Myth that boys are not vulnerable to sexual assault: Court gives man 15 year jail term for raping minor boy

Indian Express

6 days ago

Observing that boys are equally vulnerable to sexual assault as girls, a Delhi court recently sentenced a man to 15 years of imprisonment for raping a minor boy in 2019.
'Boys are as vulnerable to the sexual abuse and exploitation as that of girls and they are equally susceptible to the heinous crime of penetrative sexual assault. It is generally presumed that only girls can be subjected to penetrative sexual assault,' noted Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Anu Aggarwal of Saket court in her order dated July 31.
'However, this is a myth and the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act has been designed to cover all the children irrespective of their gender as children are at the risk of being sexually assaulted,' she added.
'POCSO Act is a gender neutral act qua (in the capacity of) the accused and the victim. It was enacted to provide the children with protection from the offence of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography. The Act has been designed to protect all the children under the age of 18 from sexual abuse, regardless of their gender,' the court said.
ASJ Aggarwal was hearing arguments on sentencing against the man, who was convicted under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act, and under Section 377 (unnatural offences) of IPC (Indian Penal Code) on July 23.
Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Arun K V, who represented the state cited a report by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, which mentioned that approximately 54.68% of child sexual assault victims are boys. The APP also mentioned that male children were equally vulnerable to sexual abuse comparable to their female counterparts.
'The mental trauma that the sexually abused boy experiences is the same as that of other sexually abused survivors. They experience fear, flashbacks and undergo post-traumatic stress disorder,' the court said. It added that boys feel ashamed due to the 'societal framework'.
The court also directed the man to pay Rs 2 lakh to the survivor, who was in class 4, when the offence was committed. The state was also directed to pay Rs 10.5 lakh as compensation to the survivor.