Age of consent: challenges and contradictions of sexual violence laws in India

Abstract

India enacted a new child sexual abuse law in 2012 and made important changes to the rape law in 2013 to expand the definition of rape and sexual assault, introduce several reforms and improve gender sensitivity in rape trials. However, the child sexual abuse law with its definition of who is a child has increased the age of consent for sex from 16 years to 18 years, echoed by similar changes in the rape law. This paper revisits the debates on the age of consent in India in the late nineteenth century. It reviews them in the light of the new legislative changes, adjudication of cases of sexual assault, and examines the implications of the new laws on adolescents and their sexuality. We contend that the changes in the law have resulted in several challenges: for adolescents exploring their sexuality on the one hand, and for courts to adjudicate on love, romance, and elopement, on the other. Further, in conjunction with raising the age of consent, other changes such as mandatory reporting of sexual activity among adolescents, especially by hospitals, have increased family control on adolescents’ sexuality and strengthened regressive social norms linked to marriages. One of the most troubling developments is the resulting barriers to adolescents’ access to reproductive and sexual health care. This paper explores how laws devised to address harm and extend protection to children play into dominant social norms and are in the service of protectionist and patriarchal control on young people and their sexuality.

The effectiveness of a sexual assault nurse examiner-grounding program (SANE-GP) on knowledge, skill and practice regarding sexual assault examination (SAE) among nurses working in a tertiary care hospital in Udupi district, India: A study protocol

“…There are lot of shortcomings in this model. Lack of knowledge of doctors when comparing to the forensic medicine experts, shoddy service, lack of specific training ( Lingam et al , 2021 ), gender biased practices such as two finger test, commenting on the past sexual history of the survivor ( Fatima et al , 2018 ), violation of rights of the privacy of the survivors, reporting biased medical opinions such as “habituated to sexual intercourse” ( Bandewar et al , 2018 ) improper reporting without consent of survivors ( Pitre & Lingam, 2022 ).…”

Adolescent abortions in the Covid-19 landscape: Exposing the legal Achilles’ heel

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“…Poverty has a significant impact on adolescent sexual behavior and health outcomes in rural central India. Their education is impacted by poverty, which leaves them open to sex-related myths and misinformation [ 20 ]. Additionally, it limits their ability to access medical care, making it challenging for them to get assistance when they do.…”