This boy couldn’t report sexual assault because he is gay/ Screenshot This boy couldn’t report sexual assault because he is gay/ Screenshot

Unfortunately, being a homosexual is still a crime in India, and while the LGBTQ community has been fighting to get a valid place in the country’s social fabric, little has been achieved over the years. There are still gay and lesbian couples who can’t accept their sexual orientation in the open; not even in front of their parents, let alone society as a whole.

In such a scenario, what can the homosexuals do if they are raped? This is the question that a viral Facebook post has brought to the fore.

Facebook user Arnav Barbaad, who lives in the US, shared a couple of screenshots of the conversation he had with his friend – who is gay – staying in India. The friend alleged that he was drugged and then sexually assaulted by another guy he had gone out with. In the conversation, the man, evidently depressed, said he cannot report because the police will arrest him on charges of being a homosexual and accuse him of going out with the guy willingly.

But does that allow the other man to rape him? This is the question people on social media are asking.

Here’s what Barbaad wrote.

My friend was drugged, raped and assaulted today. However, he can’t report it to the police or he will be arrested with the rapist as well. Why? Because he’s a gay and he aspired for love and affection in a society that outlaws it for people like him

He’s a researcher at a top institution of India, he is also a screenplay writer and a poet, but nope, all that matters is his sexual orientation

I can only imagine the frustration, the anger, the helplessness he feels right now. Not only was his rights to his body breached, but his rapist gets to walk away free and continue with his heinous crimes without a single repercussion.

Oh and this wasn’t done by a lurker in one of those shady, isolated streets. The criminal is another student of the same prestigious university. Seems Delhi is equally unsafe for some men, but they don’t even legally have a voice

However, as pointed out by a user, the victim can indeed file a complaint because section 377 criminalises unnatural sex and not being an LGBTQ member.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest Trending News, download Indian Express App.

© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd