Sexuality Rights Campaign in Kerala

[Guest guest]

It was nice to learn that a campaign has been initiated in Kerala for

Sexuality Rights.

Section 377 and Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act are the laws

generally used against sexuality minorities which needs to be changed

in order to prevent atrocities on and exploitation of these minority classes

of the society.

Gram Bharati Samiti (GBS) has been working on HIV/AIDS among the

Tribal communities traditionally involved in sex work in the Rajasthan state

of India for last 12 years. While working with these communities we came

across several astonishing facts that as they had never been in the main

stream of the society, they were always neglected by the Government and

local administration even deprived of the basic amenities like safe drinking

water, general health care, primary level education for the children of the

sex workers, elctricity etc.

They are always been victimised and exploited by the administration and

local police and because of the discriminatory laws as mentioned above

and social stigma no one come forward to speak in favour of them in order

to protect them from the atrocities and exploitation. Often the police raid on

their hutments, snatch their money, beat the girls and lock them behind the

bars under the aforesaid Act. There are several incidents when the police

have drove away the poor tribal sex workers from the land the were living on

by puchasing it in a very legal way and no one in the administration heard

their voice screech.

In such a situation we can hope that the campaign for sexuality rights initiated

by the Sex Workers Forum Kerala would serve these minority communities

widely. Gram Bharati Samiti (GBS) and the Tribal communities of Rajasthan

would like to support and join the campaign.

Bhawani Shanker Kusum

Secretary & Executive Director

Gram Bharati Samiti (GBS)

Amber Bhawan, Amber 303 101

Jaipur India

Tel. : 91-141-2530268

Fax : 91-141-2530719

E-mail : gbsbsk@...