BNS makes sexual offences ‘gender neutral’ for both victims & perpetrators

New Delhi: The newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which replaces the British-era Indian Penal Code, has made sexual offences “gender neutral” for the victim and the perpetrator, according to official documents.

“Both boys and girls could get procured for sexual exploitation. The word ‘minor girl’ in section 366A of the IPC has been replaced with the word ‘child’ in clause 96 of the BNS to cover both male and female children below the age of 18 years and the offence of procurement has been made punishable,” an explanatory note for the new criminal law said.

It said Section 366B in the IPC has been made gender neutral by replacing the phrase “importation of girl from a foreign country” with “importation of girl or boy from a foreign country”.

It has been introduced as clause 141 in the BNS to cover the offence of importing into India any girl under the age of 21 years or any boy under the age of 18 years with the intent that such person will be forced or seduced to illicit sexual acts with another person, it said.

The BNS, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) came into effect on July 1. They replace the IPC, Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Evidence Act respectively.

The BNS also introduces a new chapter titled ‘Offences Against Women and Children’ to deal with sexual offences, according to the documents.

Similar offences under the IPC were part of the chapter on ‘Offences Affecting the Human Body’. Additionally, the law (BNS) proposes changes to provisions relating to rape of women under the age of 18.

It renumbers existing rape provisions and harmonises the treatment of gang rape of minor women with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), the documents said. Further, it said, the BNS has introduced age-based classification of rape victims from the IPC and POCSO and prescribes different sentencing options for the rape of minors under the ages of 18, 16 and 12. The range of punishments for rape of minors of different ages is largely the same across the IPC, POCSO, and the BNS, according to the explanation.

It further said that Clause 64(1) punishes a rape accused with 10 years to life imprisonment whereas Clause 64(2) punishes aggravated forms of rape with 10 years to life imprisonment for the remainder of a person’s natural life.