Government is planing to replace the word rape with Sexual Assault in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012Â Â in order to make it Gender neutral.
The union cabinet has  approved the proposal for the bill which will be introduced in the parliament in the coming monsoon session.
The age of consent has been raised from 16 years to 18 years in case of sexual assault and the punishment will be minimum seven to 10 years, said officials.
The bill proposes that sexual intercourse by a man with his wife under 16 years of age is not sexual assault.
Provision for enhancement of punishment for making acid attack a specific offence have been made in the bill.
The Law Commission of India in its 172nd Report on Review of Rape Laws as well the National Commission for Women had recommended stringent punishment for the offence of rape.
Mumbai Advocate Flavia Agnes said, “I oppose proposal to make rape laws gender-neutral. We had opposed it when the government made child rape laws gender-neutral. After the feminist wave of the 1980s, many countries in the West made rape laws gender-neutral. But, they have realized these laws are harming women more than men.
“There is physicality in the definition of rape, there is use of power and the victim has a stigma attached to her. If made gender-neutral, rape laws will not have the deterrence value and it will make it more complicated for judges in court.
“The consequences of rape for a woman are far-reaching. She has to battle social stigma, social mindset. While fixing marriages, nobody asks a man if he is a virgin.”
At present, the offence is defined under section 375 of the IPC, which deals with a crime where a man is said to commit ‘rape’ in case he has sexual intercourse with a woman against her will.
Delhi advocate Vrinda Grover said: “Why should rape laws be gender-neutral? That would be making a mockery of what is actually happening in the country. There are no instances of women raping men. I don’t think men are facing serious sexual violence as women. Consider the brutality and intensity of sexual violence against women. Hope the home minister does not put out a bill that delays or obfuscates discussions on the issue”.