Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr6805a70acf844-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr6805a70acf844-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr6805a70acf844-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr6805a70acf844-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr6805a70acf844-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr6805a70acf844-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr6805a70acf844-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr6805a70acf844-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
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<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
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-The Times of India
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&amp;nbsp;
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-The Times of India





When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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-The Times of India
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 16 August, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indian-men-can-be-raped-not-sexually-harassed/articleshow/15509889.cms&#039;,
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-The Times of India





When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Times of India





When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last..."/>
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                <strong>Indian men can be raped, not sexually harassed-Manoj Mitta</strong></h1>
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                <div style="text-align: justify">-The Times of India</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &quot;gender neutral&quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &mdash; the new expression for rape &mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &quot;man&quot; (the offender) or &quot;woman&quot; (the victim) with &quot;person&quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&quot;).&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee's recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &quot;viability&quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &quot;explored&quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&nbsp;</div>               </font>
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-The Times of India
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&amp;nbsp;
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-The Times of India





When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Indian men can be raped, not sexually harassed-Manoj Mitta&#039;,
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-The Times of India
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 16 August, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indian-men-can-be-raped-not-sexually-harassed/articleshow/15509889.cms&#039;,
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-The Times of India





When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Times of India





When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last..."/>
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                <strong>Indian men can be raped, not sexually harassed-Manoj Mitta</strong></h1>
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                <div style="text-align: justify">-The Times of India</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &quot;gender neutral&quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &mdash; the new expression for rape &mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &quot;man&quot; (the offender) or &quot;woman&quot; (the victim) with &quot;person&quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&quot;).&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee's recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &quot;viability&quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &quot;explored&quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&nbsp;</div>               </font>
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-The Times of India
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&lt;br /&gt;
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When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;
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Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;
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The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;
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If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;
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In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&amp;nbsp;
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The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&amp;nbsp;
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-The Times of India





When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. 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-The Times of India
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&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&amp;nbsp;
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-The Times of India





When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &amp;quot;gender neutral&amp;quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &amp;mdash; the new expression for rape &amp;mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &amp;quot;man&amp;quot; (the offender) or &amp;quot;woman&amp;quot; (the victim) with &amp;quot;person&amp;quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&amp;quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&amp;quot;).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee&#039;s recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &amp;quot;viability&amp;quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &amp;quot;explored&amp;quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Times of India





When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last..."/>
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                <strong>Indian men can be raped, not sexually harassed-Manoj Mitta</strong></h1>
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                <div style="text-align: justify">-The Times of India</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &quot;gender neutral&quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &mdash; the new expression for rape &mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &quot;man&quot; (the offender) or &quot;woman&quot; (the victim) with &quot;person&quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&quot;).&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee's recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &quot;viability&quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &quot;explored&quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&nbsp;</div>               </font>
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-The Times of India
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &quot;gender neutral&quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<em>Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&nbsp;</em>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &mdash; the new expression for rape &mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify">
The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &quot;man&quot; (the offender) or &quot;woman&quot; (the victim) with &quot;person&quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&quot;).&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee's recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &quot;viability&quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &quot;explored&quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&nbsp;
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-The Times of India





When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last...',
	'disp' => '<div style="text-align: justify">-The Times of India</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &quot;gender neutral&quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &mdash; the new expression for rape &mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &quot;man&quot; (the offender) or &quot;woman&quot; (the victim) with &quot;person&quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&quot;).&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee's recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &quot;viability&quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &quot;explored&quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&nbsp;</div>',
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	'title' => 'Indian men can be raped, not sexually harassed-Manoj Mitta',
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-The Times of India
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &quot;gender neutral&quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<em>Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&nbsp;</em>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &mdash; the new expression for rape &mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &quot;man&quot; (the offender) or &quot;woman&quot; (the victim) with &quot;person&quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&quot;).&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee's recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &quot;viability&quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &quot;explored&quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&nbsp;
</div>',
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-The Times of India





When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last...'
$disp = '<div style="text-align: justify">-The Times of India</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned &quot;gender neutral&quot;, as revealed by a government press release.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault &mdash; the new expression for rape &mdash; would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to &quot;man&quot; (the offender) or &quot;woman&quot; (the victim) with &quot;person&quot; (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault (&quot;engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio&quot;).&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee's recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the &quot;viability&quot; of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be &quot;explored&quot;. It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.&nbsp;</div>'
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Indian men can be raped, not sexually harassed-Manoj Mitta

-The Times of India When it first circulated a draft Bill in 2010 to amend the rape law, the home ministry stuck to the traditional notion that men alone could commit sexual assault. But when the Cabinet cleared the Bill last month for introduction in Parliament, the offence turned "gender neutral", as revealed by a government press release.  Welcome to the brave new world of gender neutrality, in which laws increasingly no longer define men alone as aggressors and women as victims. Unfortunately, this spirit has not extended to another far-reaching Bill cleared by the Cabinet. The protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.  Bill disregards spirit of gender neutrality  Over the last few years, there has been a growing tendency in law towards gender neutrality. The latest example is the protection of children under the sexual offences Bill passed in the last session of Parliament. The law prepared by the ministry of women and child development envisages the possibility of the child victim being either a girl or a boy.  Had the Union home ministry not followed this precedent, it would have led to an anomalous situation in which the offence of sexual assault — the new expression for rape — would have been gender neutral in the case of children under 18 years of age and male-specific in the case of adults.  The criminal law (amendment) Bill, 2012, defying the gender stereotypes associated with rape, is in keeping with a report from the Law Commission in 2000. In a departure from the definition of rape in the Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860, the Law Commission replaced most references to "man" (the offender) or "woman" (the victim) with "person" (who is either the offender or the victim, depending on the context). In fact, it went to the extent of bringing oral sex committed by either gender under the ambit of sexual assault ("engaging in cunnilingus or fellatio").  The spirit of gender neutrality has not, however, extended to another far-reaching Bill which has been cleared by the cabinet. As the name suggests, the protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace Bill is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded. The women and child development ministry, which had broken the gender mold in the law to sexual offences against children, adopted a conservative approach when it came to the issue of sexual harassment. The Bill also overlooks the possibility of a male employee being sexually harassed by another male employee.  If the argument of the ministry of women and child development is that female employees were far more vulnerable to sexual harassment, then the home ministry by the same token could have retained rape as a male-specific offence. After all, hardly anybody would have ever heard of a man being raped by a woman. The justification for making laws gender neutral is not so much about empirical data as about the principle of removing distinctions based on sex.  In limiting the sexual harassment Bill to female employees, the government also disregarded a parliamentary standing committee's recommendation made in December 2011 in favour of gender neutrality. The committee said the "viability" of protecting men as well from sexual harassment at workplace should be "explored". It pointed out that the sexual harassment laws were gender neutral in advanced countries such as the UK, France and Germany.  The trend of gender neutrality in laws began with the progressive 2005 amendment to the Hindu succession law allowing daughters to have a share in ancestral property which was traditionally reserved for sons. The following year, the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act empowered the husband as much as the wife to repudiate the marriage on attaining majority.