Court used ‘preferred pronouns’ and placed him in women’s prison
An Indian man has been sentenced to 7 years imprisonment with a INR 25,000 fine for raping a minor in 2016. The court has asked that the fine be paid to the victim directly as ‘compensation’ failing which, his sentence will be increased by another year. Under normal circumstances, this would just be quotidian news given the frequency of male violence against women and children in India. One would even think this was a swift recourse for the victim considering an overburdened legal system. Thanks to the setup of several fast-track courts that hear POCSO (Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences) complaints, this has been made possible. But this is a special case; here, the rapist claimed to have a ‘trans’ identity and pleaded innocence citing the same. Well, his lawyer did but with no success.
The rapist, a 34 year old male by the name Sachu Samson, raped a 16 year old boy back in 2016. The information came to light after the boy’s mother got wind of the situation. Samson, who now goes by the name ‘Shefina’ raped the minor he met on a train while travelling in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It seems that Samson had managed to groom him enough to gather his phone number and some other personal information. It is not clear for how long Samson has known the boy. Reports stated that Samson contacted him relentlessly, demanding that they meet. Afraid, the boy had blocked him and it is then that Samson started writing to him on Facebook Messenger. This got his mother’s attention whose phone these messages were being sent to. According to the victim’s testimony, even though he resisted, Samson threatened and forced him to oblige.
Castration doesn’t necessarily mean chopping off the penis because Orchiectomy (removal of testicles) is different from Penectomy (removal of penis).
Trans crimes aren’t new in India; several men have been convicted for rape, assault or other forms of abuse. This is apart from a growing number of cases of abduction of minors for forced castration. You can read my deep dive on this issue here. Recently, a trans identified male was convicted for drugging a raping a woman. But the court concluded that he was a “fake trans” because Indians consider them holy and seek their “blessings,” ergo, is not capable of raping. Nobody in the media or the legal systems understand that these men retain their penis even if they choose to get rid of their testicles. Castration doesn’t necessarily mean chopping off the penis because Orchiectomy (removal of testicles) is different from Penectomy (removal of penis).
Because of such obscurity, trans identifying male criminals try to get away with their crimes. This is evident in the way such crimes are analysed by the court. In the case of Samson, he was booked under Section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3(d) (penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. But my assumption is that such a verdict was possible because at the time the crime was committed, Samson was considered an intact male. Despite Samson’s lawyers’ claim that he was transgender “all along,” the court probably functions on the basis that if you identify as transgender, you no longer have male anatomy. Shockingly, despite such a crude understanding, Delhi High Court passed an order to implement self ID for changing sex markers on passports. Irrespective of one’s ‘gender identity’, sex is immutable and criminals ought to be clearly sexed for this very reason. Bar and Bench reported:
“The defence counsel, advocate M Unnikrishnan, pointed out that the FIR was registered against one Sachu Samson who presently goes by the name Shefina. He contended that Shefina has been transgender all throughout and that she (sic) had also undergone gender affirmation medical procedures. However, the minor boy in cross examination deposed that even though the physical structure of Shefina’s face had changed, she (sic) was the same person who assaulted him. He also said that the now female presenting Shefina was a male person at the time of the incident. A doctor was also arrayed as a witness, who deposed that there was nothing to suggest that Shefina was incapable of performing the sexual act alleged. These two depositions convinced the Court to reject the defence argument that Shefina had been a transwoman all along” (italics mine).
Notice also how a leading legal media website capitulates to the ideology by constantly addressing a male with female pronouns. This is common across all media platforms where they follow a glossary of acceptable genderspeak. Such obfuscations extend to the court orders and other documents too. Only last year, a lawyer requested the Chief Justice of India to incorporate the use of preferred pronouns in all court documents. The only pitifully redeeming thing about the media’s report on this case is that Samson was called a ‘transwoman’ rather than a woman.
Why are judges having to take extra care about the “dignity and honour” of trans identifying males? What about the dignity and honour of the boy who had the courage to speak out against his abuser? Or of the women in the women’s prison having to share space with a male rapist?
While I’m relieved that his crime is being punished, I’m crestfallen that the court has advised that this rapist be placed in the women’s prison. Bar and Bench reported, “In its judgement, the Court also recorded that the Director General of Police has been informed that Shefina is a transwoman and that special arrangements are to be made for detaining her at a women’s prison until she (sic) is transferred to a special jail for transgender convicts. The DGP was also directed to see to it that dignity and honour of the accused is safeguarded while she (sic) is detained at the women’s prison.” Why are judges having to take extra care about the “dignity and honour” of trans identifying males? What about the dignity and honour of the boy who had the courage to speak out against his abuser? Or of the women in the women’s prison having to share space with a male rapist? You can read my report on the plight of women’s prisons in India. According to a study conducted in two central prisons, the majority of female prisoners suffer from emotional, sexual and physical abuse. In the past 2 decades, the number of female prisoners diagnosed with psychological disorders has risen sharply to more than twice the level of male prisoners. Female prisoners are 20 times more likely to die by suicide and suffer with suicidal tendencies than women of the same age in the general population. “Dignity and honour” – how dare they!
As one of the handful of women speaking against this cult takeover, this development comes as no surprise to me. I’m grateful Samson didn’t get away with his crime, but for every reported case, several thousand go unnoticed. Who is going to speak for those victims?
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