Relationship under wraps
Q: I am a young 23-year-old girl who's in love with a man. I am certain that I love him to the point where I think that I want to marry him and he told me that he loves me. Now because of our levels in society, we've decided to keep the relationship on low profile. But I can't. Every time I see him my heart races, my palm sweats, but I can't express how I feel for him in public because our social standings might be damaged. In private, out of the public eye we get along well and things are all right. Sometimes I get angry and frustrated when we don't show each other how we feel in public. What can I do to lessen my frustration?
A: Any relationship which has to be kept under cover, and in which you cannot be freely and fully yourself, is bound to take a toll on you. Sooner or later a choice will have to be made. You will have to either muster up the courage to be open about your relationship and face whatever society has to say about it, or else you will have to break up. It is up to both of you to decide as to what is truly important to you. Love has the strength to face any odds as long as both of you face the challenge together. It is now the time to test the strength of your love.
Sex and Law
Q: What’s the difference between sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape? What is molestation? What are the acts which come under these? I have undergone a dreadful incident when I was nine years old. A man touched my private parts (vagina) and even tried to break the hymen membrane. What had he actually wanted?
A: Molestation is touching a woman who is not your wife without her consent. It is punishable as per the section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (1860).
As per sections 375 and 376 of IPC, it is rape when intercourse (penetration) is performed on a woman (who is not your wife) against her wish. If the consent for intercourse is taken under threat, or in an intoxicated state or under disguise, still such an intercourse is considered as rape. Intercourse with a woman (who is not your wife) below the age of 16 even with her consent is considered as rape as per the Indian Penal Code. If your wife is below the age of 15, then intercourse even with her consent is legally regarded as rape.
Sexual abuse means forced sexual intimacy, with or without penetration, with a person of any age and sex, against her/his wish.
Sexual harassment is a phrase used when a woman is psychologically pressurized or tortured, using one’s position, forcing her to give her consent for sexual favors.
A man who touched you when you were nine, must have been a sexual pervert suffering from pedophilia.