Introduction

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, coercion or arbitrary
deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."
Sexual violence is "any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, or other act
directed against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of
their relationship to the victim, in any setting. It includes rape, defined as the
physically forced or otherwise coerced penetration of the vulva or anus with a
penis, other body part or object."

The "WHO Multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence

against women" (2005) in 10 mainly low- and middle-income countries found
that, among women aged 15-49:
 between 15% of women in Japan and 71% of women in Ethiopia reported
physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime;
 between 0.3–11.5% of women reported sexual violence by someone other
than a partner since the age of 15 years;
 the first sexual experience for many women was reported as forced – 17%
of women in rural Tanzania, 24% in rural Peru, and 30% in rural Bangladesh
reported that their first sexual experience was forced.
Health consequences

Intimate partner and sexual violence have serious short- and long-term physical,
mental, sexual and reproductive health problems for survivors and for their
children, and lead to high social and economic costs.
 Violence against women can have fatal outcomes like homicide or
suicide.
 It can lead to injuries, with 42% of women who experience intimate
partner violence reporting an injury as a consequence of this violence.
 Intimate partner violence and sexual violence can lead to unintended
pregnancies, induced abortions, gynaecological problems, and sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV. The 2013 analysis found that women who
had been physically or sexually abused were 1.5 times more likely to have a
sexually transmitted infection and, in some regions, HIV, compared to women
who had not experienced partner violence. They are also twice as likely to have
an abortion.
 Intimate partner violence in pregnancy also increases the likelihood of
miscarriage, stillbirth, pre-term delivery and low birth weight babies.
 These forms of violence can lead to depression, post-traumatic stress and
other anxiety disorders, sleep difficulties, eating disorders, and suicide attempts.
The same study found that women who have experienced intimate partner
violence were almost twice as likely to experience depression and problem
drinking. The rate was even higher for women who had experienced non partner
sexual violence.
 Health effects can also include headaches, back pain, abdominal pain,
fibromyalgia, gastrointestinal disorders, limited mobility and poor overall
health.
 Sexual violence, particularly during childhood, can lead to increased
smoking, drug and alcohol misuse, and risky sexual behaviors in later life. It is
also associated with perpetration of violence (for males) and being a victim of
violence (for females).1
1
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/
TYPES OF RAPE: THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF RAPE
There are several types of rape. Rape is a violent crime involving sexual acts
forced on one person by another.

Diminished capacity rape

The kind of assault known as lessened limit assault is conferred when one
individual powers sexual entrance on someone else who can't agree to the sex
demonstration. Individuals with reduced limit can't agree to sexual acts because of
restricted physical or scholarly capacity. An illustration would be a man with a
scholarly inability.

Decreased limit assault additionally happens when a man has no capacity to agree
to sexual acts because of inebriation.

Age-Related Rape
Another type of assault is age-related. This sort of assault is regularly known as
statutory rapeas indicated both in government and state law. For this situation,
sexual activities with a man beneath a base age is viewed as unlawful in all cases.
Frequently this age is 12. There is regularly another age, known as the period of
assent. Sexual acts with a man over the base age yet underneath the time of assent
might be considered assault contingent upon the culprit. Particular ages are
indicated by state.
Incest
Incest is a sort of assault managed by the connection between the two parties. At
the point when the two parties are engaged with the sex act are closely related (as
such, they are family), it is frequently assault. Cases of incest include:

•Parents and youngsters

•Uncles and nieces or nephews

•Aunts and nieces or nephews

Laws shift by state as to explicitly what constitutes incest.

•Family individuals represent 7% of attackers

Partner Rape

Accomplice assault, otherwise called spousal assault or conjugal assault, is a sort

of assault including a man's accomplice or past accomplice (regardless of whether
the accomplices are hitched). There are three sorts of accomplice assault:

•Battering assault – including both physical and sexual savagery

•Force-just assault – including the inconvenience of energy and control over

another

•Obsessive/Sadistic assault – including torment and unreasonable sexual acts

Acquaintance Rape
This kind of assault occurs between two individuals that know each other.
Regularly colleague assault is known as "date assault" as the two individuals
included might be in a social relationship at the time. A few casualties don't
perceive associate assault as assault yet recall that assent for sexual movement can
be renounced whenever and an earlier relationship does not imply that assault can't
happen.

•Two-out-of-three rapes are committed by somebody the casualty knows

Aggravated Rape
Exasperated assault is a sort of assault characterized in the law. Irritated assault
includes:

•Forced sex acts by danger of death or genuine real damage

•Forced sex acts including an oblivious or medicated casualty

•Sex acts with youngsters younger than 12

Different Types of Rape

Assault can happen in numerous different routes also, incorporating by outsiders or
in conjunction to a detest wrongdoing. Nonetheless, it's basic to recall that
whatever type of assault happens, it is dependably the blame of the attacker and
never the blame of the casualty.

Marital rape:

One of the most recent and discussed type of rape is marital rape. It is least
reported and is covered under the topic of domestic violence in India and not as
rape.

In R Vs. R12, the House of Lords widened the scope of criminal liability by
declaring that the husband could be charged as a principal offender in the rape of
his wife.

This decision seems to have obliterated the protection of the husband from such
prosecution under the doctrine of marital exemption. This exemption was based
upon the belief under which the wife was regarded as the husbands’ chattel. She
was supposed to have given a general consent to her husband as a natural
implication of the marriage. This has now become an outdated view of marriage in
England.

However, the above decision of the House of Lords has not been followed in India-
where marital exemption to the husband ‘still exists’.

Theories of rape:

Pathology-

Rape is caused due to mental pathology, leading to an inability to understand or

care about social or moral norms.

Problem- it is committed by even normal people.

The feminist theory of rape- The proponents o f this theory are Mehrof and
Kearon.

Basically the feminists think rape to be result of long deep-rooted traditions in

which male have dominated in nearly all political and economic activities.
Prostitution continuinig even today is the reflection and reinforcement of women
exploitation by male domination.

Because of women’s exclusion from important political and economic powers,

they are considerd unequal in interpersonal interactions.

Brownmiller- rape is “process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in
a state of fear”.

Problem- Still today after so much of progress made by women there are cases of
rape. Thus this theory is vague enough to explain its direct relation with rape.

The social learning theory of rape-

It’s very similar to feminist theory. Both these theories consider cultural and social
learning as largely responsible for rape.

Where feminists emphasize on political and economic causes for women condition,
the social learning theory holds cultural subjugation as the greater cause.2

The Evolutionary theory of rape- Men and women face different reproductive
problems. Reproduction is much easier for men than for women. Where a women
remains pregnant for almost nine months, man is able to reproduce innumerable
times within this period. Thus they have higher sexual desire and tend to be more
promiscuous while women are choosy.

2
Theories of rape, Inquiries into the causes of sexual aggression by Lee Ellis
History of rape laws-

In many societies, rape was defined as a crime against property—if it was

defined as a crime at all.

The Ancient Near East

Life in Biblical times wasn't a barrel of laughs for anyone, but women,
unsurprisingly, consistently got the short end of the staff.

"So the ancient near east, including Israel, didn't have a proper notion of 'forcible
rape'––just adultery with another man's wife or fornication with another man's
virgin daughter. The other man, in either case, was the victim of the crime."

For instance, in Babylonia, if a woman who was set to be married was raped and
she was a virgin, the rapist would be killed. But if the woman was married, she
would be killed, too. In Assyria, the father of a rape victim was allowed to rape the
rapist's wife as punishment.

Perhaps the strangest piece of rape law from the region comes from the Israelites,
who made a distinction between what happens in the city and in the field.
Basically, if a woman was raped inside the city walls, it was assumed that she
could have cried out for help if it wasn't actually consensual. She and her attacker
would be stoned to death. If the rape took place outside of city walls, however, the
woman would be blameless, since no one would have been around to help her.
Instead of being stoned to death, she would be forced to marry her attacker (who
would pay a dowry to her father) if she were not set to be wed already. If she was
already engaged, that arrangement would be canceled because she was considered
damaged goods, and she would be put back on the market at a discount price.
 Violence against Women is a Violation of Human Rights

Violence against Women is a Violation of Human Rights and fundamental

freedoms of women. Violence against women is an obstacle towards gender
equality.
Women are entitled to equal enjoyment and protection of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms that include among others:
 The right to life;
 The right to equality;
 The right to liberty and security of person;
 The right to equal protection under the law;
 The right to be free from all forms of discrimination;
 The right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health;
 The right to just and favourable conditions of work;
 The right not to be subjected to torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
(UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, 1993)
Violence against women is a social (economy, health, welfare, politics) problem
and not a private problem of each individual woman or a family.

Situation in india

Whether women have the right to bodily integrity as this right is already
adumbrated under Article.21 of the Constitution of India?
Article.21, which guarantees the right to life and liberty to men and women both
alike- but whether it is really imperative to take a decisive step towards extirpating
this evil and make the contemporary and future society a safe haven for women.
According to the official statistics of 1991, one woman is molested every 26
minutes. These statistics refer to the reported cases whereas, if the unreported cases
were to be included, it would be a matter of seconds- rather than minutes.

A K.Chopra’s case

Apparel Export Promotion Council Vs. AK.Chopra case , is the first case in which
the Supreme Court applied the law laid down in Vishaka’s case and upheld the
dismissal of a superior officer of the Delhi based Apparel Export Promotion
Council who was found guilty of sexual harassment of a subordinate female
employee at the place of work on the ground that it violated her fundamental right
guaranteed by Article.21 of the Constitution.

In both cases the Supreme Court observed, that " In cases involving Human Rights,
the Courts must be alive to the International Conventions and Instruments as far as
possible to give effect to the principles contained therein- such as the Convention
on the Eradication of All forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979 [CE
DAW] and the Beijing Declaration directing all state parties to take appropriate
measures to prevent such discrimination."

Provisions of the Indian Pena Code

In cases where the accused sexually harasses or insults the modesty of a woman by
way of either- obscene acts or songs or- by means of words, gesture, or acts
intended to insult the modesty of a woman, he shall be punished under
Sections.294 and 509 respectively.

Substitution of new sections for sections 375, 376, 376A, 3768, 376C and 376D.
9. For sections 375,376,376A, 376B, 376Cand 376D of the Penal Code, the
following sections shall be substituted, namely:—

Rape.

'375. 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 ~ 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, under the circumstances falling under
any of the following seven descriptions:— First.—Against her will.
Secondly.—Without her consent.

Third/y.—With her consent, when her consent has been obtained by putting her or
any person in whom she is interested, in fear of death or of hurt.

Fourth/y.—With her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband and
that her consent is given because she believes that he is another man to whom she
is or believes herself to be lawfully married.

Fifth/y.—With her consent when, at the time of giving such consent, by reason of
unsoundness of mind or intoxication or the administration by him personally or
through another of any stupefying or unwholesome Substance, she is unable to
understand the nature and consequences of that to which she gives consent.

Sixthly.—With or without her consent, when she is under eighteen years of age.

Seventhly.—When she is unable to communicate consent.

Explanation I.—For the purposes of this section, "vagina" shall also include labia
majora.

Explanation 2.—Consent means an unequivocal voluntary agreement when the

woman by words, gestures or any form of verbal or non-verbal communication,
communicates willingness to participate in the specific sexual act:

Provided that a woman who does not physically resist to the act of penetration
shall not by the reason only of that fact, be regarded as consenting to the sexual
activity.

Exception I.—A medical procedure or intervention shall not onstitute rape.

Exception 2.—Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the
wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.'.

Punishment for rape.

376.

1.   Whoever, except in the cases provided for in sub-section (2), commits rape,
shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment of either description for a term
which shall not he less than seven years, but which may extend to imprisonment
for life, and shall also be liable to fine.

2.     Whoever,—
 a.     being a police officer, commits rape—

                      i.        within the limits of the police station to which such police

officer is appointed; or

                     ii.        in the premises of any station house; or

                    iii.        on a woman in such police officer's custody or in the custody

of a police officer subordinate to such police officer; or

b.    being a public servant, commits rape on a woman in such public

servant's custody or in the custody of a public servant subordinate to such
public servant; or

c.     being a member of the armed forces deployed in an area by the Central

or a State Government commits rape in such area; or

d.    being on the management or on the staff of a jail, remand home or other

place of custody established by or under any law for the time being in
force or of a women's or children's institution, commits rape on any
inmate of such jail, remand home, place or institution; or

e.     being on the management or on the staff of a hospital, commits rape on

a woman in that hospital; or

f.     being a relative, guardian or teacher of, or a person in a position of trust

or authority towards the woman, commits rape on such woman; or

g.    commits rape during communal or sectarian violence; or

h.     commits rape on a woman knowing her to be pregnant; or

i.      commits rape on a woman when she is under sixteen years of age; or

 j.      commits rape, on a woman incapable of giving consent; or

k.     being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits

rape on such woman; or

l.      commits rape on a woman suffering from mental or physical disability;

or

m.   while committing rape causes grievous bodily harm or maims or

disfigures or endangers the life of a woman; or

n.     commits rape repeatedly on the same woman, shall be punished with

rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years,
but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean
imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life, and shall
also be liable to fine.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section,—

a.     "armed forces" means the naval, military and air forces and includes any
member of the Armed Forces constituted under any Jaw for the time being in
force, including the paramilitary forces and any auxiliary forces that are
under the control of the Central Government!, or the State Government;

b.    "hospital" means the precincts of the hospital and includes the precincts of
any institution for the reception and treatment of persons during
convalescence or of persons requiring medical attention or rehabilitation;

c.     "police officer" shall have the same meaning as assigned to the expression
"police" under the Police Act, 1861;
 d.    "women's or children's institution" means an institution, whether called an
orphanage or a home for neglected women or children or a widow's home or
an institution called by any other name, which is established and maintained
for the reception and care of women or children.

Punishment for causing death or resulting in persistent vegetative state of

victim.

376A. Whoever, commits an offence punishable under sub-section (l) or

sub¬section (2) of section 376 and in the course of such commission inflicts an
injury which causes the death of the woman or causes the woman to be in a
persistent vegetative state, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term
which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment
for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural
life, or with death.

Sexual intercourse by husband upon his wife during separation

376B. Whoever has sexual intercourse with his own wife, who is living separately,
whether under a decree of separation or otherwise, without her consent, shall be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less
than two years but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to
fine.

Explanation.—In this section, "sexual intercourse" shall mean any of the acts
mentioned in clauses (a) to (d) of section 375.

Sexual intercourse by person in authority.

376C. Whoever, being—

 a.     in a position of authority or in a 6duciary relationship; or

b.    a public servant; or

c.     superintendent or manager of a jail, remand home or other place of custody

established by or under any law for the time being in force, or a women's or
children's institution; or

d.    on the management of a hospital or being on the staff of a hospital, abuses

such position or 6duciary relationship to induce or seduce any woman either
in his custody or under his charge or present in the premises to have sexual
intercourse with him, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence
of rape, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment of either description
for a term which shall not be less than 6ve years, but which may extend to
ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation l.—In this section, "sexual intercourse" shall mean any of the acts
mentioned in clauses (a) to (d) of section 375.

Explanation 2. —For the purposes of this section, Explanation I to section 375

shall also be applicable.

Explanation 3.—"Superintendent", in relation to a jail, remand home or other place

of custody or a women's or children's institution, includes a person holding any
other office in such jail, remand home, place or institution by virtue of which such
person can exercise any authority or control over its inmates.

Explanation 4.—The expressions "hospital" and "women's or children's institution"

shall respectively have the same meaning as in Explanation to sub-section (2) of
section 376.
Gang rape.

376D. Where a woman is raped by one or more persons constituting a group or

acting in furtherance of a common intention, each of those persons shall be deemed
to have committed the offence of rape and shall be punished with rigorous
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may
extend to life which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's
natural life, and with fine:

Provided that such fine shall be just and reasonable to meet the medical expenses
and rehabilitation of the victim:

Provided further that any fine imposed under this section shall be paid to the
victim.

Punishment for repeat offenders.

376E. Whoever has been previously convicted of an offence punishable under

section 376 or section 376A or section 3760 and is subsequently convicted of an
offence punishable under any of the said sections shall be punished with
imprisonment for life which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that
person's natural life, or with death.'.

Conclusion:
The courts and the legislature have to make many changes if the laws of rape are to
be any deterrence. The sentence of punishment, which normally ranges from one to
ten years, where on an average most convicts get away with three to four years of
rigorous imprisonment with a very small fine; and in some cases, where the
accused is resourceful or influential- may even expiate by paying huge amounts of
money and get exculpated. The courts have to comprehend the fact that these
conscienceless criminals- who sometimes even beat and torture their victims- who
even include small children, are not going to be deterred or ennobled by such a
small time of imprisonment. Therefore, in the best interest of justice and the
society, these criminals should be sentenced to life imprisonment.|

However, if they truly have realized their mistake and wish to return to society, the
Court and jail authorities may leave such men on parole; but only after they have
served a minimum of half the sentence imposed on them.

It is outright clear that sexual offences are to be excoriated, but if death sentence is
given to such convicts- so as to deter the rest, then no doubt that the graph of rape
cases will come down considerably- but it may also happen that those who commit
such offences- simply to leave no witnesses or evidence, may even kill their
victims and dispose off their bodies (whereas it is observed that in most cases- it is
the victim who is the only source of evidence in most cases), thereby frustrating
the main object of the Indian Penal Code and the legislature.

Studying the laws, the process, the application of those laws, one thing is certain-
the entire structure of justice needs an over haul, otherwise the victim shall no
longer the woman, but humanity.