THE GENDER GAP IN LEGAL PROTECTION: FROM A MALE PERSPECTIVE

According to Dyer, “Where on one side the legal frameworks have strengthened lately to protect the rights of the women, on the other side the discussion of male rights is noticeably lacking.” The Indian Legal System within the pursuit of gender equality, has focused only on protecting the rights of the women, resulting in ignoring the struggles that men have to face in the society because of the lack of legal framework favoring them. In spite of the men being an important part of the society they have to face challenges like mental health stigma, always strong, always the perpetrators in cases of domestic abuse even though many a times the story behind the suit is very different, sexual harassment for which they cannot even ask for help for the fear of being judged and many more and just because the society refuses to accept these problems as real, does not mean that they do not exist.

This blog aims to focus on the neglected subject of men’s rights in India through the analysis of legal safeguards and societal expectations in stereotypes that breed violations of these rights. The Indian legal system addressing men's rights, particularly in protection against sexual harassment, is distributed in various laws and judicial decisions. Although certain provisions exist under specific laws related to men's rights, they are insufficient and often ineffective in offering the kind of protection or remedies needed.

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, is another major legislation against the domestic violence of women, but there was no corresponding legislation to prevent domestic violence for men. In ‘Rajesh Kumar v. State of Uttar Pradesh’, the Supreme Court of India, by a divided verdict, interpreted the PWDVA as not gender-specific but could be made applicable to women also. Thereby, there is criticism toward this judgment of the Supreme Court that it may be applicable very few times, and the intention behind the provision remains ambiguous.

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) does not have enough to say about men's rights to be protected when sexually harassed and assaulted. Sexual harassment was also recognized by the Supreme Court of India as being against human rights in ‘Sakshi v. Union of India’, however, such implementation is poor. Moreover, the IPC lacks enough provisions regarding protection for domestic violence victims that are men. In ‘Vijay Kumar v. State of Haryana’, the Supreme Court recognized that men can also be victims of domestic violence, although this judgment is not widely accepted.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, otherwise known as the POSH Act, is probably the single most comprehensive legislation on sexual harassment at work. However, it only offers protection to women and does not provide any legal recourse for men who experience sexual harassment. In ‘Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan’, the Supreme Court gave guidelines on preventing workplace sexual harassment; these guidelines, however are not legally enforceable and applicable in very limited circumstances.

Some provisions related to men's rights are included in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). In ‘Amit Kumar v. State of Bihar’, the Supreme Court held that child support is a right of the child, not the parent, but this principle has not been applied consistently. The CrPC does not offer sufficient protection for men who face false dowry harassment charges. The Supreme Court in ‘Suresh Kumar v. State of Haryana’ identified the very serious issue of false dowry harassment cases but yet to be implemented effectively.

These are some of the cases which showed the gender inequality towards the men in the legal frameworks but lately there has been a case going on of ‘Atul Subhash’ which have drawn attention of the whole world, where Mr. Atul committed suicide, the reason being harassed by his wife and in-laws and falsely being framed in cases. This shows the injustice happening towards the men in the form of protecting the rights of the women.

The issue of men's rights in India is very intricate and multifaceted. They face numerous difficulties and bias, yet their legal system and societal attitudes are often based on gender stereotypes and discrimination. Much emphasis is given to the analysis and the need for gender-neutral laws and language, better reporting systems, and greater awareness and training for legal professionals and law enforcement.

The blog emphasizes the need to deal with gender biases and stereotypes, promote gender equality in all areas, and ensure equal rights and protection for both men and women. Measures such as adopting gender-neutral language, improving reporting mechanisms, and launching sensitization and awareness campaigns are suggested to promote gender equality and challenge existing stereotypes as “a society that really believes in gender- equality has to deal and overcome the legal blind spots that leave men without resource in their times of need.”