Criminal Liability For Conversion Practices And Queerphobic Sexual Violence Under The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: A Comparative And Rights-Based Analysis
- IJLLR Journal
- 5 days ago
- 1 min read
Nikita Aggarwal, Amity Law School, Amity University, Mohali, Punjab
ABSTRACT
This research paper examines the criminal liability for coercive conversion practices and queer phobic sexual violence within the ambit of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Although the BNS restructures the substantive part of the criminal law in India, it does not distinctly recognise or penalise conversion practices, i.e., coercive actions aimed at “correcting” a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It also fails to incorporate pertinent factors vis-à-vis queer phobic motives in cases of sexual violence. Using a doctrinal and comparative approach, this study examines how current laws on hurt, confinement, assault, intimidation, and sexual offences do not effectively address the specific harms that the members of the LGBTQ+ community face. It further reviews international laws banning conversion therapy. For instance, the laws in Canada, Germany, New Zealand and so on, alongside global hate-crime frameworks that protect the LGBTQ+ communities.
A constitutional and human-rights analysis based on Articles 14, 15, and 21, along with Supreme Court rulings in Navtej Singh Johar, NALSA, and Puttaswamy, highlights the State’s obligation to protect bodily autonomy, dignity, and equality for queer individuals. The study suggests focused reforms, including a specific crime for conversion practices, clear acknowledgement of queerphobic motives as an aggravating factor in sexual violence, and better systems for reporting, investigation, and victim protection.
