LEADER ARTICLE: Sex Workers Need Legal Cover
(I HAVE TAKEN RISK(MAYBE A RIGHT ONE,THOUGH I KNEW IT MAY GET HIGHLIGHTED IN SOME WAY) TO WRITE MY COMMENTS AND POINT OF VIEW ON THIS NEWSCLIPPING AND ISSUE)
Ratna Kapur10 September 2007, 12:00am ISTText Size:
Aiyar blames govt for encouraging prostitution for Games
Reported by IndiaTimes on Saturday, 21 August 2010 (2 weeks ago)
Quoting various media reports, Rajya Sabha MP and former sports minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said escort agencies were gearing themselves up for the Games.
(YESTERDAY AS SHOWN ON TV CHANNELS, THAT MR MANISHANKAR AIYAR HAS WRITTEN A LETTER TO OUR PRIME MINISTER REGARDING THESE PEOPLE IN COMMONWEALTH GAMES!!...HE IS RIGHT. SPORTSMAN SHOULDN'T GET DISTRACTED BY THEM IN SUCH IMPORTANT TIME OF 15DAYS,WHERE THEIR SOUL AIM SHOULD BE WINNING/REPRESENTING THEIR COUNTRY AND MAKE THEIR COUNTRYMEN PROUD OF THEM BY THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS)
BUT IT IS ANOTHER ANGLE OF A STORY...AND A SOLUTION IS SUGGESTED, IF POSSIBLE...ONE NEED TO FIND A SOLUTIONS,THOUGH IT IS A SLOW PROCESS AND QUITE RISKY, BUT WHOEVER EXISTS IN SOCIETY,NEED TO BE TAKEN CARE BY GOVERNMENT AND OTHER AUTHORITIES,SO AS BY COMMON PEOPLE. DEFINITLY MANY PEOPLE INDIVIDUALLY, NGO'S, SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS,GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS..ETC ARE ALREADY WORKING ON THIS ISSUE.
EARLIER I HAVE TAKEN RISK(AS I KNEW IT THAT IT MAY GET HIGHLIGHTED SOMEWAY) TO WRITE MY POINT OF VIEW ON THIS ISSUE DIPICTED IN A NEWS CLIPPING...0N 7/2/09 UNDER HEADING 'ARTICLE IPC 377 REPEELED'-IN THIS BLOG ONLY...MAY BE PEOPLE DISAGREE WITH ME,BUT ITS JUST MY POINT OF VIEW!!!...AS I HAVE SEEN MANY REPORTS ON DIFFERENT CHANNELS ABOUT THEM ....FEW MOVIES WERE MADE ON THESE ISSUES AS WELL...)
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The cabinet is all set to amend the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and criminalise clients who visit sex workers. The Bill is ostensibly being
adopted in the hope of containing human trafficking. Yet in trying to achieve this result by directly targeting the rights of women in the sex industry, the government is heading down a dangerous path.
The new law regards sex work as per se exploitative and enables the police to charge clients who bargain with sex workers for sexual services. Even if the client offers gifts or other consideration to the sex worker, he can be charged under the broad terms of the new law. By implication, sex workers would have to provide their services for free, in order to avoid the application of this provision.
If clients have sex with a trafficked woman, then the client is automatically deemed to be a trafficker. The provision renders all clients liable to be charged until it is established that the sex worker was not trafficked. Given that there is no definition of trafficking in the law, it is impossible to know how this fact is to be established. The Act also renders children and other members of a sex worker's family liable to be removed from the premises. It allows moving against members who are dependent on the earnings of a sex worker.
All of these provisions operate to undermine the life and work of the woman as a parent, caregiver and sex worker. The amendments effectively ban sex work by demanding circumstances that will make it impossible for the woman to function. The impact of these new provisions is a far cry from the original intention of lawmakers to amend the law for the purpose of combating trafficking.
According to the UN Protocol on Trafficking, trafficking is a crime that takes place when a person is moved from one place to another against his or her will into a situation of exploitation. The protocol does not target sex workers or criminalise consensual sexual conduct. Its explicit purpose is to stop the exploitation of migrant labour coerced into moving by deceptive individuals and criminal networks. Its implicit purpose is to encourage states to adopt measures to ensure the safe legal passage of migrants.
In the current context of the dubious 'war on terror', xenophobia and anti-immigration politics of many countries, the possibility of safe legal passage especially for low skilled or semi-skilled labour is limited. Instead, migrants are resorting to smugglers and traffickers to facilitate their movement. The closing down of legal routes merely encourages clandestine movement.
The new amendments neither target trafficking nor protect women. Instead, the reforms are driven by a morally conservative and myopic vision. By criminalising clients, the new law will drive prostitution and sex workers underground. As a result the women will be more vulnerable to abuse and, more importantly, trafficking.
The government is putting a powerful weapon in the hands of the police — to extort money from both sex workers and clients who want to avoid charges.
In the current climate of HIV/AIDS, driving prostitution underground will weaken if not altogether destroy links between vulnerable communities and groups providing information about the virus.
India has the highest rate of HIV infections in the world, which is spreading most rapidly among married, heterosexual women. To enact legislation that will drive the virus further into the realm of illegality is not only an irresponsible act; it is sentencing millions to a life of greater stigma, discrimination and violence.
All of these consequences have been documented in the evaluation of the Swedish law that sought to eliminate trafficking by criminalising the clients of sex workers. While sex workers were pushed off the streets, prostitution did not stop. In fact, trafficking increased, women were denied any legal mechanisms for redress, and tracking HIV infections became virtually impossible.
The Sonagachi Sex Workers' Project in Kolkata has been hailed as a model project for bringing down the rate of HIV infection and stopping child trafficking because of the active participation of the sex workers. Similar projects in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which involve the sex workers and encourage aggressive condom promotion among female sex workers, have also resulted in reduced HIV infections. Such results highlight the need to intensify programmes that create an enabling environment for sex workers to negotiate for condom use and safe sex practices.
The government is turning against the very community whose support is critical in fighting the battle against both trafficking as well as HIV/AIDS.
The moral agenda that is driving these particular reforms is going to help nobody. It will keep the nation ignorant about the causes of trafficking, which is driven by poverty. It will lead to the demand for closing of borders and alienate a community that can be an ally in the fight against HIV.
Instead of going down this destructive route, the government should encourage self-help groups that will monitor trafficking into sex work and organise the community to manage its own health needs including HIV prevention and support. It should enact a comprehensive migration policy, which enables workers to access their rights and legal services to fight any violence that they may experience from employers, clients or co-workers.
(The writer is director, Centre for Feminist Legal Research.)
( MY POINT OF VIEW ON THIS NEWS AND THIS POINT OF VIEW...ON 7/2/09...VIBHA)
(I have mentioned here in this blog earlier about...all aspects of sexual harrassment of male or famale,old/young/child(including Rape...DNA test of child born, becoz of it and his/her human rights,laws and status...as I have done write-up on this for Rashtriya Sahara's 'Hastkhshep pages-4pages'...and even in this blog!!!
I have written about poor girls/women getting sold for marriages for money, to be a
sarrogate mother, or otherwise...in this blog!!!
Do these girls are alone culprit or even people come as a client need to be taught moral values and corrected.???
I am not in support of what is 'bad and Evil' in society....but do think that along with the dose of moral values, one need to provide, education and job opportunities for earning livilihood, to give these people decent opening and alternative...it applies on THEIVES,Beggars,Criminals,naxals,terrorist, underworld and places like Casino..or anything considered bad and evil for society...as reports shows that even child and women are getting involved in these activities now....and one 'big reason' for it is only POVERTY....!!!One need to find solution like doctors does, be a social docter and see the pulse of society and environment around and its root causes...Physical/Psychological/socio-economical...Problems....and reasons and find solutions and better and decent opportunities...and the way for it!!!...and inspiring,encouraging,motivating/convincing people for reforms as social workers does, as may be many wants to live like the way they are only, maybe even well to do persons are involve in it as escorts.(MOVIES WERE MADE ON THESE ISSUES AS WELL... )
Support them till its neccessary,if they are ready to reformed or doing it for some monetry compulsion only, but Punish them, mildly or strictly according to their crime,whereever it is important and according to their act.)
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