Legalize sex work and tax their clients

[Guest guest]

Legalize sex work and tax their clients

We are not only spending too much on HIV but spending it foolishly.

What is required to be done is to go into the root causes of the

disease and legalize prostitution, both male and female so that we

also have to legalize homosexuality. A tax may be levied on

the clients of the prostitutes to provide for sustenance of those

suffering from HIV who may be quarantined. Health check of clients

may also be made and the tax to be levied may also provide for

pension of old age prostitutes who are rendered jobless.

In this connection, I may state that the institution of prostitution

resulted from the fact that in olden days, men used to exercise all

powers and women were merely their " Gharwalis " or House-keepers who

looked after their home, bore them children, satisfied their sexual

urge but had no powers. Now, it is a well-known fact that power makes

person potent also as sexual hormones are produced as a result of

enjoying powers.

So, men became very potent and their women could not satisfy them.

So, they went to other women for gratifying their sexual appetite.

Our ancestors recognized this fact and Introduced the system of

Devdasis and Courtesans where women were offered to the gods or the

kings for serving the visitors to a temple or a town. There was also

a system of " Nagar Vadhus " . There is a mention in Rig Vedas of the

institution of prostitution. Some Muslim sects had also started

offering girls to `dargas'. The girl is married to Koran, Nikah is

performed, and the girl is called 'bibi' and is condemned to lead a

life of prostitution.

The Immoral Trafficking of Persons Prevention Act prohibits

prostitution in its commercial form without declaring prostitution,

per se, an offence. Also, the

act does not provide for any punishment for the client. In a study on

prostitution in Mumbai, it was found that the number of prostitutes

arrested was disproportionate to the number of pimps, procurers,

brothel-keepers arrested. Obviously, the reason for this is a nexus

between the traffickers and the police. The crime is registered under

Section 7 of the ITPA entailing only three months imprisonment. On

the other hand, Sections 3, 4 and 5 provide much severe punishment,

but they are never invoked against the traffickers.

Having given an account of what the laws say, I am of the opinion

that no law can undo prostitution given the condition that most of

the people have to go away from their homes to other places including

foreign countries, to earn a living but meanwhile they have to

satisfy their sexual urge otherwise as is well known to the doctors,

psychiatrists, psychotherapists and even social workers and other

observers that the concerned person who suppresses his natural urge

of sexual gratification would go mad and commit more heinous crimes.

In the present context, this applies to women also because these days

they are becoming powerful and hence have more sexual libido. Police

has also registered some cases against male prostitutes.

Moreover, people from our military and paramilitary forces who have

to live way from their homes are most vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS as

their duties involve remaining away from their homes.

Therefore, the only viable solution is to legalize prostitution as

has been done in Netherlands, Germany and Australia. The cases of

HIV/AIDS have dropped in these countries after the prostitution was

legalized.

Satbir Singh Bedi

e-mail: <ssbedi1945@...>