ABSTRACT:
This paper examines the often-overlooked issue of sexual harassment against men and boys through a socio-legal lens. While public discourse and legal framework focus largely on women as primary victims of sexual harassment, male survivors often remain underrepresented in legal recognition, policy formulation and social dialogue. The study explores the limited legal intersection, socio-cultural norms, psychological consequences and reporting barriers that contribute to the invisibility of male victims. The paper further evaluates existing legal provisions and highlights gaps in protection, particularly in gender-specific provisions. A survey-based empirical methodology was used to understand and analyse the respondents’ perceptions, prevalence patterns, and reporting behaviour. The finding reveals significant underreporting influenced by social stigma, gender stereotypes and lack of gender neutral legal mechanisms. The paper concludes by recommending legal reforms, awareness initiatives, institutional sensitivity training and gender-neutral grievance redressal frameworks to ensure comprehensive protection for all victims.
Keywords: Sexual Harassment, Gender-neutral, Socio-legal Perspective, Redressal.
INTRODUCTION:
Whenever the word “harassment” clicks one’s mind, most people presume women as the victims and the thought that even men could be victims never arises, but in reality, even men and boys face sexual harassment. The suppression of their experiences is attributable to societal expectations and cultural beliefs. Thus, the phenomenon of men facing sexual harassment has largely remained neglected and undiscussed in Indian society. Society assumes men to be strong, dominant and emotionless because patriarchal cultures value these as ‘masculine traits’. And if they even try to express their situation, either they are not believed, or they are suggested as not being ‘ manly enough’. Gender equality is one of the foundational principles of our modern democracies. The Constitution of India, under Articles 14 and 15, enshrines the principle of equality before the law and prohibits discrimination based on gender.[1] Yet many statutes look after the protection of women and children explicitly, raising further questions on the protection of men under such circumstances. If we examine the latest Criminal Law reforms, specifically the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which replaces the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which replaces the Code of Criminal Procedure, they largely consist of existing provisions on sexual or domestic violence, which aren’t gender-neutral. This results in neglect of male sexual abuse or violence and determines that they have no legal recourse. Also, many studies show that the majority of victims of sexual violence are female, but they also purport that men are also victims of it. According to RAINN,[2]1 out of every 10 rape victims is male. This aligns with the hegemonic masculinity theory, which explains that men are supposed to appear dominant and emotionally unavailable, which leads to male victims facing intense stigma, contributing to the underreporting of male sexual violence.
[1]Akash Bharti and Aishwarya Pandey, “An Examination Of Gender Bias In Indian Laws: The Need For Reforms To Protect Male Rights And Ensure Gender Neutrality”, Indian Journal Of Legal Review (IJLR), 5 (7) OF 2025, PG. 556-564, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344
[2]RAINN, Statistics: Victims of Sexual Violence (RAINN, updated 28 August 2025) https://rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence accessed 21 November 2025.