Exposed : WCD's intentions to study Sexual Harassment on men is an eyewash

A couple of months back the Women and Child development Minister under attack for ignoring  overwhelming evidence of sexual Harassment on men and denying men protection under the proposed "Protection of women from sexual harassment" stated the below and was quoted by a TOI article on 21-Aug-2012 . 

"I want to get a study conducted to find out what kind of harassment of males is prevalent and to what extent at workplaces, though till now only the harassment suffered by the women has been spoken about," 

Her intentions sounded very suspect at the onset since the same ministry a few years ago had stated "Protecting men is not the mandate of the WCD" while ignoring representations from hundreds of Indian citizens praying to make the Sexual Harassment at Workplace bill gender neutral. 

To discover if the WCD ministry was really going to walk the talk or  if this was just another one of their smokescreens to buy time an RTI was sent to the WCD ministry to get the details of the proposed study that was to be conducted to learn about of the propensity and prevalence of sexual harassment of men at the workplace.The questions were related to the details of the proposed study , budget allocated , questions framed and time duration . Also it was asked , why the Protection of women from sexual harassment was being introduced in the Rajya Sabha when the study on men was not even started ? 

From the responses of the WCD ministry( see RTI questions and response below) it is clear once again that the WCD minister's comment of conducting a study on men was nothing more than an mere eyewash to delay the opposition against this law and get another biased feminist law passed in the Rajya Sabha by hook or crook. It is extremely shameful that minister of cabinet rank resorts to such blatant falsehood in public when cornered on an proposed draconian anti male feminist legislation with genuine facts and data.  
 
The RTI questions and the WCD Ministry's response are as under for public consumption. 

 WCD response to status of study of Sexual Harassment on Men 

Delhi attacks are a text book example of how a violent incident is turned into a women's rights issue

1. First lets define the incident . A boy and a girl was were subjected to severe beatings with an iron rod by a few hooligans . This is a very heinous offense no doubt but is it rape ?  The boy also was beaten very badly with the same iron rod that he girl was beaten , but do we have a single article describing his pain . No .. apparently because the men being beaten and his clothes torn remains a  man being beaten .However a  women being beaten with torn clothes is termed rape irrespective of the fact if there was a sexual intention to the incident. Instead of a calling a Delhi an "Unsafe city" filled with hooligans .. Delhi becomes "unsafe only for women" even as numbers show that  males also get beaten everyday in more numbers than females.

2. The ambit of rape is still not defined in Indian and essentially defined by the media. If the media feels it can portray an incident of an a argumentative woman being slapped by traffic cop for knocking a passerby in Bangalore  as a case molestation. In the same way more severe incidents like severe pushing , severe beating , kicking , punching and any bodily harm to women is often termed rape to gain more media mileage and sensationalism . For example when the police beats a woman protestor it becomes molestation and when the same police beats a male protestor with the same baton in the same riot the charge of hurt and grievous hurt may be leveled. This methodology not only increases the number of rape and molestation incidents statistically, but this also provides ammunition for proponents to bring more draconian senseless legislation under the guise of laws to protect women.

3. Media trails in India are common and everyday affair . Media start to repeat the incident and slowly the word rape starts to fly around . Very soon prominent women's rights organizations start to pick the brownie points by issuing statements left right and center without even verifying  if it was a rape . Filmstars and politicians soon join in the chorus and and start issuing politically correct statements to improve their image and score points. The whole incident is turned from a voilent beating to rape and focus shifts from the man to the woman. Candles come out only demanding that women be protected and there is not a single demanding justice for the man who was equally brutalised .

4. This is not the first time male pain and suffering was ignored by the media and government . In the famous Ruchika Gihrotra case in 2009 , Ruchika's brother was brutally tortured by the police for weeks to pressurize Ruchika to take her molestation complaint back. However the media attention was solely focused on Ruchika's suicide and this was morphed turned into women's rights issue ignoring the plight of the bother who languished in jail for weeks on end getting tortured all for protecting his sister.No demands were made for her brother getting a fair trail and neither did a single person light a candle against torture of males by Indian police.

4. The reaction of the Aam Aadmi, especially males is no less surprising. Demanding death for the alleged rapists is the most minimum humane  punishment demanded by promiment people . The Aam aadmi(especially males) on the street when asked  on the suitable punishment demand castration , eating by rats , cutting off of genitals and ever increasing grotesque punishments right out of medieval times for the alleged rapists as if deriving some sadistic pleasure of seeing the alleged rapists suffer . It also appears that harsher the punishment demanded the more pleasure the male gets by demanding it . The stand of the Indian males is hardest to gauge . On one side they salivate to gyrating semi clad women in bollywood movies(which is allowed by the govt)  , have a population that is going through the roof and other the other side they get extreme pleasure of seeing another male sufer in the most horrible way possible even before the crime is proven beyond any resonable doubt. 

So why is violence against men ignored and why is violence against women increasingly being called rape ? Why is a women hit in her genitals automatically become an incident of rape whereas a  man hit in his genitals by the same person with the same weapon does not get the any coverage . Does the man feel any less pain or does he deserve less because he is a man ?  Why do Indian seek such sadistic pleasure out of proposing such medieval punishment and then choose to ignore the brutality that males suffer totally ignoring the fact that they  too can one day face the same media trial which they are now enjoying as a viewer. These are some questions that we need to ponder before we pass out half baked judgements sitting in our living room on an incident we have little knowledge about .

INSAAF retained for drafting bill for protecting of men from intimate partner violence

INSAAF has been retained by prominent Indian men's rights organisations along with  some key Members of parliament for drafting a Intimate Terror (Domestic Violence) act which specifically caters to protecting men and boys from domestic violence from their spouse , girlfriends and parents. It has been alleged that Husbands and boyfriends in Indian are specifically excluded from protected under domestic violence laws in India. Research has also shown that there have been significant demand from all quarters for creation of laws to protect men from intimate terror but all these requests have so far not led to to formulation of an actual law which is believed to have caused due to unavailability of a government forum to consider the safety and security of Indian men in general.

Preliminary Study results from INSAAF's study of Intimate Terror

INSAAF's researchers have collated vast amount of peer reviewed data and evidence from personal interviews of male victims, court case records , statements made by honorable courts and media articles and has determined that domestic violence abuse of Indian males falls across a wide range of categories namely

a. Physical abuse : Husbands and Male partners have presented serious evidence of been  scratched , punched , bit , things thrown at them by their female partners apart from attacks with deadly instruments. In the absence of a legal system to protect men from physical violence  these victims get little or no medical care or attention and are even unable to speak of their physical wounds due to the unavailability of a law to protect them from abuse.

b. Emotional abuse :  Demands to forcefully separate the husband from his parents and family , demand for separate residence, threat of Police action and legal recourse if the wife's demands are not met were  some of the commonly seen tactics of emotional abuse. Also , constant non-cooperation of the wife or the female partner in the smooth running of a family was another commonly seen tactic which was used to abuse husbands in case of non fulfillment of the demands of the wife.

c. Verbal abuse : Calling husbands and male partners derogatory names with an intent to demean and hurt. Names like "impotent" , "Spineless" , "Hijra(Eunuch)" have most commonly come up and were verbal abuses that were levelled against Husbands and male partners with an intent to cause pain and ignominy. Many husbands provided evidence of suffering of such verbal abuse for decades primarily due to their specific inability to earn an income as per the demands of their spouses.    

d. Legal abuse : The acts of misusing the state machinery by the wife or female partner for intent of coercing the husband or the male partner to abide by their demands. Common amongst these are misuse of IPC 498a , DV act 2005 , Rape/Molestation Laws , Denying Child custody on event of separation and Maintenance laws.

e. Economic abuse :- Constant irrational demands on the husband for purchase of jewelery , real estate , expensive clothing , automobiles , restaurant hospitality, feminine beauty products and demands for payments to family members of the wife's family was evidenced .When the husband or the male partner was unable to meet the financial demands of the female partner they were subjected to further emotional and physical abuse. A lot of data spoke of  severe economic abuse and daily non co-operatory tactics to force the man to increase his income beyond his normal means and capability. Inability of the man to earn more led to further domestic abuse and which in many cases led to legal and physical violence and an eventual divorce.


f. Sexual abuse: Using consensual physical relations to coerce a man for either financial payments and/or forced marriage . Threatening to file cases of rape and molestation after consensual physical relations. Forcing men to start families against their will and denying physical relation in a matrimonial relation if to irrational and unreasonable demands are not fulfilled.

INSAAF's study has also has taken into account the scale and propensity of abuse of husbands and males partners in India and compared that to worldwide abuse numbers . We have concluded that in in more than 50% of cases wives and females also initiated fights which led to intimate terror attacks on their male partners. The bill is going through its final touches  and  will be presented for consideration during the winter session of the parliament.

INSAAF strongly condemns proposed anti male Sexual Harrasment at Workplace law

INSAAF strongly protests the volte-face by the Indian government on the Sexual harrasment at workplace bill and the deploratory act of then quietly  trying to sneak in anti-male legislation titled “Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment Bill”. INSAAF is sad that the enormous evidence that was presented by INSAAF in favour of a Gender Neutral law was categorcally sidelined Radical Indian feminist forces under the very nose of the government.

INSAAF feels that the proposed bill will .

1. Will completely destroy the workplace harmony.

2. Will convert professional rivalries and jealousies into frivolous complaints and will become yet another source of extortion of a man’s money.

3. Will motivate companies to stop hiring of female candidates.

4. Will put Corporate honchos, bureaucrats, politicians and all male employees at the mercy of women who can simply use (read misuse) this law to cover their incompetence.

5. Will create further anti-male gender bias in the workplace and will contribute to more men committing suicides.

6. Already men commit suicides to the tune of 4 times compared to women in workplaces as per data by Union Home Ministry.

We strongly oppose the gender bias and anti-male nature of this law and demand that this law should be made gender neutral.

Brief background of the law:

1. This bill has been proposed in 2007 based on judgment by the Honorable Supreme Court in the Vishakha case.

2. INSAAF opposed it even at that point of time and the bill was finally sent to a Parliamentary Standing Committee in the year 2010. INSAAF was also invited multiple times to the Rajya Sabha and while deposing in front of the parliamentary committe presented enormous evidence in favor of making this law gender neutral.

3. Others Men’s rights activists other than INSAAF deposed before the committee in 2011 and based on their representation, the Committee recommended the Govt. of India to make the bill gender neutral and provide protection to men as well.

4. In 2012 May the cabinet approved the law, without taking into consideration, the recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

5. This clearly exposes the double standards of the Govt. and it also brings forth the fact that sending it to the Parliamentary Committee was just eyewash and the Government never really intended to provide men, a safe atmosphere to work in office.

India is an isolated country:

1. It is extremely surprising that when most of the countries are moving forward and coming up with gender neutral laws, India is moving back in time and is all set to pass an anti-male and a gender biased law.

2. This law is Gender Neutral in most of the countries where it is prevalent.

3. According to a report on Sexual harassment at workplace by United Nations Economic Commission of Europe, around 25 countries in and around Europe and Asia like Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, The Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom have policies for Sexual Harassment, that are gender neutral.

4. The US and most countries in ASEAN region also have Gender Neutral laws. Even neighboring Pakistan has Gender Neutral Sexual Harassment policies.

WCD's kangaroo court are conducting surveys on men is a hogwash at best :

1. INSAAF hereby clearly and categorically opposes the announcement made by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry made on the 21st of August 2012 that it intends to conduct a study on the sexual harassment faced by men.

2. However, it also said that the study was a matter of future and currently the law should be passed as it is i.e. gender biased and anti-male in nature.

3. It is the same WCD ministry that has gone on record to say that, “Protection of men is not their mandate” and now that they are facing opposition from some quarters of the Govt. of India in getting this biased, anti-male and extortionary law passed, they have started to make hollow claims of promising to study harassment of men. The act of WCD's kangaroo court making such claims is laughable at best and at worst shows the extent this ministry of government can stoop to pursue its feminist agenda.

4. Whereas in reality, when they have already gone on record to say that it is not their mandate to protect men, it is very clear that their intention of studying sexual abuse of men is not at all a bonafide one and is subject to strong suspicion.

5. This announcement is just a diversionary tactic from their side so that the law gets passed the way they want it and later the same can be used to extort and blackmail men at workplaces too.

Sexual Harassment of Men:

Contrary to popular belief, men do face sexual harassment at workplace and more often than not find unwanted feminine attention overwhelming and discomforting. Further worse, pervert social mindsets force the male victims to keep mum.

Some of the common forms of such harassment which males face, from their female colleagues in their workplace are,

1. Lewd remarks about the dressing sense of men.

2. Bold comments about physique and physical appearance of men.

3. Uncanny close approach by a female colleague towards a male colleague while trying to discuss some official matters.

4. Calling a male colleague inside a cabin and try to talk personal matters with him in office hours.

5. Requesting a male colleague to stay back late at night and accompany or ask for a drop.

6. Female colleagues wearing revealing clothes that make the professional atmosphere uncomfortable.

7. Talking about sexual matters freely with a male colleague despite his discomfiture to the same and ignoring his warnings at times to not to discuss such matters with him.

8. Asking out a male colleague.

These and many other forms of sexual harassment of men, more often than not go, unnoticed and unreported primarily because,

1. It is considered unmanly for a man to complain of sexual harassment.

2. Society refuses to believe that men can be victims of feminine sexual aggression.

3. Men are socially conditioned to accept welcoming and approaching gestures from females sportingly and in this process their own choices, aspirations and emotions are mercilessly trampled.

4. Society ridicules men who are uncomfortable in female company by giving them name tags such as “boring, fag, sissy, geeky, nerdy” etc. Such social mindsets often force men to “look” happy in a female company and it also trivializes their concerns from a male sexuality perspective.

5. Adverse media coverage and systemic gender bias against men suppresses them to a larger extent and truth barely and rarely comes out.

Credible surveys  have unearthed truth:

The Economic Times had conducted a survey titled the ET-Synovate survey, in which it came out that as far as 55% of men feel that they faced sexual harassment from the female colleagues and bosses and they need protection. The survey was covered in 7 cities including Bangalore, Delhi. Hyderabad, Mumbai.

First ever helpline for protection of men from sexual harassment:

INSAAF hails the act of establising  the first ever men’s helpline for Indian that caters to men facing sexual/workplace harassment from the colleagues, especially female colleagues.

Even a facebook page has been created for this and the URL for the same is,

https://www.facebook.com/maleworkplaceharassment

And following are the helplines

1. Delhi – 9818509406

2. Mumbai – 9322156141

3. Bangalore – 9535109509

4. Nagpur – 9890974788

INSAAF's demands:

1. The Govt. of India must not pass this law in the current form and it must consult the men’s rights organizations, make it gender neutral including its title and then only pass it.

2. The new bill must be re-drafted by a neutral ministry like the Ministry of Law and Justice or the Human Resources Development ministry.

3. The draft prepared by the WCD ministry must be discarded as a ministry that openly justifies its anti-male stance cannot be allowed trample the Constitutional right of men which entitles them to a safe working environment. WCD's kangaroo court must be summarily disbarred from conducting any studies on men.

4. The WCD must be stopped from conducting any study on male issues.

5. Govt. must form a separate commission, called the National Commission for Men, containing people who have championed the cause of men’s rights and such a commission must study male issues.

6. Govt. must form Men Welfare Ministry to take care of welfare of men.

Dharna against speedy divorce property annexation law

Over 400 Men's rights activists from across of India congregated in the Indian capital of New Delhi on 18 Aug 2012 to protest against a law proposed by Indian feminists which provides for annexation of a man's lifetime property in the event of a divorce. Government Data reveals that over 65000 husbands are driven to suicide annually due to domestic violence.

IrBM Dharna - Call your MP NOW !

Call the MPs as a common citizen and speak to them on how dangerous IRBM is .Below are the instructions of what you need to do .

There are 2 files .

1. RS Important Committees file has the list of MP's whom we need to target . The Ones in RED have to called mandatory. - LINK TO COMMITTEES

2. MP Contacts is an exhaustive searchable excel list with the complete detail of the MP .- LINK TO MP PHONE NUMBERS

What you need to do .

1. Pick the MP name from the Committee list and Search the name in the other file and pick the phone number

2. Call the MP and say that this is a "HUSBAND KILLER LAW". Explain the pitfalls of IrBM and the real estate issues that will happen and the opposition that is there from all over India . Also ask him what does he feel and how will he vote . Ask him if he will be Ok to meet some of us for a discussion any time between 11th to the 18th Aug.

3. Ask the MP and request him not to support this law as this will destroy marriages and the Indian family system for ever.

4. Say that this is a Dangerous law and a LOT of debate needs to be done before this can be thought of . This will lead to wide spread chaos and social unrest between families.

5. Below is the standard list of questions that you want to ask and ask the same to all the MP's.
  a. Are you aware of the IrBM(Speedy Divorce Bill)  Bill and did you receive any letters on his from various Indian NGO's ?
  b. Are you aware of the all India dissent against this bill ?
  c. Do you know that many state wide dharnas have occurred in this bill ?
  d. Do you know that a nationwide dharna is being planned in Delhi from over 40 NGO's representative over 100,000 husbands and citizens .
e. Would you support the causes of husbands . mothers and sisters who also have a right on the property.
f. Can you please share your e-mail address for us to send you details of the reaction of people from all over India.

g. Document the e-mails and MP Name and send it to menseekjustice@gmail.com.

Indian Gender Mathematics

The Indian Government owing to the social and judicial realities is planning to introduce realistic mathematics problems which will empower women in the future . Below are the some of proposed math problems that Indian girls will be asked to answer in forthcoming exams.

1. Kavitha has decided to separate from her husband Anil . Anil earns Rs 75,000 per month and has house rent income of Rs 13,500 per month . Anil also properties which Kavitha estimates to be worth Rs 50 Lakhs. Kavitha's income is Rs 10,000 however she has chosen not disclose to the court . Given the circumstances determine Kavitha's maintenance when she applies DV act , IrBM , CrPC 125 and HMA 24 

-- 10 Marks

2. Anil stays in Kolhapur and needs to meet his child who is with Jabalpur . The court has given Anil visitation of 1 hour a month in Jabalpur with his child . The cost of one way ticket from Kolhapur to Jabalpur is Rs 350 /- . Whats will be Anil's total travel costs per year should he choose to travel to Jabalpur once every month to meet his child.

----6 Marks

3. Swapna has 3 matches that he father has found for her. Anil , Amit , Rahul . Anil is worth 5 crores , Amit is worth 2 cores , Rahul is worth 80 Lakhs Anil has 20% propety in his mothers name and 23% in a independent trust from which he earns a dividend of Rs 45,000 per year . Amit has invested Rs 30 lakhs in a immovable property and earns a rent of Rs 10,000 per month . He also has expenses for diabetic parents at the rate of Rs 1000 per month . Rahul is an NRI and has invested Rs 50 lakhs in fixed deposits and has the rest in form of bank deposits . Using the IrBM property distribution formula determine which of three suitors would be best for Swapna should she choose to get divorced  1 year after marraige.

--- 7 Marks 

4. Pooja has decided to file a 498a case on Anil . Pooja lives  A ( see figure ) and the police station is at Point C . Using Pythagoras theorem determine the shortest route that Pooja needs to take to reach the Police station before Anil can apply for Anticipatory bail.

-- 4 marks