SN6 SHORT NOTE 5M ★ High-yield

Describe the offences against the modesty of a woman with the medical role.

Forensic Medicine · 2nd Professional — Para-Clinical

The Offences

Beyond rape, the BNS creates a graded group of offences protecting a woman against sexual conduct short of penetration — assault on her modesty, harassment, disrobing, voyeurism and stalking. They matter medicolegally because a doctor is frequently the first person to whom such conduct is disclosed, and because the injuries are slight or absent.

Provision (BNS 2023 / formerly IPC)	Offence and punishment
BNS 74 (IPC 354)	Assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty — 1 to 5 years and fine
BNS 75 (IPC 354A)	Sexual harassment — unwelcome physical contact and advances; a demand or request for sexual favours; showing pornography against her will (each up to 3 years); and making sexually coloured remarks (up to 1 year)
BNS 76 (IPC 354B)	Assault or criminal force with intent to disrobe or compel her to be naked — 3 to 7 years
BNS 77 (IPC 354C)	Voyeurism — watching or capturing the image of a woman engaged in a private act where she expects privacy, or disseminating it — 1 to 3 years on first conviction, 3 to 7 on a second
BNS 78 (IPC 354D)	Stalking — following or contacting a woman despite her clear disinterest, or monitoring her use of the internet or electronic communication — up to 3 years on first conviction, up to 5 on a second
BNS 79 (IPC 509)	Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman, or intrusion upon her privacy — up to 3 years
BNS 73 (IPC 228A)	Disclosure of the identity of a victim of rape or certain sexual offences — up to 2 years. This binds the doctor, the hospital and the press

"modesty" was defined by the Supreme Court in State of Punjab v Major Singh as an attribute associated with a woman by reason of her sex — so that even a female infant possesses modesty capable of being outraged, and the offence does not depend on the victim's awareness of it
Workplace harassment is separately governed by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, which gave statutory form to the vishaka guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in 1997. Every workplace with ten or more employees — including every hospital and medical college — must constitute an internal complaints committee headed by a senior woman, with an external member, and must display the provisions and conduct awareness programmes

CLINICAL PEARL

Naming a rape survivor is itself an offence, and doctors commit it without noticing. BNS 73 prohibits disclosure of the identity of a victim of rape or certain sexual offences — and that covers a name on a ward whiteboard, a discussion in a corridor, a case presented at a clinical meeting with identifying details, and a photograph in a teaching file. The report goes to the investigating officer and nowhere else, and the record is kept as restricted as any other part of the case.

The Medical Role

Injuries are slight or absent in most of these offences, and the doctor's value lies less in physical findings than in documenting the disclosure accurately and early, and in providing care and referral
What to record — the account in the complainant's own words, without leading; the date, time and place; any injury, however minor, described and photographed with a scale; the emotional and mental state; and any clothing damage. The time of the disclosure is itself important, since an early consistent complaint carries weight
Evidence in these cases — clothing; swabs where there has been contact; nail scrapings; and in voyeurism and stalking, the electronic material, which is preserved by the investigator rather than the doctor
The psychological consequences are the principal injury in stalking and harassment — anxiety, sleep disturbance, depression and post-traumatic stress — and they should be assessed, documented and referred, since they are what the court will be asked to compensate
A doctor may be the respondent, and may sit on an Internal Complaints Committee; the obligations under the 2013 Act apply to hospitals and medical colleges like any other workplace

Applied Aspects

Never disclose the identity of a survivor — not on a board, not in a corridor, not in a case presentation, not in a photograph; BNS 73 makes it an offence and the habit of anonymising must be automatic
Record the disclosure verbatim and time it; in offences that leave no physical trace, the contemporaneous account is very often the only medical evidence there will be
Photograph even trivial injuries with a scale; a grip bruise on the wrist or a torn garment may be the whole physical case in an outraging-modesty charge
Assess and document the psychological state, and refer; it is the principal injury in stalking and harassment and is regularly omitted from reports
Know your institution's Internal Complaints Committee and how to reach it; hospitals and medical colleges are covered by the 2013 Act and junior doctors and students are among those most affected
Do not minimise a complaint because there is no injury; these offences are defined by conduct and intent, not by physical findings, and a dismissive examination is itself a harm

All questions in Sexual Offences

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