Wake up to the woes of sexually harassed men!

Wake up to the woes of sexually harassed men!

All those feminists, who had been screaming over the male atrocities, were shocked into silence reading the recent reports wherein a 42-year-old married woman Veera Kalra, a manager at a ready-made garments store, was booked for sexually harassing her 25-year-old employee Rahul Khandare. Rahul had recently committed suicide and left a five-page note, blaming Veera for sexually harassing him and being the main cause behind his frustration. And this is not a case in isolation. There are other cases, which have similar undertones. TOI tracks the phenomenon...

Case 1: Disha Chauhan (name changed), a 25-year-old girl working for a multinational herbal products company in the city, lured her new male colleague into a sexual relationship. After luring him into the relationship, she started urging him on to help her with getting more business and greater sales numbers, says our source from the police. He obliged and soon the girl proposed marriage to the lad. When he agreed to that as well, she told him to help in increasing her sales incentive from 35% to 50%. The guy invested heavily, bought the products in large numbers and even diverted many of his own clients to her. The girl achieved her target, married her senior and dumped the guy! Totally shocked, the guy initially went into acute depression, adds the source. Later, he finally gathered the courage to file a case at the Ajni Police Station for cheating and sexual harassment.

Case 2: Rachna Bise (name changed), a 21-year-old married woman, charged her maternal uncle with attempt to rape, after she went absconding with a male friend of hers and was found by the cops, whereas the uncle's family has lodged a case of sexual harassment against her.

Male harassment is a reality
A senior cop (requesting anonymity) says: "Cases regarding women's sexual harassment and molestation are reported in large numbers, but sexual harassment of men is also a reality. We get many complaints these days of this nature, but most of the times, the guys refrain from filing the FIR. Hence, the number of cases reported remains very less."

Victims suffer psychologically
It's a myth that sexual exploitation hurts women alone and men remain unscathed, says Investigating Officer R G Rajulwar, who is handling Disha Chauhan case. He adds, "In this particular case, the boy, who was exploited and later dumped by her, became a complete recluse and even contemplated suicide. It was the never ending support of his family and friends that made him come out of his shell. So, it is no longer true that exploitation happens on one particular sex alone."

Butt of myriad jokes
The sad part is that while the psychological trauma faced by the sexually harassed people of both the sexes remains equal, the men who report such cases, have to face public ridicule. "When a girl files a case of sexual harassment, she gets people's sympathy, but when a guy files such a complaint, he becomes the butt of myriad jokes. That is why even when they are being exploited blatantly by certain women, they prefer to bear it in silence, or may take an extreme step like Rahul Khandare, who committed suicide," said another senior cop, on the condition of anonymity.  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/man-woman/Wake-up-to-the-woes-of-sexually-harassed-men/articleshow/20716412.cms