CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, PATNA

WOMEN & CHILD RIGHTS LAW

ROUGH DRAFT ON THE PROJECT :

DATE RAPE

Submitted to: Mr. Vijayant Sinha

(Faculty for Women and
Child Rights Law )
Submitted by : Anuraj Tirthankar
Roll No. 530
Semester X, 5th year

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Method of Research :
The researcher has adopted a doctrinal method of research. The researcher has made extensive
use of the library at the Chanakya National Law University and also the internet sources.
Aims and Objectives:
The main aim of the researcher is to find the status of Date Rape in India, various legal
safeguards for protecting the rights of women and various initiatives taken by the government
and NGOs to provide them with legal remedies, various essentials to lead a good life, etc.
Sources of Data:
The following secondary sources of data have been used in the project1

Books

Websites
Method of Writing:
The method of writing followed in the course of this research paper is primarily analytical.

Introduction
Perhaps the most heinous crime against a woman is commission of rape. The word rape has been
derived from the Latin term rapio which means to to seize. Rape is to seize or take by force.
Black's Law Dictionary defines rape as" the unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman by a man
forcibly and against her will. As far as the Indian Penal Law is concerned, the definition of
Rape is contained in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code and the punishment is prescribed in
Section 376 of the code. Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape. The two phrases are often
used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some
sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between the two parties.
Hypothesis
1.There are deficiencies in the rape law beginning with the analysis on the narrow definition of
rape in the Indian Penal Code, keeping in view the definitions of rape in the Sexual Offences Act,
2003 of England and the Criminal Law Consolidated Act, 1935 of Australia as well as the 172nd
report of the Law Commission of India.
2.The current law does not take into account acts of forced oral sexual intercourse, sodomy and
penetration by foreign objects, which needs urgent attention as the impact of these can destroy
the physical frame of the victim and defile her soul equally.
3.The offence of rape is not a gender neutral one, rather it is a gender biased one.
4.There has been an increase in the victims of rape in general and date rape in particular.
Chapterization:
1. Date Rape or Acquaintance Rape
This Chapter deals with concept of Date Rape or Acquaintance Rape. It is a sex crime
committed by someone who knows the victim. It could be a friend, classmate, relative,
co-worker. As a sex crime, acquaintance rape includes forced, manipulated or coerced
sexual contact.
2. The Offence of Rape : Indian Perspective
Under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013:

the act of rape is newly described with the use of very specific physical terminology, but
in contrast to the Ordinance, the amended provision on rape is kept as a gender-specific

crime, only committed by men (Amendment Act s 9, Penal Code, s 375);

the punishment on conviction of rape is in general from seven years to life imprisonment
and a fine, but if certain circumstances apply (e.g., rapes committed by police officers or
public servants of women in their custody; rapes by a relative, guardian, or teacher of a
woman vis a vis whom they are in a position of trust or authority; or rapes against women
under the age of 16) the punishment upon conviction will be from ten years to life
imprisonment and liability to a fine (Amendment Act s 9, Penal Code s 376); capital
punishment may be applied to a rapist if the act causes the victims death or leaves her in
a permanent vegetative state, otherwise the applicable penalty will in general be seven

years to life imprisonment (Amendment Act s 9, Penal Code s 376A);

gang rape is punishable with a prison term of from 20 years to life (meaning the
remainder of the offenders natural life) and a fine (Amendment Act s 9, Penal Code s

376D);
a new offense of sexual harassment is inserted as section 354A of the Indian Penal Code

(Amendment Act s 7);

for the first time, voyeurism and stalking are defined as offenses (Amendment Act s 7,

Penal Code ss 354C & 354D);

a punishment ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment and liability to a fine will be
imposed on those convicted of trafficking a minor, and if more than one minor is
involved, the applicable sentence will be 14 years imprisonment, extendable to life

imprisonment, and liability to a fine (Amendment Act s 8, Penal Code s 370(4) & (5));
the punishment for an acid attack that causes harm to the victim will be a minimum term
of 10 years imprisonment, extendable to a life term, while conviction on voluntarily
throwing or attempting to throw acid with the intention of causing damage will incur a

penalty of five to seven years (Amendment Act s 5, Penal Code ss 362A & 362B);
public servants who knowingly disobey legal provisions regulating the manner in which
they are to conduct an investigation into an offense or who fail to record information
given to them under relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure may be
subject to a punishment of from six months to two years of imprisonment and a fine
(Amendment Act s 3; Penal Code s 166A); and

persons in charge of public or private hospitals will be subject to a prison term of up to

one year and/or a fine for non-treatment of victims (Amendment Act s 3, Penal Code s
166B).

3. Date Rape, Marital Rape and Stranger Rape

This Chapter entails a detailed comparison between Date Rape, Marital Rape and
Stranger Rape. These are the terms, often confused. An attempt has been made to dispel
this confusion.
4. Date Rape Drugs
The use of date rape drugs clearly illustrates how sexual assaults are planned and
premeditated events. Perpetrators of sexual assault use date rape drugs as a method to
incapacitate their victim and to ensure that she/he will not be able to resist the assault. In
addition, using date rape drugs ensures that the survivor will not recall enough details
about the assault to prosecute the perpetrator.
Alcohol is by far the most prevalent date rape drug and is easy to use because it is legal
and socially accepted. In some cases, perpetrators take advantage of the fact that an
individual is drinking heavily. In other cases, the perpetrator is actively involved in
ensuring that an individual gets drunk by buying drinks, encouraging her/him to drink,
and pouring drinks with more alcohol than usual. In either case, when an individual is
drunk she/he is legally unable to consent to sexual activity.
Rohypnols effects vary depending on the dosage that one is given, but they range from
sedation to stage four coma (rohypnol is ten times more potent than valium). After
consuming the drug, it takes 20 - 30 minutes before its sedative effects begin, and the
effects can last from 8 - 24 hours. As well as being a strong sedative, rohypnol also
causes short-term memory loss. Together these properties make rohypnol a dangerous
date rape drug, and when it is mixed with alcohol it is even more dangerous because it
can lead to severe intoxication and even death.
All date rape drugs are processed by the body quickly and are thus difficult to detect.
When testing for date rape drugs the closer to the time of the drugging at possible is best,
as after 72 hours detection will be impossible. It also varies depending on the drug used;
for example GHB can be untraceable in only 12 hours whereas rohypnol will be traceable
up to 72 hours.
5. Causes and Effects of Date Rape

There a principal cause why people commit rapes. Many recent researches show that men
have since they want to sex to improve their masculinity, and when women say no to sex,
men do not stand it; that is why they commit rapes because of pornography, flashing,
obscene phone calls, and so on.
The effects that many victims of rape present are devastating because of the terrible way
the rape was committed, so what people have to do is to help these victims as much as
people can since these victims cannot do it alone, so be careful with the effects.
First of all, victims present psychological effects; for instance, self- blame that make
people feel uncomfortable with themselves; they want to stay alone ( specially dark
places) because everything bothers them, the music, the light, the people, and so on, as a
consequence of rape. According to Doctor Jarol Scoth, victims that present this kind of
psychological effect try to find the way to kill themselves as a result of these memories
since it starts like dreams, and little by little they cannot forget, so many victims appear
died. Another important effect that all victims present is physical effect; for everybody it
is so crucial to know that if victims of rape do not pay the necessary attention to their
bodies, they will have lots of problems. For instance, victims can have a vaginal or anal
bleeding, genital irritation, urinary infections, etc.
6. Prevention Strategies
This Chapter deals with various prevention strategies which need to be adopted to
prevent the offence of Date Rape.
What Consent Looks Like
The laws about consent vary by state and situation, but you dont have to be a legal
expert to understand how consent plays out in real life.
Safety Tips for Traveling
The following tips can help travelers plan for a safe and comfortable trip and may reduce
the risk of many different types of crimes, including sexual violence.
Alcohol Safety
Alcohol may make it easier for a perpetrator to commit sexual assault and can even
prevent someone from remembering that the assault occurred.
Safe Web Browsing
There are two important safety elements to consider when you're browsing online:
privacy and security.
Meeting Offline
Consider these safety tips when you plan to meet someone offline.
Social Media Safety

Take steps to protect your personal safety with the following social media safety tips.
Staying Safe on Campus
College campuses can give you a sense of securitya feeling that everyone knows each
other and watches out for one another. There are perpetrators who take advantage of this
feeling of safety and security to commit acts of sexual violence.
7. Legal Mechanism
This Chapter deals with the legal mechanism related to Date Rape.
SUGGESTIONS
The implications of these loopholes are that any act of forced sexual intercourse that doesnt
involve penile vaginal intercourse is not considered rape. These offences are dealt with under
Section 354 and Section 377 irrespective of the fact that the above mentioned offences are as
derogatory and humiliating as the offence of forced penile/vaginal intercourse is. It is worthwhile
to note that forced non-vaginal intercourse is usually practiced on children and in such cases this
loophole in Section 377 defeats the very purpose for which a differential treatment was
envisaged under Section 376 (2) (f). There are some very pertinent reasons that necessitate the
amendment of Section 376 and bringing a change in the definition of rape. These are: Forced
sexual intercourse where penetration is not effected is dealt with under Section 354 and is
considered a less grave offence. The punishment prescribed for this section is not consistent with
the gravity of the crime, it is not only a bailable offence but it is compoundable also which
effectively means that there is a strong likelihood of a victim being compelled to withdraw her
case Offences in the nature of penile/anal intercourse, penile/oral intercourse, object/vaginal
intercourse are covered under Section 377.This archaic law was enacted not to punish such
offenders but to punish homosexuality, thus consent is no defence for a charge of unnatural sex.
Therefore, this section places forced sexual intercourse at the same pedestal with consensual
sexual intercourse. Section 354 and Section 377 prescribe no minimum punishment and
therefore, no obligation on the courts to record any special reasons on record for giving a lesser
sentence to an offender.
A careful perusal of some of the judgments of the Supreme Court would lend credence to the fact
that there has been a judicial tendency to show undue leniency towards offenders of sexual
crimes.

In Raju v. State Of Haryana , a young boy aged 20/21 years had committed sodomy on a hapless
girl of 9 years of age for which was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. On appeal the sentence
was reduced to 6 months citing young age of the appellant as a reason. However, the court failed
to take into account the age of the victim and the unimaginable trauma that the appellants
ghastly act had caused to her.
Similarly, in Chittaranjan Das v. State of Uttar Pradesh, the court reduced the sentence of the
appellant, a highly qualified and cultured individual who had committed the offence of sodomy
on a young girl, to 2 months. The loss of service of the appellant as a result of the conviction was
cited as a reason.
The result of these cases would have been different if these offences would have fallen under
Section 375 since there is an obligation on the part of the courts to impose a minimum sentence
as laid down in Section 376. Under Section 327 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, there is no
obligation on the part of the court to provide an in camera trial to the victims of offences under
Section 354 and Section 377. Although, this issue has been addressed by the Supreme Court in
Sakshi v. Union of India, however Section 228 A of the Indian Penal Code has still not been
amended to ensure that the victims identity is protected. This means that the public authorities,
courts as well as the media are not bound to protect the identity of a victim of the said offences.

CONCLUSION
Rape obviously is a very serious crime with severe trauma to the victim. The punishment for the
invasion of either of those most private spheres should be identical. Nevertheless, proposal for
reforms of the fifteenth Law Commission seems to be a progressive gender-neutral rape law in
India. The proposed section 375, replacing the present one, if enacted, will, therefore, be a mere
symbolic legislative exercise. A symbolic law, embodying certain values and expressing the
consensus of the society to adhere to theses values, nevertheless, undeniably generates a process
of creating social consensus and consequential conditions that are conductive to mobilize such a
change. The proposed reforms in the substantive rape law, therefore, would undeniably give a
further momentum to the untiring efforts of womens organizations to do away with the promale, male-oriented and gender biased sexual morals reflected in the Indian Law relating to

rape. It, if favorably responded to, by the legislature, would not only make the substantive rape
law free from the century, but would also take the rape law in a new progressive direction in the
new millennium.