Abstract

Gender Neutral Laws are those laws that do not discriminate on the basis of gender or sex, and treats individuals of all genders equally under the law. It is a common misconception that males are always accused of being the perpetrators and that women are always the victims, however, even men and transgenders can also be victims of sexual offences and false accusations. Globally there is a growing necessity and recognition for laws becoming gender neutral and this is becoming more widely acknowledged by the governments and the society. Regardless of gender a crime can be committed by a man or a woman. The number of crimes committed against men and transgenders is on the rise and it is something that the government should look upon. According to the current Indian legislation for a sexual offence to be committed it requires a male to be the perpetrator and female to be the victim. This exclusivity of gender causes grave injustice since it leaves out men and transgenders as being victims of these offences which is discriminatory in nature. The current law is inadequate and discriminatory leaving the victims without legal recourse. There arises a need to make laws gender neutral which will bring equality and abolish the idea of superiority of one gender upon the other. This article focuses on the various laws in the Indian Penal Code 1860 and other legislations that have been framed lacking the concept of gender neutrality which focuses on providing protection to victims of a particular gender.

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