wl-5395-Towards a Gendered Framing of Animal Sexual Abuse in India

This paper examines the manner in which feminist theory intersects with animal studies to frame the discussion around animal sexual abuse (ASA), contextualising it within the recent substitution of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) with Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS) in December 2023. The paper argues that the concomitant removal of IPC Section 377 presents an important opportunity to usher in significant reform in both animal and human rights in India, allowing for (a) framing of the law against ASA through the concepts of dignity, rights, consent and health instead of the pejorative language of bestiality (b) dissociating homosexuality from being problematically linked with bestiality in the legal discourse. Drawing from feminist research that establishes a homological relationship between domestic abuse of women and children and the abuse of animals, the paper maintains that the absence of provisions against sexual offenses involving animals underscores the urgent need for the recognition of ASA as integral to gender advocacy efforts in India. Contextualised within literature that addresses the sexualisation and objectification of animals, the essay draws parallels with tropes that objectify women, thus underscoring the entanglement of gender and power in shaping human-animal relationships. Additionally, the paper argues for the necessity of incorporating the One Health approach in the discussion around ASA, recognising how human-animal sexual interaction can foster conditions for zoonotic diseases, thus calling for a collaborative and multi-disciplinary understanding for developing interspecies wellbeing.