Festival of Pleasure. Summary Report

[Guest guest]

The following is the gist of the happenings in the conference of FESTIVAL OF

PLEASURE, national meet of Sex Workers, held on 1st, 2nd and 3rd of March,

at VJT Hall and Kumara Swamy Hall, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, organized by

NNSW. We would be sending the sessions in detail later.

DAY I

FESTIVAL OF PLEASURE, the National Conference of Sex Workers, organized by

Sex Workers' Forum Kerala (SWFK) in association with the National Network

of Sex Workers (NNSW) started off with no pleasure in the wake of police

firing and brutality towards Tribals in Muthanga, Kerala. This was held in

the Jubilee Town Hall (VJT) in the heart of the town. The NNSW

expressed their deep feelings for their equals in society, the Tribal,

facing alienation in their own land. The festival was inaugurated by

lighting lamps together by sex workers and social activists, working for

the rights of sex workers, from across the country. Eminent personalities

of Kerala socio-cultural scene Adoor Gopalakrishnan (film director), Dr.

Balaraman (member, State Human Rights Commission), K.P. Kumaran (film

director), B.R.P. Basker (senior journalist and human rights activist),

Sunny ph (cinematographer) Zacharia (writer and social activist),

Murali (National award winning actor) participated in the festivity. The

dance drama titled I AM THAT WOMEN, staged by Komal Gandhar from Kolkata

added color to the occasion. This was followed by cultural progammes and

the highlight was songs of BAULS from Bengal.

In the afternoon a seminar on Rethinking Rehabilitation in the light of Sex

Workwas held in Kumara Swamy hall, adjacent to the VJT Hall, the venue of

cultural progarammes. Eminent lawyers, sex worker activists and social

activists participated in this session. Anand Grover from Lawyers

Collective and Sheela Ramanadhan from ICHRL took part in the discussion.

Sex work is approached as a disease which needs cure and rehabilitation is

the medicine. Rehabilitation is a euphemism for removal of women from

prostitution. Is this the true rehabilitation that SWs need?asked R. Meera

of WINS an NGO of Tirupathi. She opined that true rehabilitation means

providing space for SWs for sharing and befriending each other.

Another speaker, Angura Begum of DMSC, Kolkata, was vociferous in her

argument that there are more deprived people needing immediate attention of

the government like street children and beggars but the government is not

bothered about them instead they want to rehabilitate SWs who are

self-reliant.

For the government, rehabilitation is nothing but displacing a person to

another place, said Mrinal Kanti Dutta of DMSC, Kolkata.

DAY II

The second day the festivity began at 10 am with folk songs and dance at

VJT Hall. Folk songs and dances from all the states represented were

performed one after another and in the evening a Hindustani classical vocal

recital by Ramesh Narayanan, a disciple of Pandit Jasraj was held.

The seminar on Violence, Sex Work and the Lawstarted at Kumara Swamy hall

at the same time. Sex workers from across the country voiced the police

brutality meted out to them. What was notable here was that there were

cases where sex workers have resisted unwarranted arrests by the police. In

one such case Geetha, a Bangalore based sex worker, with the help of an

NGO, filed a case against the policeman who tried to arrest her while she

was having tea with her friends in a restaurant. The case is still going on.

Rehana, a sex worker from Bangladesh, voiced her concerns on forcible

eviction of sex workers from brothels, which is increasing the floating

population of sex workers in the streets and also diseases among them due

to lack of timely treatment. Hema a SW from Madhya Pradesh informed that

there is even an unwritten rule that SWs cannot travel from rural areas to

urban areas and they are arrested from railway station even if they have

not come for sex work.

a lawyer from CFLR raised the issue of law being silent on coercion

in sex. She went on to say that for the law sex has to be heterosexual,

marital and non-commercial. For this reason while addressing sex workers

issue, it is important to address cultural issue. She said that

legalization of sex work is important for empowering the SWs. Anand Grover

and Tripti Tandon both lawyers from Lawyers Collective, Delhi, commented at

length on the legal provisions, which exist but seldom used due to

ignorance. Mr. Grover pointed out what a sex worker should do in the wake

of an arrest. He stressed the need to know law more to counter police

violence.

The afternoon session was on AIDS and Aid, where the speakers raised the

issues faced by funded projects. Jo Doezema of Network of Sex Work

Projects, based in London, criticized the US government decision to stop

funding those projects standing for the rights of SWs. Now the UNAIDS is

only funding those projects in India, which holds strongly the Immoral

Traffic (Prevention) Act (IPTA). Lot of fund is floated for AIDS projects

but nothing is done for SWs, she said. She raised two key issues the

government has to take not of:

* AIDS prevention projects has to be responsible to SWs rights and

privacy; and

* 100% condom use programme should not lead to forcible condom use and

medical test.

She raised the issue of migration among SWs, which is causing more

exploitation. The social situation, police violence and societal attitude

are making SWs more vulnerable to HIV. from Arogya, Tamil Nadu,

Sarojini from Vanitha, Kozhikode and Hemamalini from SFDRT, Pondicherry,

all working in HIV/AIDS projects spoke of their work.

Talking about AIDS prevention programme in Sonagachi, Mrinal Kanti Dutta of

DMSC, Kolkata informed that the use of condoms have increased from 2.7% to

95.5% and the rate of HIV+ is only 8%, which is comparatively very low.

This was possible only because along with HIV/AIDS prevention intervention,

action for sex workersrights were also initiated in Sonagachi. They have

generated a political sensitivity among the sex workers to stop considering

themselves as sinners and to stand together for each other. To save the SWs

from moneylenders they have started a Sex workers Co-operative Bank

exclusively for them from where they can take loan and repay within three

years.

Dr. Jayasree of FIRM, Thiruvananthapuram expressed concerns over the

governments decision to stop funding HIV/AIDS intervention project, which

are also standing for SWs rights. Initially the State had solicited the

NGOs with promises of ensuring human rights and womens rights. When FIRM

had taken up an HIV/AIDS intervention project there was provision to run a

drop-in-centre for SWs and treatment for STD and also other ailments. But

once FIRM started organizing the SWs for their rights the State started

curbing these facilities. The SWs lost control over their funds.

Drop-in-centre was stopped and medical provision was limited to STD care.

Now the State has completely stopped funding this project, she said.

She also mentioned that anti-trafficking activities are often placed

against sex-workers movement by some NGOs and donor agencies. Knowingly or

unknowingly they are helping the anti-migration policy of U. S. Another

point she made is that there is no political will from the part of the

government to give anti-retroviral treatment to HIV+. She requested the SWs

and social activists to stop co-operating with the government initiatives

to control AIDS unless the SWs issues are addressed. She also said that SWs

can do much better for anti-trafficking if they are empowered.

'Prevention Options for Women'

The session on 'Prevention Options for Women' jointly held by Health

& Development Networks (HDN) and the Indian Network of NGOs on HIV/AIDS

(INN) invoked a lot of dialogue and interaction on having a wider range of

prevention options. Dr. Radium Bhattacharya - President of Indian Network

of NGOs on HIV/AIDS (INN) from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Aditya Bandopadhyaya-

Lawyer and human rights' activist with focal interest on legal issues of

MSM and Bobby Ramakant - Key Correspondent to Health & Development Networks

were the speakers.

Bobby began the session

In the larger context of prevention, one of the most heavily promoted

prevention option - the male condom - fails to meet the need of many women

and men who are not in a position to negotiate or insist on condom usage,

who are not in a position to ensure fidelity of their partners, who are not

in a position to abandon relationships that put them to risk to HIV and

other STIs. It was also made clear that this session did not mean to

undermine male condom. The male condom is still the most efficient method

to prevent HIV, a broad spectrum of STIs and unwanted pregnancies.

Dr. Radium Bhattacharya stressed the need to have a broad range of

prevention options. She introduced the crowd of Sex workers to some

products women can use, or initiate the use of, like female condoms and

eventually, microbicides. She spoke simply so the concepts were easy to grasp.

Aditya Bandopadhyaya forcefully drove the session into human rights'

discussion and said unless the community awakens and responds to address

its own needs - not much can be done for the larger benefit.

DAY III

March 3rd, being the International Day of Sex Workers, was marked by

special celebrations with fire works in the evening at VJT hall. The day

was observed with songs by BAULS from Bengal, dance by Komal Gandhar, DMSC,

Bengali drama Bhalo Manus Noigo Mora, and Ghazals by Jayaprakash.

In the seminar hall, Problems of different Sexualities, were discussed at

length. Deepa Nair from Sahayatrika convened it. Famila, from Sangama (NGO

for sexuality minorities in Bangalore) spoke of the inhuman treatment meted

out to the hijaras and Kothis by the police and the local goons. In the

Indian law hijaras do not exist. You are either male or female and nothing

else. Therefore we are deprived of ration cards, passports and all other

facilities enjoyed by any other Indian, she said. In the medical field

there is not a single government hospital where hijaras can undergo

castration, forcing them to depend on private clinics. The conditions of

these clinics are so pathetic and unhygienic that infection and bleeding is

common. Moreover, since the operation is not done properly, they have to

undergo two to three operations. Famila, herself went through three operations.

Another problem is that they are denied higher education, as the

universities do not accept their new status as females after operation.

They are also denied job opportunities for this reason. Comparatively, she

said, the Hijaras in North India are better off as they are accepted in

marriage ceremonies etc, whereas in South they are totally invisible.

Finally she demanded that they should be brought within the fold of women

and then classified as Hijaras and Kothis. She also demanded the repeal of

ITPA and section 377 of IPC. Winding up her paper she appealed to the

government of Kerala to take immediate steps to prevent Lesbian suicides in

Kerala.

Kumar of Sangama, Bangalore voiced the grievances of Kothis who face

extortion and sexual violence at the hands of police.

Sunil Menon of Sahodharan, Chennai, presented a charter of demand brought

out in the parallel conference of male sex workers held in Hotel Chaithram.

* Government and other state agencies should ensure the protection of

male sex workers from all sort of violence from state and non-state

organizations.

* All law that is discriminatory may be repealed or amended.

* All organizations that work with MSM address their issues separately

and give emphasis on documentation and research.

* Funds may be used properly to facilitate sensitization and advocacy

with professionals, doctors, and government representatives.

Sameer of WINS, Tirupathi, a male sex worker from the age of seven, spoke

of the humiliation he was put through in his childhood for his feminine

character. What is bothering others if I am a Hijara or transgender; I am

an individual and want to be accepted like that, he said. Nitai Giri of

DMSC, Kolkata, a male sex worker, also expressed similar concerns. Aditya,

a lawyer from NAZ Foundation said that the hijaras were given the choice to

mention whether male or female while filling the voter identity card. But

once the election was over they are no more recognized as that. He also

said that the notions that male to male sex is perversion and MSM is

related to pedophilia have to be denounced.

International Training Workshop on Sex Workers Right

International Training Workshop on Sex workers Rights was organized in the

same venue on March 3rd. Prabha Kotiswaran, a U.S.A based lawyer,

introduced the topic by posing two questions-If sex work is to be accepted

as labor, what kind of labor law can be applied, as sex work does not have

paid wages?and When workers movements are undermined by globalization, what

is the benefit in bringing sex work under labor law?.

Mrinal Kanti Dutta of DMSC, Kolkata started by saying that there are these

people to whom the sex workers cannot say no- Police , Madams and local

goons. The sex workers need to be empowered to say noto them and thats

exactly what DMSC is doing, he said. He said that movement against

trafficking has not really helped. What is really needed is a self

regulatory body consisting of 60% sex workers and 40% social workers,

including members of Womens Commission, NGOs, doctors and lawyers. For

every sex worker a registration number is given and with this she can move

from one state to another. But this proposal was swept under the carpet as

the doctors and lawyers raised question of morality saying sex work is not

a moral profession. He requested the government to give sex workers legal

rights by recognizing sexwork as service labor. Sex workers should be given

the choice to leave or to stay. He was against legalization as it involves

repeated going back to government.

The biggest problem we encounter is the oppression from the state, said

Meena Seshu. She was for decriminalization rather than for labor rights, as

this can lead to other problems. We will concentrate on human rights rather

than labor rights, she said.

Shabana, a sex worker, demanded pension benefits rather than license.

Nalini and Dr Jayasree, of FIRM, argued for decriminalization. Nalini went

on to say that sex work be given the status of self employment.

Anand Sarma, from Delhi, raised the need for a self regulatory body to

check young girls from entering this profession.

Tripti, of Lawyers Collective Delhi, said that Lawyers Collective has been

advocating for law reform for a long time now. Today it makes more sense to

ask for decriminalization of sex work rather than legalizing sex work or

asking for labor rights,she said. Raising the concerns of male sex workers

she said that they are forced into sex in their early childhood.

Devika Prasad, of Human Rights Law Network, Delhi, participated in the

discussion by saying that most of the discussion about trafficking stem

from the desire of the rich countries to block the migration of women. So,

we have to be careful in getting trapped in the discourse of trafficking

unleashed worldwide in the recent times.

Swapna Gayan, of DMSC shared her experiences.

The three days conference ended with the celebration of International Day

of Sex Workers with fire works and dances. Emotional scenes of parting

among sex workers brought tears to spectators eyes. Everyone vouched to see

each other next year.