Updated 16:57 IST | Thursday, September 02, 2010
Legalizing Sex Work in India - A Dilemma
Satinder Bains
Friday, 18 December 2009
Indian Govt. has failed to prevent the exploitation of sex workers in the country. Keeping this fact in mind , Apex court of the country has advised for legalization of sex work in India. More than 30 million sex workers in India are living in apathetic conditions, totally deprived of health security and social recognition.
Some times back through changes in The Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1956, Indian Govt thought that sex workers in the country will be freed from the exploitative circumstances.
The experiment in Sweden has resulted in flourishing of under ground sex business, and India can not be an exception to it for long.
Indian prostitution related law was earlier being modified in 1978 and 1986, but sexual exploitation has not declined in the country side. It would have been better if the Govt tried to bring social welfare legislation for existing sex workers.
Prostitution has been allowed in India under religious pretext and as a social norm in some communities like bedia, nuts etc in Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Govt has failed to put a harsh on these practices.
Sex laws of India are full of ambiguities.
The word sexual exploitation needs explicit definition. Govt thinks that who so ever visits brothel can be booked under the law as it is difficult to trace whether the client is approaching trafficked sex workers or a non trafficked one.
Police officers may misuse the ambiguity and the genuine visitors will fled leaving sex workers hard to find bread and butter.
The recourse for the sex workers will be practice as call girls in the society as their will not be any other alternative for the livelihood.
Definitely sex work is not coming to halt in India. Increased powers of police and traffickers increases their returns, but the destiny of the sex workers is not going to change.
The intention of Govt tries to discourage those visiting brothels so that sex workers leave their profession. But where is the alternative employment?
Single reason for sexual exploitation in India is poverty, for which women are forced live in cages in the brothels.
Govt policy and programs to bring them out and help them to join main stream have failed in the light of the fact that a child is forced to leave school in India, because he or she is born to a sex worker or is suffering from AIDS.
It may be mentioned that it is not possible to eradicate sex work from the Indian society as looking for perfection will be a myth.
Supreme Court has rightly opined that its regularization may be considered in the interest of the sex workers and to minimize increasing incidents of girl child rapes aimed to pacify suppressed sexual desires of the some of us.
We need to under stand that urge for sex is as natural as desire for food and water. If it is not possible to quench it with in the formal framework, the natural alternative may be to find a voluntary medically fit sex worker.
This alternative seems more affirmative as compared to rapes of the innocent and is relatively less dangerous to the Indian society.
Increasing incidents of sex related crimes and women trafficking warrant that time has come when we must think of regularization and legalization of sex work in India, despite all odds.
Dr Varinder Bhatia
bhatiasahib@gmail.com
Some times back through changes in The Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1956, Indian Govt thought that sex workers in the country will be freed from the exploitative circumstances.
The experiment in Sweden has resulted in flourishing of under ground sex business, and India can not be an exception to it for long.
Indian prostitution related law was earlier being modified in 1978 and 1986, but sexual exploitation has not declined in the country side. It would have been better if the Govt tried to bring social welfare legislation for existing sex workers.
Prostitution has been allowed in India under religious pretext and as a social norm in some communities like bedia, nuts etc in Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Govt has failed to put a harsh on these practices.
Sex laws of India are full of ambiguities.
The word sexual exploitation needs explicit definition. Govt thinks that who so ever visits brothel can be booked under the law as it is difficult to trace whether the client is approaching trafficked sex workers or a non trafficked one.
Police officers may misuse the ambiguity and the genuine visitors will fled leaving sex workers hard to find bread and butter.
The recourse for the sex workers will be practice as call girls in the society as their will not be any other alternative for the livelihood.
Definitely sex work is not coming to halt in India. Increased powers of police and traffickers increases their returns, but the destiny of the sex workers is not going to change.
The intention of Govt tries to discourage those visiting brothels so that sex workers leave their profession. But where is the alternative employment?
Single reason for sexual exploitation in India is poverty, for which women are forced live in cages in the brothels.
Govt policy and programs to bring them out and help them to join main stream have failed in the light of the fact that a child is forced to leave school in India, because he or she is born to a sex worker or is suffering from AIDS.
It may be mentioned that it is not possible to eradicate sex work from the Indian society as looking for perfection will be a myth.
Supreme Court has rightly opined that its regularization may be considered in the interest of the sex workers and to minimize increasing incidents of girl child rapes aimed to pacify suppressed sexual desires of the some of us.
We need to under stand that urge for sex is as natural as desire for food and water. If it is not possible to quench it with in the formal framework, the natural alternative may be to find a voluntary medically fit sex worker.
This alternative seems more affirmative as compared to rapes of the innocent and is relatively less dangerous to the Indian society.
Increasing incidents of sex related crimes and women trafficking warrant that time has come when we must think of regularization and legalization of sex work in India, despite all odds.
Dr Varinder Bhatia
bhatiasahib@gmail.com
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Editor: Satinder Bains |
Executive Editor: Pawandeep Sooch |
Managing Editor: Kanwal Preet Kaur
