My name is Arsalan Azad, and I am a survivor of rape. My story is not the one society expects to hear from a man, but it is real, and it is my truth.

The first time it happened, I was only 7 years old. Just a child, standing near a construction site where my mother worked. Five men were there, men who took something from me that I didn’t even understand. That day marked the beginning of years of silent trauma—a trauma that followed me like a shadow. It didn’t end there. For years, it happened again and again, in ways I couldn’t comprehend or protect myself against. Each incident felt like another piece of myself slipping away, yet I stayed silent, believing that no one would listen or even care.

At 21, I thought I had finally escaped the ghosts of my past, but then it happened again. This time, by a friend. I said no, but I was drugged, vulnerable, and drowning in memories I couldn’t control. Everything I had buried from my childhood—the terror, the helplessness—all of it came rushing back. I was strong on the outside, yes. I have broad shoulders, a proud mustache, and I can lift heavy things. But that didn’t protect me. My strength couldn’t shield me from someone who disregarded my consent.

Statistics show that I am not alone. A study from the Centre for Equity Studies reveals that 16% of Indian men have experienced some form of sexual violence, yet they rarely report it due to fear, shame, and stigma. In India, our legal system does not recognize male rape as a crime. When Section 377 was repealed, many celebrated the progress for LGBTQIA+ rights. But in that process, male rape survivors lost even the slightest legal recourse we once had. The law moved forward, but it left men like me behind, invisible and unprotected.

Research shows that male survivors of sexual violence suffer from depression, anxiety, and PTSD at rates similar to female survivors. The Indian Journal of Psychiatry has reported that male survivors often endure their trauma in silence, lacking support from a society that refuses to believe their pain is real. And when we do speak up, we are met with disbelief, mockery, and even laughter from the very institutions meant to protect us. We are told to "man up," to be strong, as though our strength can erase the trauma inflicted on us.

Why does my pain matter less because of my gender? Why do I have to bear the weight of society’s denial, its dismissal, its indifference? I am not weak because I was a victim. I am not less of a man because I was hurt. But our legal system’s refusal to recognize male rape as a crime sends a message—that our suffering is less valid, that our trauma is invisible, that justice is only available to some.

We need gender-neutral rape laws that recognize every survivor’s right to justice, regardless of gender. No one should have to feel the shame, the loneliness, or the helplessness that I have felt. No one should have to relive their trauma because the law does not see them.

I am standing here, telling my story, because there are so many men who are too afraid to speak, too ashamed, or too disillusioned by a system that ignores them. My voice is not just for me—it’s for every boy, every man, every survivor who has been told that his pain does not matter. We deserve to be heard. We deserve justice.

Please, stand with me. Sign this petition. Help bring justice to male rape survivors in India. Let’s fight for a future where no survivor is invisible, where the law sees us all, and where we can finally say that male rape is real, and it deserves to be recognized.