Law, Ideology and Female Sexuality

The Law Commission recommendations for a new law on sexual assault and deletion of Section 377 has shifted the discourse on rape law amendment to a plea for complete gender neutrality for victims and violators alike. But while this does little to protect vulnerable sections of the population, a gender neutral rape law may open up avenues for inflicting greater trauma and humiliation on a section, already marginalised, and thereby defeat the very purpose of the reform.