Seventeen-year-old Nagesh (name changed) was on his way home from tuition classes late evening in a crowded public bus when he experienced his first sexual assault - a middle-aged man groped his private parts for more than a few minutes. The shocked teenager, who was coming to terms his homosexual orientation at the time, was repulsed enough to wonder why he was ‘not normal’.
While eve-teasing grabs headlines, the experiences of effeminate and gay men, or youngsters confused about their sexual preferences, being harassed by other men, comes as a surprise to many. “When a homosexual man walks out in public, he is always braced for some form of verbal or sexual assault,” says Mr Sunil Menon, fashion choreographer and founder of Sahodaran, a support group for men who have sex with men (MSMs). From lewd catcalling to groping, and even roughing up, just like in the case of women, the male homosexual victims are disturbed by the incident.
“But these occurrences happen every day, in public transport and even in high-end circles like clubs. Eventually, one gets used to it and begins to treat it as a normal part of their life,” Mr Menon says, pointing out that there is no legal recourse for the victim even if he were to muster enough courage to file a complaint.
However, not all attacks are gender-specific as in the case of those offenders suffering from a psychological condition called frotterism, says sexologist, Dr Narayan Reddy. “Some men need any kind of body contact, either male or female, to get sexual release which they achieve by rubbing themselves against the other person,” he explains. "The impact of such episodes has led to sexual aversion in some patients,” he adde
While eve-teasing grabs headlines, the experiences of effeminate and gay men, or youngsters confused about their sexual preferences, being harassed by other men, comes as a surprise to many. “When a homosexual man walks out in public, he is always braced for some form of verbal or sexual assault,” says Mr Sunil Menon, fashion choreographer and founder of Sahodaran, a support group for men who have sex with men (MSMs). From lewd catcalling to groping, and even roughing up, just like in the case of women, the male homosexual victims are disturbed by the incident.
“But these occurrences happen every day, in public transport and even in high-end circles like clubs. Eventually, one gets used to it and begins to treat it as a normal part of their life,” Mr Menon says, pointing out that there is no legal recourse for the victim even if he were to muster enough courage to file a complaint.
However, not all attacks are gender-specific as in the case of those offenders suffering from a psychological condition called frotterism, says sexologist, Dr Narayan Reddy. “Some men need any kind of body contact, either male or female, to get sexual release which they achieve by rubbing themselves against the other person,” he explains. "The impact of such episodes has led to sexual aversion in some patients,” he adde
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