Trans Indians fear sexual violence under new justice system | Latest news from India

New penal code endangers transgender Indians

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Rape cases among male and transsexual victims are already underreported

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Activists are campaigning for the restoration of protective measures

By Mehran Firdous

NEW DELHI, Sept. 6 – Designed to end colonial-era homophobia, an overhaul of India's 160-year-old penal code has instead raised fears that transgender men and women now face a new risk of rape with impunity.

The mysterious change to a colonial-era document has filled Dua Fatema Begum with fear since its adoption this summer.

“I now feel like I could be raped at any time and I can’t do anything about it,” said the 29-year-old beautician.

“The lack of strict laws specifically targeting the sexual abuse of transgender people gives people free rein to abuse us.”

Begum fled her small village in northeast India two years ago in the hope of escaping her family's harassment because of her identity.

Now she fears a whole series of new dangers.

This summer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government replaced the old criminal justice system with a new law that removed legal protections for the trans community against sexual violence.

Without these controls, Begum is very afraid that she will be a victim of assault more often in her adopted home of Delhi. The region had the most rape cases in India's metropolises in 2022 – and Begum feels like she is in the firing line.

“After working at the beauty clinic, I always returned to my rented apartment late,” Begum told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from home.

“Now I make sure to finish early and be home before dark, and I constantly fear for my safety.”

Modi's new Indian judicial system completely abolished the old Article 377, which criminalized same-sex relations.

In 2018, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the application of Section 377 to homosexual sex was unconstitutional.

However, the clause remained in the law as legal protection against sexual violence and, with its gender-equitable wording, included both transsexual and male victims.

The new penal code, which came into force in July, instead limits rape cases to a male perpetrator and a female victim.

Activists say Section 377 was crucial for the trans community, which often suffers from social stigma, discrimination and family neglect.

Their exclusion from basic services – be it jobs, housing or health care – only increases the risk of violence and attacks.

“India is known as the mother of democracy. We should also be subject to the same laws and treated equally as other citizens,” Begum said.

SLOW TRANSPORT PROGRESS

India has been making slow progress in improving the lives of transgender people for more than a decade. In 2014, the community was recognized as a “third gender” and in 2019, the Transgender Persons Act was passed.

Under the law, various types of abuse against transgender people can be punished with a prison sentence of up to two years, a much shorter sentence than for the same crime against non-transgender women.

Although there is limited data available on crimes against the trans community, Article 377, which carries a sentence of up to ten years, is used to protect transgender victims of rape.

The clause was cited in the investigation into the rape of a trans woman in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, in January last year and in the arrest of three suspects in another incident against a trans woman in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, in 2022.

Under the revised penal code, sexual violence against transgender people would instead be classified as “serious bodily harm,” a less serious offense punishable by a lighter sentence.

Naaz Joshi, a 47-year-old trans model from Delhi, says she has often been sexually harassed. On the bus on her way home from work, she was approached by men who touched her and offered her sex.

“Since there is no longer a law dealing with sexual violence against transgender people, sexual predators can attack us at any time,” Joshi said from her home in the capital.

“Because they do not have to fear legal consequences, they feel encouraged to act with impunity.”

POLICE PROTECTION?

Activists say the transgender community already faces major hurdles in being taken seriously by police, who may ridicule them or refuse to listen to their complaints.

In 2020, the National Crime Records Bureau reported that 236 victims of all crimes identified as transgender, representing 0.006% of the total number of victims.

The NCRB did not record any rape cases involving transgender victims.

Jeet, founder of LGBTQ advocacy group Yes, We Exist, said the loss of Section 377 will further deter transgender victims of crime from coming forward.

“Despite the difficulties faced by the trans community in registering their cases, Section 377 has been an important legal safeguard in seeking justice,” said Jeet. “Authorities are now limited to bringing less serious charges, such as assault or hurt, which does not do justice to the full gravity of these crimes.”

A petition launched online has collected more than 47,000 signatures and calls on the Interior Ministry to close the protection gap and push for stricter measures against sexual violence.

On August 28, the Delhi High Court asked the government to address the repealed sexual violence protection measures, if possible within six months.

The Ministry of Law and Justice did not respond to requests for comment.

But Home Minister Amit Shah said the changes in India's justice system would actually make the country fairer.

“Some 77 years after independence, our criminal justice system will become fully indigenous and will be based on Indian ethos,” Shah told reporters in July.

“Instead of punishment, there will now be justice.”

Meanwhile, Begum, who wants to restore protection as quickly as possible, lives in hope – and is on guard.

“I am confident that by raising our voices and speaking out against the lack of protection in the new laws, we can pave the way for necessary reforms,” Begum said.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications.