Sexual offences now gender neutral, as BNS introduces key changes

The newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), effective from July 1, 2024, replaces the Indian Penal Code and introduces several key changes to sexual offences. The BNS makes sexual offences “gender neutral,” covering both boys and girls under 18 years. It revises Section 366B of the IPC to criminalize the importation of minors for illicit acts and introduces a new chapter on "Offences Against Women and Children." Significant changes include raising the age of consent for married women to 18, maintaining the marital rape exception, and introducing harsher penalties for gang rape of minors. The BNS also broadens the scope of kidnapping offences to include all children under 18.