161 countries and areas, conducted by WHO on behalf of the UN Interagency working group on violence against women, found that worldwide, nearly 1 in 3, or 30%, of women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or non-partner sexual violence or both

7. Cont.. Sexual violence is a serious public health problem and has a profound short or long-term impact on physical and mental health, such as an increased risk of sexual , reproductive health problems, and also increased risk of suicide or HIV infection.  Murder occurring either during a sexual assaultor as a result of an  honor killing in response to a sexual assault is also a factor of sexual violence.

8. Sexual Abuse Incidence In India Hathras had earlier shot to national infamy  after a 20-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped  by four upper caste men and the police's handling of the case, resulting in public outcry on the streets last year.

9. Cont.. In the Hathras case, the victim was left with her tongue bitten off and her spinal cord and neck severely injured. The incident took place on September 14, 2020, when a 19-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped and brutally assaulted by four upper caste men while her family members were busy working on the fields.

10. Cont.. The family claimed that four to five people attacked her from behind, gagged her with her dupatta and dragged to a bajra field where they gang-raped her.

11. Cont.. According to the  NCRB's "Crime in India" 2019 report , Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of crimes against women (59,853), accounting for 14.7 per cent of such cases across the country.

12. Cont.. UP also had the highest number of crimes against girl children under the POCSO Act and ranked second in terms of rapes committed.

13. POCSO Act The POCSO Act was enacted in 2012 and is gender neutral. It recognises that boys can be victims of sexual violence as well. It defines a child as someone under the age of 18. The Indian Penal Code does not recognise that sexual assault can be committed on boys.

14. Rape survivor set on fire by accused in Unnao , U.P Another case that had resulted in nationwide outrage was reported from Unnao , where a  rape survivor was allegedly set her on fire , beaten and stabbed while she was on her way to court by five men, including two of the accused. The woman — who was raped in 2018 — received 90 per cent burn injuries and later died at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.

15. Cont.. Globally as many as 38% of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners. In addition to intimate partner violence, globally 6% of women report having been sexually assaulted by someone other than a partner, although data for non-partner sexual violence are more limited .

16. Sexual Abuse in Lockdown Lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic and its social and economic impacts have increased the exposure of women to abusive partners and known risk factors, while limiting their access to services.

17. Cont.. Situations of humanitarian crises and displacement may exacerbate existing violence, such as by intimate partners, as well as non-partner sexual violence, and may also lead to new forms of violence against women. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women

18. Cont.. In Karnataka,  11 per cent of women  aged 18-29 said that they had experienced sexual violence by the age of 18 - the highest in the country.

19. Cont.. The eastern state of West Bengal reported the second-highest number of cases at 9.7 per cent.   https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/feb/04/india-no-country-for-women-heres-what-the-national-family-health-survey-reveals-2259593.html

20. Cont.. Intimate partner violence is by far the most prevalent form of violence against women globally (affecting around 641 million).  However, 6% of women globally report being sexually assaulted by someone other than their husband or partner https://www.who.int/news/item/09-03-2021-devastatingly-pervasive-1-in-3-women-globally-experience-violence

21. Rape case Incidence On 27 th march 2021, A horrible incident of rape of a women patient has been reported from Shalby hospital in Jaipur , Rajasthan.

22. Cont.. The accused ward boy repeatedly molested the women patient admitted to ICU. The victim had a mask and her hands were tied.

23. Cont.. On 31 st march 2021, 17 years old girl was raped and then murdered by unknown person in Hoshiarpur , Punjab.

24. # MeToo Movement A few years ago, the # MeToo movement took the world by storm. The movement was instrumental in breaking the time old taboo of victimhood and motivating women around the world to raise voice against unwanted sexual advances.

25. WAKE-UP CALL # MeToo has brought in sudden surge in awareness about sexual harassment at workplace. It provided a platform for victims to speak out openly about their ordeals, which in turn helped in increasing awareness about sexual harassment, particularly at workplace. Enterprises are gearing up for a comprehensive sexual harassment awareness and education programme on their respective compuses .

26. S.No . Nature Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 1 Acid Attack 1 2 3 1 3 1 11 2 Bigamy / Polygamy 10 7 6 6 18 14 23 8 10 11 10 18 141 3 Cyber Crime against women 32 21 37 55 73 103 110 68 59 48 42 56 704 4 Denial of Maternity Benefits to women 9 10 13 2 6 13 5 9 9 6 8 6 96 5 Dowry death 32 17 18 9 27 27 49 32 29 26 37 27 330 6 Free legal aid for women 5 7 4 6 4 5 3 6 5 4 7 56 7 Gender Discrimination including equal right to education & work 1 1 1 5 1 2 11 8 Harassment of married women/Dowry harassment 267 221 203 62 159 273 493 352 372 429 509 448 3788

27. S.No . Nature Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 9 Indecent Representation of Women 2 1 1 1 8 3 1 3 4 2 3 29 10 Outraging modesty of women/Molestation 112 103 103 29 140 203 330 173 131 112 124 119 1679 11 Police Apathy against women 81 89 83 24 85 118 146 118 131 136 133 132 1276 12 Protection of Women against Domestic Violence 271 302 298 315 393 461 660 539 492 495 485 586 5297 13 Rape/Attempt to Rape 142 112 90 12 54 82 149 108 88 111 151 137 1236

28. S.No . Nature Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 14 Right to exercise choice in marriage/Honour Crimes 41 28 34 6 26 45 60 24 30 52 48 66 460 15 Right to live with dignity 374 436 388 239 474 611 778 613 889 873 1210 830 7715 16 Sex selective abortion / female foeticide / amniocentesis 2 4 2 8 17 Sexual Assault 12 10 19 4 1 8 14 9 5 4 11 13 110 18 Sexual Harassment 22 20 19 11 8 42 50 32 29 33 56 54 376 19 Sexual Harassment of Women at workplace 21 18 19 8 5 13 16 27 19 14 23 18 201

29. S.No . Nature Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 20 Stalking / Voyeurism 18 16 9 15 12 19 13 7 11 9 10 5 144 21 Traditional practices derogatory to women rights i.e. sati pratha , devdasi pratha , witch hunting 2 2 4 22 Trafficking / Prostitution of women 6 4 3 1 2 1 4 2 2 4 8 3 40 23 Women's right of custody of children in the event of divorce 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 10 24 Total 1462 1424 1347 800 1500 2043 2914 2128 2318 2373 2884 2529 23722

30. Cont .. Whenever we talk about sexual assault, the only thought that comes to our mind is that it only happens to a woman. But in today’s era, we should not forget the fact that sexual assault can happen to other genders too. 

31. Cont.. When we compare the amount of information available on the internet, we will find that most of the information on this topic is related to SEXUAL ASSAULT OF WOMEN .

32. Cont.. This is because it is difficult to gather information on the experiences of men who have faced sexual assault at some point in their lives. Because the world has still not accepted that something like this can happen to men too

33. Cont.. A recent study addresses that sexual assault of men and boys and the lack of awareness regarding the same. The data collected is a questionnaire answered by 115 people of different age groups and from various professions. Most of them believe that men and boys can in fact be sexually assaulted and that women can also be the perpetrators of sexual crimes while there were a few people with a belief that men cannot be sexually assaulted and women cannot sexually assault anyone.

34. Cont.. If we search ‘ Rape in India ’ on Wikipedia, the first line itself talks only about the rape of women. It says, “Rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India.”  It is important to address the issue such as rape, but we also need to know that rape and sexual assault is a gender-neutral crime and happens to men too.

35. Cont.. The Judgment by the Supreme Court that decriminalized the consensual sexual relations between adults of the same gender, which was a crime under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code , is still looked down upon by many people in India who still consider homosexuality a taboo and a disease which means that the homosexuals still have a long road to travel in order to be empowered and given their rights.

36. Cont.. This is one of the worst things we can do to a man, that is, not let him be himself because he has gender roles to fulfill . “Our patriarchal society holds males to be the stronger sex and expects men to be able to protect themselves. Many men who have survived child sexual abuse have been subjected to comments such as- “Why didn’t you beat him up? You are a man!”

37. Cont.. According to the Crime survey for England and Wales (CSEW), “in the year 2017, till the month of March, there were 20% women and 4% men who experienced sexual assault since the age of 16, equivalent to 3.4 million female and 631,000 male victims.” [The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), About Sexual Violence, Rape Crisis England and Wales]

38. Cont.. According to the Indian rape laws, rape can only be done by a man and never a woman. In understanding what constitutes rape, international law has evolved from viewing it just as penile-vaginal to penile-orifice and then to penetrative-orifice, all within a non-consensual context.

39. Incidence Of sexual Violence among Male In Tamil Nadu ,a 32 years old female teacher was arrested and remanded to a women police officer for sexually assaulting her male students for the period of three years.

40. Cont.. An article published in the Times of India says that “The woman, who used to lure the boys promising to buy them gadgets such as mobile phones, had sexually assaulted them on many occasions in the school and at home during tuition. She had even taken them to secluded spots and allegedly captured pictures and videos of their intimate moments.” [https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.timesofindia.com/city/chennai/tamil-nadu-teacher-held-for-sexually assaulting-her-male-students/amp articleshow /68530874.cms]

41. Cont.. Another article published on The Indian Express says that “the Pune City Police has booked a physical education teacher for allegedly sexually assaulting a male student of Class 9 th . [https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/pune-teacher-booked-for-sexually-assaulting-class-ix-male-student-probe-on-6132803/lite/]

42. Cont.. A social activist who helped the victim and his parents said “After the school got over at 12:20 pm, the teacher allegedly took the boy to the school toilet and sexually assaulted him. After returning home, he complained to his father.”

43. Cont.. Sexual assault of boys, even though not as often as of girls, is still reported and tried but sexual assault and rape of men is not reported in India because there are no laws for that as of now.

44. Cont.. Before the Homosexuality judgment that removed some part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, there was one law which prohibited sexual intercourse between same sex which could be tried in the Court for Sodomy but now, after the judgment, same sex intercourse is not illegal which leaves no scope for the male rape cases to be reported. 

45. Rape Laws in India Rape, under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, is defined as, “Rape: A man is said to commit “rape” if he:  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. 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.

46. Cont.. (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. (d) Applies his mouth to the vagina, anus, urethra of a woman or makes her to do so with him or any other person.

47. Cont.. According to the Indian legal system, rape can only be done by a man, against a woman and not the other way round.   However, earlier,  Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860  talked about unnatural sex which included Sodomy. The section states, “Unnatural offences: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse 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. 

48. How Men Cope Men are more likely to become more aggressive and respond towards such incidents through anger than women. This not only affects them but also their whole family and people close to them because this anger is sometimes taken out on them.

49. Cont.. Male victims of rape and sexual assault are also more prone to become addicts and alcoholics. They may start feeling that they are not man enough or there could be fear of homosexuality.

50. Cont.. The data for sexual harassment of men in India is almost non-existent as most of such cases go unreported the corresponding data from US equal employment opportunity commission shows that about 16.5% complaints of sexual harassment the commission receives annually, are from men.

51. Statistical Data Description/FY 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Complaints Received 6,822 6,758 6,696 7,609 7,514 Percentage of Charges Filed By Males 17.10% 16.60% 16.50% 15.90% 16.80%

52. Cont.. In Australia, 1 in 16 men has been subjected to domestic violence since the age of 15 in form of physical or sexual torture from their wives or intimate partner or from the person they are cohabiting with.

53. Cont.. According to the  2002 report by the World Health Organisation , women think of committing suicides more often than men while men  die  of suicides more frequently. Continuous exposure to violence can cause many physical and mental diseases such as depression, suicidal tendencies, and chronic physical disorders such as cancer, heart attacks, HIV/AIDS, etc. 

54. Ways you can stand against rape culture 1. Create a culture of enthusiastic consent. 2. Speak out against the root causes. 3. Redefine masculinity. 4. Stop victim-blaming. 5. Have zero tolerance. 6. Broaden your understanding of rape culture. 7. Take an intersectional approach. 8. Know the history of rape culture. 9. Don’t laugh at rape.

55. BIBLIOGRAPHY Sreevani R. Mental health & psychiatric nursing. Ed.2nd, Jaypee brothers medical publishers; 2007, Page no. 245-252. Stuart Gail W. Principals & practice of psychiatric nursing. Ed. 8th, Elsevier; 2007, Page no. 798-813. Townsend Marry C. Psychiatric mental health nursing. Ed. 5th, Jaypee brothers medical publishers; 2007, Page no. 778-794. D.Elakkuvana . Bhaskara Raj , Debr,s Mental health Nursing, EMMESS Medical Publishers.2017.p444-471

56. Internet Searches https://www.who.int/news/item/09-03-2021-devastatingly-pervasive-1-in-3-women-globally-experience-violence https://www.theigc.org/blog/the-growing-concern-around-violence-against-women-in-india-where-do-we-stand/ https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/domestic-abuse-pandemic-national-commission-for-women-7062579/ https://www.thequint.com/amp/story/voices/opinion/gender-based-violence-crimes-against-women-ncrb-data-india-public-spaces-roads-safety-concerns https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/01/24/metoo-indias-domestic-workers-are-sending-smriti-irani-postcards-demanding-safe https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/feb/04/india-no-country-for-women-heres-what-the-national-family-health-survey-reveals-2259593.html