Adolescent Girls Should Control Sexual Urges, Instead Of Giving Into Two Minutes Of Pleasure: Calcutta HC
In an observation that is bound to raise some eyebrows, the Calcutta High Court has said that adolescent girls must control their sexual urges instead of giving in to two minutes of pleasure, and adolescent boys must respect young girls and women and their dignity and bodily autonomy.
The Calcutta HC made the comments while hearing an appeal by a 20-year-old who was convicted in a rape case under POCSO.
What is the case?
The appellant had argued that he had a consensual physical relationship with the girl, who was a minor at the time, and that they were now married.
The girl also told the HC that she had a consensual relationship with the accused.
The HC bench of Justices Chitta Ranjan Dash and Partha Sarathi Sen set aside the verdict of the sessions court and called for comprehensive rights-based sexual education for adolescents to avoid legal complications arising from sexual relations at a young age.
"Sex in adolescents is normal but sexual urge or arousal of such urge is dependent on some action by the individual, maybe a man or woman. Therefore, sexual urge is not at all normal and normative. If we stop some action(s), arousal of sexual urge, as advocated in our discussion supra, ceases to be normal," the court said.
The HC also proposed some duties for both adolescent females and males.
What are duties of adolescent females?
(i) Protect her right to integrity of her body.
(ii) Protect her dignity and self-worth
(iii) Thrive for overall development of her self transcending gender barriers.
(iv) Control sexual urge/urges as in the eyes of society she is the looser when she gives in to enjoy the sexual pleasure of hardly two minutes.
(v) Protect her right to autonomy of her body and her privacy.
How adolescent males should act
"It is the duty of a male adolescent to respect the aforesaid duties of a young girl or woman and he should train his mind to respect a woman, her self-worth, her dignity and privacy, and right to autonomy of her body."
The court further said that both adolescent boys and girls should be provided parental guidance and education on sexuality and that parents should be the first teachers.
Why age of consent has been controversial?
It should be noted that this is not the first time courts in India have questioned misuse of the POCSO Act in cases where the girl or, in some cases, both the partners are minors, but the boy was booked for rape, even when their physical relationship was consensual.
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