Introduction:
A society’s development is judged by judging the place given to a woman. The less the crime against women the more developed society is. This is because less crime against women shows the trend that the people in a particular society are literate and give respect to women which they deserve and realise the important role they play in the socio-economic development of a Country. However, it has been seen that in our country the crime against women has been increasing at an increasing rate, in other words, it can be said that our country is still battling with the name tag “most dangerous country for women”.
According to National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) Crime in India Report 2017, a total of 3,59,849 cases were registered by women which are 21,849 cases up as compared to cases registered in 2016. Uttar Pradesh topped the list of State with the most number of cases registered by women followed by Maharashtra. Among the total number of cases registered, 27.9% of cases were of Cruelty by Husband or his relatives, 21.7% of the cases were of Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty, 20.5% of cases were of kidnapping and abduction and 7.0% cases were of rape.[i] This data shows that legislation passed by successive governments has failed to curb this menace.
Though there are various crimes against women which have been recognised by our statutes in the course of this Article, I shall aim to discuss a particular crime i.e. Eve Teasing and its punishments in India.
What is Eve Teasing?
In simple terms, Eve teasing is anything and everything done to effect the modesty of a woman by a man. It refers to sexual innuendo or asking for sexual favours or minor physical harassment. It is a problem which shows that perpetrators might be on to something or might have ill intentions towards the victim and if not checked properly consequences of such behaviour might be disastrous.
Eve-teasing is also considered as harassment of a woman. It not only includes winking, whistling, staring but also includes gestures which are vulgar and remarks which are sexual. It is psychological wrong which depicts the behaviour of the preparator. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Deputy Inspector General of Police and Anr. Vs Samuthirum[ii] held that eve-teasing is happening of such events which are penalised by our statutes in nature.
Also, The Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Vishakha vs State of Rajasthan[iii] put forward guidelines conveying what acts amounts to sexual harassment. These are as follows:
- Unwelcomed sexual behaviour.
- Physical contact or repetitive attempt to physical contact.
- Demanding Sexual favours.
- Sexual Remarks.
- Physical, verbal or Non-Verbal conduct of a person which is sexual.
Furthermore, Eve-teasing is considered as something which is a civil wrong in society. This is because of its effects on the victim. When the happening of Eve-teasing takes place the victim is not only affected mentally but also physically. There is also a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by our constitution when a woman becomes a victim of such an unfortunate event. Article 21 of the Constitution of India[iv] provides for the Right to Privacy and Right to Life & Liberty of people and Eve-teasing violates the person’s Right to Privacy by interfering into her personal life and also violates Right to life as it not only affects the dignity of a woman but also impacts her self-respect.
Why Eve-Teasing?
There can be many reasons which trigger or inculcate the idea of Eve-teasing in the mind of the Accused. Sometimes the Accused don’t even recognise that they are committing a grave crime and effecting someone’s rights as they don’t see a fine line between what is moral and what is immoral.
In the recent times, it has been seen that there is a substantial decrease in the social, cultural and moral values of people in the society and upon that a positive attitude towards woman is certainly missing in the society which has created such an environment where the respect deserved by our women is not being received by them. Another reason which affects the mindset of the people is the ill-treatment of women that can be seen in pornography and Cinema. It can be seen in some movies that passing comments, adding slurs or whistling or winking are the new normal these days. Furthermore, the lack of education in our society and prevailing gender discrimination can also be a reason which leads to such a menace.
History
It was in the year 1970 that ‘Eve-Teasing’ got public attention. As time is passing by people are becoming more modern day by day. Now, there are more job opportunities as compared to past and these job opportunities are not only limited to Men but also Women are availing them because it has been realised now that for a society to prosper men and women has to be treated alike. In these modern times, women have become more and more independent and have started to go to their workplaces and colleges etc which means accompanying themselves with males which were seen as a norm in a traditional society is quite rare these days.
Since women started taking responsibilities outdoors the problem of eve-teasing grew at an alarming rate. To keep it in control both the Judiciary and the Law Enforcement started taking measures to keep this problem in control. Various measures like rounding up of perpetrators, women police officers dressing in civilian clothes, setting up of dedicated women’s helpline number and staffing police stations with more women than men to make it more women-friendly etc came into the picture. With these measures being taken place many women who faced eve-teasing came forward to register complaints against preparators but in many cases, the crime was more grievous than it was anticipated.
Unfortunate events like acid attacks, reports related to Bride burning also came into the picture. To curb these crimes and to make people more aware of the offences against women laws like The Delhi Prohibition Of Eve-Teasing Bill, 1984 was also introduced among others.
Eve-Teasing and Indian Penal Code
Indian Penal Code[v] (hereinafter referred to as ‘IPC’), explicitly does not define eve-teasing as an offence but does include offences which share the same characteristics as an offence of Eve-Teasing. In other words, legal provisions related to Eve-teasing are embedded into several sections of IPC and interestingly are classified as cognizable and Non-bailable. These offences with their punishments are as follows-
- Section 294 (obscene acts and songs) – Under this section, if any person disturbs the peace of another person by doing any obscene act or by singing, reciting or uttering any obscene song or by any words then he shall be liable under this Section and shall be punished with imprisonment of maximum 3 months or fine or both. It is important to note that this is a bailable offence.
- Section 354 (Outraging the Modesty of a woman) – Under this section, if any person assaults or intentionally uses force towards a woman to damage the modesty of a woman then he shall be liable under this section and shall be punished with imprisonment which shall not be less than one year but can be extended up to 5 years or shall be fined or both. It is important to note that this is a Non-bailable offence.
- Section 509 (Insulting the modesty of a woman) – Under this section, if a person uses any word, gesture or acts with an intent to, that such word, gesture or act shall be seen or intrudes upon the privacy of a woman shall be liable under this section and shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and also with fine. The nature of this offence is Bailable.
Furthermore, the following offences which carry the same characteristics as an offence of Eve-teasing were introduced by The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013[vi] which provided for Amendment in IPC, Indian Evidence Act and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 on laws related to sexual offences.
- Section 354A (Sexual Harassment) – Under this section, if a man shows porn to a woman against her will or passes sexually coloured remarks or asks for sexual favours then he shall be liable for Sexual Harassment and shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine or both and in case of sexually coloured remarks imprisonment is for one year. The nature of this offence is bailable.
- Section 354B (Disrobing) – Under this section, if any man tries to Assault or uses Criminal Force against a woman with an intent to disrobe her or to force her to be naked then he shall be liable under this section and shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine. The nature of this offence is Non-Bailable.
- Section 354C (Voyeurism) – Under this section, if any man who watches or captures an image of a woman who is engaged in any private activity and it is such activity where she expects not to be watched by anyone then that man shall be liable under this section and shall be punished with imprisonment for a minimum term of one year and which may be extended to three years or fine or both. And if the same person is convicted in a subsequent offence then he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years and which may be extended to seven years and fine or both.
- Section 354D (stalking) – Under this section, if a man keeps on following a woman or keeps on attempting to contact such woman to inculcate personal interaction despite clear intimation of disinterest by such woman or keeps on monitoring the use of the internet, mail or any other mode of electronic communication by a woman, shall be liable for stalking and shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may be extended for to three years and shall also be liable to fine and on subsequent conviction, he shall be punished with imprisonment which may be extended to five years and shall also be liable to fine.
Cases
- In the case of State of Kerala vs Hamsa,[vii] the Accused insulted the modesty of a woman by winking his eyes at her and the same act was caught by the other people present over there. It was held that even though the alleged act is not noticed by the victim but noticed by the people around her, the said act would amount to insult to the modesty of a woman.
- In the leading case of Rupan Deol Bajaj vs KPS Gill,[viii] the Hon’ble Apex Court held that the action of the accused shall be the sole criterion to judge whether the modesty of the woman was outraged or not. What is important is that the alleged action shall have the power of effecting the decency of a woman
- In the case of Santha vs. State of Kerala,[ix] the court held that an action of forcefully showing private organs to a woman in an indecent way or use of such words which might hurt the dignity or modesty of a woman with an intent that such words shall be heard by a woman or if he tries to show some drawing to a woman which might be considered as obscene then such person shall be liable.
- In the case of Tarak Das Gupta vs. State,[x] a nurse received a letter which contained indecent contents, it was held that the accused intended to insult the modesty of nurse and was held liable.
Shortcomings
Although laws drafted against Eve-teasing and sexual harassment try to provide a better environment to people so that they can exercise their Right to Life & Liberty guaranteed by our constitution openly but a sharp-witted analysis of these laws shows that they are not flawless and does not achieve the object which is sought to be achieved. Below mentioned are the drawbacks that these laws suffer from.
- Man’s modesty
Sections like 354 and 509 of IPC specifically deals with the outraging and insulting the modesty of a woman. But nowhere in the code outraging & insulting the modesty of a man is dealt with. This not only signifies the legislature’s lack of intent to assume that man has a modesty but also signifies that discrimination is being done based on sex (violation of Article 15). Though and unfortunately, it is a well-accepted fact that women have been a victim of the patriarchal nature of society but the idea or conception that only a woman’s modesty is violated is a little farfetched and implausible. Even if nine out of ten times the victim is women and one time a man is a victim then how can he avail justice when a crime committed against him is not even considered as a crime?
- Not Gender Neutral.
Furthermore, Sections like 354A, 354B, 354C & 354D starts with words like ‘Any man’ signifying that in crimes like sexual harassment, disrobing, voyeurism and stalking respectively, victims are always women and men are always the preparators. Is it rational to assume that these above-mentioned crimes are only committed by a man and only against a woman? Again, it is well established that majority of times these crimes are committed or reported to have been committed by a man. But this doesn’t absolve the fact that women can also stalk, disrobe etc the opposite sex.
Also, since homosexuality has been decriminalised in India people with same-sex preferences might indulge in these types of crimes. In other words, these crimes can also take place between people with homogenous preferences. Moreover, how can a third gender person be convicted of these crimes when the law considers only male as a preparator? It is a well-established position in India that now the transgenders are officially recognised as the third genders which are considered neither as males nor as females. Just because there are no reports of a particular type of crime being committed doesn’t mean we should not have laws against such crimes. If such crimes are predictable then laws against it are valuable so that there is no miscarriage of justice due to lack of laws.
Conclusion
Eve-teasing is a sin which has to be eradicated from society to make the environment more people-friendly. People have a right to live in an environment where parents never feel insecure when their children are not home and siblings should not be worried when their counterparts are out enjoying with their friends. This can only be done by inculcating good social and moral values in people at homes, schools and colleges or any other place. Our education system should address the problem of gender discrimination.
Workplaces should be made more people-friendly. Law enforcement agencies should be more vigilant and should address these types of crimes with utmost sincerity. It has been seen in many of the cases that sometimes law enforcement fails to take appropriate actions, whether it by not registering FIRs or by not following up and justice is denied to people. Eve-teasing, as a crime, does not appear to be as harmful as other crimes against people but the consequences shall be catastrophic if it is left unchecked or not stopped at its inception.
Moreover, the shortcomings surrounding our penal laws must be eradicated. There should not be any discrimination based on the sex of a person. Legislatures should realise that a man, as a subject of society, also becomes victims of Eve-teasing and a woman, though most of the time is victim, also sometimes is a preparator. Laws should not only be made for the prevailing crimes but also should be made for predictable crimes. If only the phrase ‘Any man’ in certain sections is replaced by ‘if any person’ then these shortcomings can be overcome.
Refernces:
[i] Crime in India Report 2017, available at https://ncrb.gov.in/StatPublications/CII/CII2017/pdfs/CII2017-Full.pdf
[ii] CIVIL APPEAL NO. 8513 OF 2012
[iii] AIR 1997 SC 3011
[iv] Article 21 of Constitution of India
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1199182/
[v] India Penal Code 1860
https://www.iitk.ac.in/wc/data/IPC_186045.pdf
[vi]The Criminal Law (Amenment) Act 2013
[vii] 1988 9 Crimes 161
[viii] AIR 1996 SC 309
[ix] (2006) 1 KLT 249
[x] (1925) 28 Bom LR 99
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