Letter from the street sexworkers of Kerala

[Guest guest]

Dear Moderator,

Following is the a representation given to Ms.Poornima

Advani,Chairperson,National Women's Commission

To

The Chairperson

National Women’s Commission,

New Delhi

Madam,

Sub: the problems faced by the street sexworkers of Kerala

We, the sexworkers of Kerala, have requested the National Women’s

Commission, in the past, to take appropriate action against the human

rights violations perpetrated on us by the police as well as the public. We

do not know what actions your good office has taken about our requests.

There are no perceptible changes happening in our experience of life.

Ours is a life of dilemma, we don’t know why we are being arrested and what

crime we commit to deserve all these punishments. When we ask, everyone

says that sexwork is not criminalized in Indian Penal code. And that the

law ITPA, was instituted to prevent women being sold against their will. If

so, how are we being arrested under the act? Are we being punished to be

saved? We can understand the logic of somebody being punished for selling

others but to punish us for selling ourselves, when it is not a crime, defy

our imagination and comprehension. Then they say we are arrested for

soliciting.

If soliciting is a crime, why street vendors are not arrested,

why shopkeepers are not arrested? Then, why politicians soliciting for

votes are not arrested? Again we can understand if a woman is trafficked

and trapped in a brothel and a person is soliciting clients for her against

her will, being arrested but to arrest us for standing on the roadsides

baffles us. Madam, as a woman, you must know that no woman has to solicit

men for sex; instead any woman on the road will be crowded by men and to

keep them away is the Herculean task. Right now in the name of this law,

the policemen are arresting us when we go for shopping, walking with our

relatives or for anything anywhere.

Now the government is soliciting us to become peer educators in projects

instituted to prevent AIDS. We are happy and are willing to comply. For

the last six years many among us became peer educators in projects strewn

all over Kerala. We thought our lot will improve. But to our surprise the

Government wants us to do the AIDS prevention work on the one side but on

the other side they want us to be punished and fined.

We wrote to all

authorities about this discrepancy in practice, from the sub-inspectors of

local police station to the Chief Justice of India and from the local MLAs

to the Prime Minister of India. Nothing happened, that is when we wrote to

your office and to your predecessor. If the Government is serious in their

effort in the prevention of AIDS, this can’t continue. How can we practice

safe sex, negotiate with our clients, teach our peers or conscientise our

clients? If the Government is going to keep the premises of sexwork

criminalized, then they can never achieve the desired effect. Already our

peers are losing interest in the projects and the NGOs who have initiated

the work go through the rituals. The Government should have a clear policy

on this matter or every one of us will have to pay a heavy price for this

dereliction.

As street sexworkers, the immediate necessity, other than the above, is the

need for day and night shelters. If we are provided with shelters, we could

be free from the dependence on the street gangsters and police alike. The

usual association of criminality with sexwork can be avoided. We won’t be

harassed and won’t be in a situation of helplessness among the goons and

also we could negotiate with our clients on the need to use condoms. And

above all we could get organized. Our organization is an absolute necessity

for the prevention of AIDS. Only by common agreement that we could ensure

the consistent and constant use of condoms among ourselves. If one of us

denies one client sexual intercourse for refusing to use condoms another

should not comply. The clients may offer more money and if some one

accepts, the one who denied will lose her client. This will lead to the

failure of the projects for the prevention of AIDS. So our coming together

and our united demand can only ensure consistent condom use among the

clients and us. For this we need the shelters to come together.

So, we request your good self to take notice of this situation and to

recommend the Governments for:

· The decriminalization of sexwork and its premises

· The co-ordination of Health and Home departments work in the prevention of

AIDS

· Measures to be taken to de-stigmatize sexwork

· To make day and night shelters for street sexworkers

Yours truly,

Nalini Jamila, Sarada, Lizy, Sivan and Soumini

Members of Co-ordination Committee

Sex Workers Forum Kerala, Anasooya,Trivandrum, South India

Pin 695038, Phone # ++91 + 471 + 2368142

E-mail: swfk@...>

Visit us: http://www.firmkerala.org/projects/swfk/index.htm